“Hey, Sunshine.”

My heavy fork clatters onto the glass top table. I freeze, disbelief and shock swirl together and run through my veins like horse drawn chariots. I close my eyes and count to three before opening them again.

I’m not dreaming. This nightmare is actually happening. I look around my table. All eyes are on me. In fact, the entire room’s volume has lowered to a hush.

I look across the table at the normally placid expression on his face that has morphed into one of star-struck stupefaction. It’s all the evidence I need to confirm I didn’t imagine hearing Graham’s voice behind me.

“Uh, hey … um, Mr. Davis. Are you … are you talking to us?” Lucas stammers. His voice is about three octaves higher than it normally is. He reminds me of a YouTube video I watched of a thirteen-year-old-girl meeting Zac Efron for the first time.

“No. I’m talking to Apollo.” Graham’s deep, sexy, sweet and easy as syrup Southern boy drawl floats through the air, and cloaks me in layers of panic, anger, and wild, unbound elation.

It’s about fucking time.

I push the unbidden thought aside, fix a smile on my face, and turn around to face him.

He hits me like a cannonball to the chest.

I gasp. My smile falls, and my breath comes out in pants.

I’ve seen his face every single day for the past three months. On television, billboards, in the magazines that littered the apartment I used to share with Lucas.

In my dreams.

But none of it compares to seeing him in person. He’s taller than my memories had made him. Leaner, yet larger at the same time.

Or maybe it’s just that he’s finally grown into his God-given star power.

He’s dressed in one of his signature dark metallic blue Burberry suits, with an open collared white shirt underneath. His trademark punch of color is a dark yellow silk square.

From his Patek Philippe watch to his handcrafted Testoni shoes, he looks like he was born to be a king. He’s even got hair that he wears with the same pride and confidence a lion wears his mane.

He wields his charm like a weapon and has slain the heart of every man, woman, and child who lays eyes on his.

Including Lucas.

He’s got a man crush on Graham that made living with him over the last year nearly unbearable. He talked about Graham like he knew him.

The scrape of the chair beside me reminds me where I am—at a fund-raiser. With my boyfriend, his parents, and business partners. And right now, all of them are staring wide-eyed between Graham and me.

Great.

“Mr. Davis, it’s such an honor. I didn’t know you and Apollo were friends,” Lucas says as he comes to stand beside me. His voice is an octave higher than it normally is. I stand up, too, not comfortable with having these two men standing over me.

When his hand goes around my waist, he doesn’t seem to notice the way I stiffen at his touch or the way Graham’s gaze narrows on the hand that he’s resting on my hip. I stifle my urge to step away, and I remind myself that Graham has no right to look that way.

He leans in, plucks me out of Lucas’s grasp and wraps his arms around me in a hug so all-encompassing, I nearly faint from the rush of energy that passes between us.

“You look fucking amazing,” he says, his voice gruff and low, his breath hot on my ear, sending chills down my neck as he presses a kiss to my cheek.

I can’t stop my arms from coming up and wrapping around him. I hug back and let myself smell him, feel him, drown in him for a fraction of a minute before I pull away.

He lets me go, but reluctantly, and takes a step back. His eyes hold mine in a possessive but tender gaze that makes me want to step back into his arms.

I look at Lucas.

He’s staring at Graham, eyes wide. “So, you’re like really friends?” He turns around to the table where his parents, sister and business partners are all sitting staring at Graham in awe.

“Can you believe my girlfriend is friends with the Graham Davis?” he asks them, with a laugh.

Graham’s eyes fly to mine, all traces of charm and humor absent.

I wish the ground would open up and swallow me whole.

Lucas faces him again and is clearly too blinded by the stars in his eyes to see that Graham is not amused. His grin only widens. “Apollo knows I’m your biggest fan. I can’t believe she never mentioned this.”

I want to die. I give Lucas an apologetic smile. “Well, it’s been—”

“Oh, Apollo.” Graham’s eyes widen, and he shakes his head in mock disappointment. “You’ve never mentioned your very oldest and best friend in the whole world to Lucas?”

