The Reunion by Kayla Olson(12)
Sweetheart writing duo Dan and Xan Jennings were among the first to arrive, looking chic as ever in Armani and Oscar de la Renta, respectively. Always nice to see a couple stay together in Hollywood, especially when they’re responsible for one of the most iconic teen dramas of all time.
Showrunner-director Bryan Cortado, along with producing team Nathaniel Ezzo and Gabe Holcomb of Wild Mustang, arrived next, with a slew of Fanline execs close behind—of note, Fanline CEO Shine Jacobs stood out amid the veritable boys’ club in vintage silver Chanel.
Ford Brooks was the first of the main cast to make an appearance, arriving in a loud emerald Gucci ensemble only he could pull off, and notably alone. Longtime girlfriend Juliette Wells—a British actress known most recently for snagging multiple award nominations last season—is rumored to be shooting a new Jonathan Cast picture up in Iceland.
Liv Latimer looked every inch the starlet she is in an ink-black Christian Siriano dress and Louboutins to match. Looks like a girls’ night for Liv, whose assistant—Bre Livingston, sources confirm—joined in on the fun and looked stunning in vibrant green.
Ransom Joel took a solo trip down the red carpet, wearing all black Dolce & Gabbana and a five-o’clock shadow, looking undeniably classy and timeless. Another notable absence: amid engagement rumors, girlfriend Gemma Gardner was nowhere to be seen.
Finally, rounding out the cast’s most prominent quartet, Sasha-Kate Kilpatrick stole everyone’s hearts in bold pink Chanel, a frivolous dream of satin and chiffon daringly cut all the way down to her navel. Sasha-Kate never arrives without her #girlsquad these days, and tonight was no exception—resort heiress Garbi?e Itiriti, publicist Caroline Crenshaw, and singer-songwriter superstar Hālo were also in attendance, in addition to SK’s beau-du-jour Nikola Milo?evi?.
Annagrey Siebert, Laurence Williams, and Millie Matson—mom, dad, and adorable kid sister of the fictional St. Croix family—were also in attendance, along with Aurora Cove’s hottest tennis coach, Pierre Alameda. (Two solid reasons to tune in to the reunion special when it airs, if you weren’t already convinced: little Millie Matson is all grown up now and looking fantastic, and said tennis coach hasn’t aged a day!)
What’s going to happen in the reunion special? Post your best guesses below in the comments! We’ll be live-tweeting the show when it airs, so spend these next weeks catching up on old episodes and be sure to follow @SunsetCentralBuzzzzz!
4
“Is it just me, or does Sasha-Kate have half of Hollywood with her?” Ransom murmurs.
I laugh. “How did she pull that off? The invite said plus one, not plus ten.”
“Hundred bucks says that guy will be at our table,” Ransom says, pointing at a lithe, long-haired man who somehow manages to make his tan, boxy, oversized suit look completely fashionable.
Our table turns out to be the liveliest one in the room, and the guy—Nikola—is, indeed, seated with us. I’m between Ransom and Ford, Sasha-Kate and Nikola are on Ford’s other side, and to round out our table is Millie Matson, who was eleven years old last time I saw her. Now she’s twenty-five, with glowing skin and makeup done to perfection. She’s best known for the two pop albums she released over the past few years—particularly her most recent one, Peaches, which landed a top-twenty spot on the charts as soon as it was released.
“That’s Hālo over there, isn’t it?” Millie asks Sasha-Kate, trying (and failing) to look chill and not overeager. There’s a reason Millie pivoted toward music instead of acting—when she was cast at age five, the acting didn’t matter as much as her charisma.
“Why, you want an introduction, Millie?” Sasha-Kate says with a sly grin. She takes a sip of chardonnay, her lipstick immaculate.
If Millie is a rising pop star, Hālo has been borderline supernova for years now. Leave it to Sasha-Kate to demand a seat at our table for some guy she’ll probably break up with by next week and relegate the rest of her star-studded entourage to a table on the other side of the room; Sasha-Kate isn’t big on being outshined.
“I’m a big fan of her work,” Millie says, a blush creeping into her cheeks. “Her album Hallowed was—it was just—I have sooooo many questions on the production side of things!”
Ford, meanwhile, has struck up a conversation with Nikola, who’s backed his chair up so they can talk around Sasha-Kate. That just leaves Ransom and me.
Ransom plucks a roll from the basket and smears on a soft pat of butter. “Got all your lines memorized yet?” he asks, a nice, innocuous entry point for our new let’s try to maybe be friends again situation. It’s such basic small talk you’d think we’d never spent an hour in each other’s company.
You’d never guess we’ve kissed on camera countless times.
You’d never guess we’ve seen each other cry. That we’ve made each other cry.
We’ve never had to start over before, though.
So. Small talk it is.
“Still working on them,” I admit. “Things have been nonstop lately getting ready for the press blitz, and I’ve had to squeeze in some extra sessions with my trainer, and on top of all that I’m supposed to be making my way through a stack of novels Mars sent over from the agency.…”
“Wait, wait—you actually read the books they send?”