He looks back at Lucas, his megawatt, superstar smile on full blast. Poor Lucas looks like he’s going to faint. “May I call you Lucas, Mr. Wilmot?” he asks unnecessarily.

Lucas just nods. He has a stupid, lovesick smile on his face. If Graham called him a goat fucker right now, he’d probably thank him for the honor.

“You’re best friends? With Apollo?” Lucas looks back and forth between us, his eyes wide with surprise and delight.

“Well, we used to be. It’s, uh—” I look at Lucas and try to smile casually.

“It’s been a while.” Graham finishes my sentence for me.

“Are you attending the gala?” Lucas asks, not even trying to disguise his hope.

“Well, no, I’m staying at this … hotel.” He looks around the room as if he wasn’t sure whether or not it was good enough for him before he turns his friendly smile back on Lucas.

“I was checking in and saw your gallery on the event banner.” His eyes slide to mine, his smile triumphant as he says, “Great name.”

Where’s my magic cloak of invisibility when I need it?

“Lucas.” Graham turns back to him, and Lucas is practically batting his eyelashes. “You can imagine how eager I was to come and find Apollo. This is a damn lucky coincidence—you being here at this very hotel on my very first day in the Big Apple.” He gives me a knowing look. Graham’s in his full-blown, Southern charm mode that makes whomever it’s turned on feel like they are the most important person in the universe.

But I’m not fooled by it. Not for a second. He’s nervous. He’s cracking the knuckles of his right hand, and his smile doesn’t come close to reaching his eyes.

This is no coincidence.

My stupid heart is doing the Dougie when it should be tripping over itself with terror.

“Oh! Where are my manners? Please, sit down.” Lucas pulls out his chair and bows as he offers it to Graham like he’s the Sultan of Brunei.

Graham claps him across the shoulder like they’re old friends as he drops into Lucas’s abandoned chair. I sit down, too, because “it would be weird for Apollo,” Graham grumbles.

“Gra—” I clear my throat when my words come out in a croak. “Graham, hi.”

I’m trembling, and my head is spinning. My entire body is alternating between flushes of heat and cold prickles of anxiety as I try to figure out what to do next.

If this fund-raiser wasn’t so important to me, I would get up and leave.

Out of nowhere, a server runs up with an extra chair, and Lucas points to the space between Graham’s chair and mine. He drops down into it, and Lucas smiles broadly as he looks between us. Graham eyes him with an air of cool disdain.

“So, how do you two know each other and how come I had no idea I was living with the best friend of the coolest guy on the planet?” I give him a weak smile that wobbles when I look at Graham to find him grinning happily at both of us.

“Well, I know all about you, Lucas. I had to make sure my best friend wasn’t dating a sociopath or anything.”

He punches Lucas in the shoulder playfully, but with enough force that Lucas tips over in his seat. His smile only widens as he rubs his shoulder and bursts out laughing.

I pray for some sort of divine intervention.

I’ve always hated Lucas’s laugh. The first time I heard him laugh out loud, I prayed it was an aberration. But it wasn’t. The only thing more disturbing than his laugh was that he was laughing hysterically at The 40-Year-Old-Virgin, aka the stupidest movie ever.

I should have known then. But he was so nice.

He supported my endeavors at the gallery, and I knew he’d never break my heart.

He couldn’t. Even if he tried. Because my heart was and would never be his to break. That honor belongs to Graham.

Lucas was an anchor when I really needed one. Now, I just feel weighed down.

I ended things a few days after my call with Graham. It wasn’t fair to him to keep dangling on. He took it very well. He just asked that we keep it quiet until after we’d fulfilled some public engagements where my absence would be noted.

But he’s moved out of our apartment and into one across the hall already. He said he wanted to be close by when I changed my mind and let him come home. But, I know he’s already at least fucking seeing someone else.

I have no idea who she is, but I’ve seen the back of her blonde head as she’s walked out of his apartment twice in the last week. I knew I’d made the right decision when seeing her evoked not even the slightest amount of jealousy or pain.

I hope he’s happy.

Right now, though, I wish I’d never agreed to the charade. Then, I could be at the table with the rest of my gallery staff instead of at his hedge fund’s table.

“So, are you here on business? Pleasure?” Lucas asks, grinning up at Graham like he’s Santa Claus and he’d been a very good boy this year.

“I’m enrolling at NYU,” Graham says, his eyes on me. Every synapse in my body is responding to him, and I’m hyperaware of the pull between us.

“Oh, wow. That’s amazing. I’ve heard you’re in talks with Volta to front their new line of soft drinks,” Lucas chirps.

Graham’s eyes narrow slightly, and his jaw tightens, but his tone is pleasant when he says, “No business tonight.”

“Oh yeah, sure man. We can meet up, have lunch. Maybe talk about it later,” Lucas says. I know he’s not this clueless. He just doesn’t know that Graham is about five minutes away from asking him to shut up.

“Maybe,” Graham says. Then, he glances over his shoulder at the empty dance floor. When he looks back at me his smile is nothing short of diabolical.

I shrink in my chair. He wouldn’t.

“Apollo, would you dance with me?” he asks, holding his hand out to me. My head spins, and I stare at his hand and then back at his face.

“It’s not the time for dancing yet, and I’m here with Lucas,” I say weakly.

He ignores me and turns his mind-bending smile on Lucas. “You don’t mind if we dance now, do you? The band’s playing. I can’t stay much longer. I just want to dance with my …” Has eyes slide to mine. “… very best friend.” He’s good. He actually looks forlorn. If I didn’t know him better, I would believe him.

“I’ll dance with you, if she’s not feeling up to it,” Lucas’s sister Victoria pipes up.

I whip my head over to look at her. She’s smiling suggestively at him while her husband’s face turns red.

Oh, for God’s sake.

I shoot Graham a glare. Then, I put my hand in his and smile pleasantly at the rest of the table, “How can I say no?” I say in his face, dripping with artificial amusement.

Every eye in the room is on us as we make our way to the empty dance floor. I’m trying to keep up with Graham as he strides to the dance floor, forcing me to practically jog in my several inches too high to be practical, silver peep-toe Manolos.

When we get to the dance floor, I let out a surprised yelp when he twirls me like I’m a ballerina in a music box.

He’s laughing when he pulls me flush against him, wraps one arm around my waist and holds one of my hands against his chest. I put my arm on his shoulder, and he leans down to whisper in my ear. “Hey, Sunshine. Miss me?”

I look over my shoulder and see Lucas is watching, but instead of frowning, he’s smiling broadly, his face that of a proud father at his daughter’s first piano recital.

Deciding to deal with one problem at a time, I turn back around but keep my eyes on his chest.

“Graham, this is not cool. Why didn’t you call first?” I whisper, moving my lips as little as possible. He stops, mid-sway and dips his head so that it’s next to my ear. His cool breath sends my hair fluttering and my heart tripping over itself. “What I’ve got to say has to be said in person.” His eyes are calm, but his whisper is fierce. His arm tightens around my waist as if he expects me to bolt.

He starts moving again, but this time leans back, so he’s looking at me. His eyes soften as they roam my face, a small, sad smile on his lips.

“Have your feelings for me changed, Apollo?” he asks me in a solemn voice.

“My feelings for you haven’t changed …” I begin.

“But?” he prods. But instead of looking disappointed, he’s smiling.

“But, I’m not …”

His eyes dart over my shoulder.

And suddenly the rest of the world comes rushing back. The music is still playing, and we’ve been joined by a few other couples. But we’ve been standing, having an intense, emotional conversation in a room full of strangers. And the man who, at least publicly, is my boyfriend.

“Graham. I can’t talk about this here.” I take a step back, and he doesn’t try to stop me.

He nods slowly, his eyes lose a bit of their sparkle. “Yeah. I understand. Will you meet me again?”

“Of course,” I say quickly. Because whatever happens, I still love Graham. I always will. And now that I’ve seen him, I just want more.

“Tonight?” he persists, and I can’t stop the excitement in my voice when I say, “Okay.”

He smiles and reaches into his pocket and hands me a card. “Call me when you get home. I’ll come over.”

I take it from him with a nod. He grabs my trembling hand.

“There’s nothing to be afraid of, Apollo.”

“Says the big bad wolf,” I mutter before I snatch my hand away.

We walk back to the table.

This time not touching, not speaking.

“Lucas.” Graham extends his hand to shake, and Lucas, far from looking aggrieved, stands up and shakes his hand vigorously.

“Graham,” Lucas says with a big conspiratorial grin as if it’s some sort of inside joke that they call each other by their first names.

“Nice to meet you. You’ll have to get used to me occupying Apollo’s time. I haven’t seen her in a long time. We have a lot of catching up to do.”

“Oh hell, no problem. Hell, the picture I posted of y’all on IG already has three thousand likes. That’s just in the last five minutes. I’m about to be the most popular guy at the office.” He laughs his horrible laugh and Graham’s eyes narrow. He doesn’t say anything but turns to face the rest of the table.

“All right, folks, nice to see you,” he says, and with a two-finger salute he turns back to face me.

“See you soon?” he whispers. His eyes are serious. I can see his heart in them, and that is something I’ve never been able to say no to.

“Yes.”

I’m in so much trouble.

“Okay. ‘Night Sunshine.” He nods in relief and leans forward and presses a soft kiss on my cheek.

I watch him stride out of the room like he owns it while the adoring crowd just stares.

I don’t blame them.

He’s glorious.

I watch him until he steps out of the room. The noise level in the room erupts as conversation picks up again.

A lot of people are looking at me, and I know there’ll be a lot of speculation after the display Graham and I just put on.

“Holy shit, Lo.” Lucas puts a hand on my shoulder, and I turn around to face, fully prepared to apologize.

“Lucas, I’m sorry … I know that looked …”

“Oh, come on. I mean, yeah, y’all were standing kind of close. But I mean, he dates beauty queens and actresses and isn’t he with that smoking hot gossip columnist? No one would think he’s interested in dating you,” he says.

“Gee, thanks.”

“No problem,” he says glibly completely missing my sarcasm.

“We need to figure out how to use this connection. Everyone knows my girlfriend is friends with Graham S. Davis. This could be my big break.”

I raise my eyebrows and peer at him.

“What in the world are you talking about, Lucas?”

“He’s about to sign a huge deal, Apollo. If I can reel this in, we’ll be gold. You’ve got to make this happen for me.”

“Lucas, I haven’t seen Graham in five years. I’m not asking him to invest money with you.”

“Why not?” he asks. His shoulders droop, and I feel guilty for saying no.

“Listen, he said he was here for pleasure. I just—”

“It’s cool, Lo.” I cringe at the nickname he’s given me. I hate it. With a passion. My name is only six letters. It’s not hard to pronounce. That he shortens it always felt like everything else with him. Minimum effort.

“I think I’m going to call it a night. I have an early start tomorrow morning.”

Lucas looks relieved before he covers it up with a sympathetic smile.

He’s probably got a hot date when he leaves here.

Asshole.

“Let me call you a car,” he says, and before I can tell him I’m happy to get an Uber, he’s off and running.

As my cab fights its way uptown and Central Park zips by on my right, I stare at Graham’s card and fight with myself.

I may not have been happy with Lucas, but I’m certainly not unhappy with myself. It took me such a long time to start recovering from the blow that Graham dealt my heart. I’m not sure that I’ll ever get over it. It’s safer this way. Less pain.

Even if we didn’t have this mountain of hurt between us, Graham is the biggest celebrity on the planet. The last thing I want is to live my life on display. And Graham couldn’t possibly be happy out of the spotlight. This is what he was born to do.

But, how can I resist what he’s offering? I would love to find a way to have him back in my life if we could just be friends. But I know that’s not possible. Friendship is just the tip of the iceberg of the feelings I have for him.

I don’t know what to do.