It was like a kick to the solar plexus.

Gina scrolled through her notifications and stopped on a picture of Rory and Wendy on the pier eating cotton candy off the same paper cone.

She continued to scroll through the images, each one making her stomach turn just a little more than the one prior until she froze on a picture of Rory kissing Wendy on the cheek.

Thank God it wasn’t on the lips, but what difference did it make? She had tried denying how much she’d fallen for Rory but now there was no hiding. Her stomach flipping upside down spoke to her, telling her in no uncertain terms that she had been only lying to herself. It also told her that it didn’t matter anymore.

The publicity was doing its job, and there was no way Ava was going to allow them to reverse course.

Maybe Rory would make it easier on her by falling in love with Wendy. That’s the last thing she wanted to see, but if it were only her wanting him instead of a mutual attraction, it would have been an easier pill to swallow.

They certainly looked like they could fit together, Rory and Wendy. She was smart, talented, and beautiful. A perfect damn fit. She was also a singer and a musician and she could more easily understand his struggles.

Jesus Christ. Gina cursed herself under her breath as she climbed to her feet to step to the minibar. She dropped a few ice cubes into a rum glass and then filled it to the top with whiskey, which was so not her drink but the occasion called for something strong.

She swished the drink around, the ice clinking against the interior walls of the glass and took a swig. The liquor burned against the back of her throat as her mind went racing back to the photos of Rory and Wendy. She hated that she couldn’t get him out of her head, and hated herself even more for feeling the way she did. Even though she knew, most likely, that Rory’s date with Wendy was nothing more than a sham, she couldn’t help but to be jealous.

A knock on the door stole her attention. Though she had no idea who was waiting for her on the other side, she figured she wasn’t quite in the mood to deal with whatever bullshit was waiting for her.

She finished the rest of the glass, dropped it into the sink, and then stepped to the door to pull it open without peeking through the hole to see who was on the other side.

Bug stood there brandishing a bottle of wine in her hand. “My sixth sense was telling me that you were in serious need of some wine.”

“Your sixth sense was onto something.” Gina reached for the bottle and gestured for Bug to enter with her free hand. Once her friend was inside the room, she closed the door behind her.

Cheri reached up to grab a wine opener from the rack hanging above the minibar. She immediately got to work twisting the sharp metal edge into the cork while glancing over her shoulder to question Gina, “So what exactly is making my sixth sense tingle?”

“I’m not sure you’re going to want to know.” Gina scratched nervously at the back of her neck and waited for Bug to pass her a glass of wine before shifting backward to take a seat off the edge of the bed. “I’m not even sure I like knowing.”

“Okay, you’re being cryptic.” Bug spun around with wine in her hand. “And I hate when you’re being cryptic, so I’m going to need you to confess.” She dropped down onto the bed beside Gina and shrugged. “Also, I have a hot date night with Dev in about forty minutes so I can’t stay for too long.”

Gina thought about lying to her best friend, but the jumbled truth was already making its way up her throat. “It’s about your brother,” she blurted out and immediately squinted her eyes closed.

When she found the strength to open them again, she found her best friend’s gaze fixed right on her, her mouth open.

“Shut up.”

“I’m sorry.” Gina winced again, and then bowed over to take a long sip of wine. There was a cloud of shame hanging over her head.

“You know…” Bug said softly, “I could see it.”

“Oh my God.” Gina set her drink down onto the nightstand and jumped to her feet. “I’ve really dug myself a hole I’m not sure I’m going to be able to dig my way out of.”

Cheri exhaled, swished the wine in her glass and took a sip before rising to her feet. She stepped to the sink and set her glass next to the empty rum glass. “How far along are you?”

“Huh?”

Cheri moved to face Gina and braced herself against the edge of the minibar. “How far along are you in your pregnancy with my brother’s child?”

“What?” Gina stammered, chuckled a little and shook her head. “Do you think I’d be drinking whiskey and wine if I were pregnant?”

“Right. Jesus, thank god.” Bug grimaced and shrugged. “Okay, then what are you trying to say?”

“I’m trying to say that I think I’m falling for your brother. And I know that’s stupid and it’s weird, but it is what it is. And we’ve hooked up a couple times now, which I know is way too much information. And now he’s on these dates with all these women I set him up with and I’m getting all…jealous about it, but I can’t bring myself to say anything to him and life just sucks, if I’m being honest.”

Cheri arched one brow. “Are you done yet?”

“Yeah.” Gina exhaled and dropped back down onto the mattress. “I think that about covers everything I needed to say.”

“I’m not going to judge you.” Bug began to pace back and forth with her hands planted on her hips. “You’re my best friend and I would never do that.”

“Could you stop pacing? You’re making me nervous.”

Bug nodded and came to a stop in front of Gina. “Look, I don’t need to know the specifics right now because I don’t have a lot of time, but here’s what I’m going to tell you. Plenty of famous men in this industry have girlfriends and it doesn’t hinder their success.”

She exhaled and took a moment to catch her breath, all the while Gina remained silent, contemplating what her best friend was telling her.

“At the end of the day, should Rory want a girlfriend or something more, it should be his choice and not Ava’s or the record company’s, for that matter.” She reached over and placed her palm on Gina’s thigh to comfort her. “You just need to talk to Rory about all this.”

“That’s the problem,” Gina sighed. “I don’t know where to begin.”

“You should start by asking him what he wants, and make sure he’s honest with you. All this attention and all the fake dates and such? He’s doing it, but it’s not him. You have to remember that I’ve known him longer than anyone in this world, so I feel like I’m an authority figure on who Rory really is. And if you’re feeling something for him, trust that instinct.”

“It’s just stupid,” Gina exclaimed. “I just feel like asking him to choose would be so wrong. Like, if I ask him to choose me, then he’s choosing me over the band. I don’t want him to ever feel that way, you know?”

“I think you have a lot of thinking to do.” Bug joined Gina at her side and embraced her in a tight bear hug. “I need to get back to my room to get ready for my date night, but just promise me that you’ll say something and talk it through. It’s only fair that he knows how you feel so he can decide what he wants to do, don’t you think?”

“Yeah,” Gina said, lying through her teeth. She couldn’t bear to tell her best friend that she was basically going to ignore her advice. That she couldn’t broach the subject with Rory, because, ultimately, the guilt would eat away at her and ruin everything good between them.

“Good luck.” Bug nodded, stepping back toward the door. “I’ll be in touch with you later.” She twisted the doorknob and pulled it open. “Love you, girl.”

“Love you too.”

Gina watched as the door shut, and once it did, she closed her eyes and threw herself face first onto the bed. She wanted to scream, and thank God the mattress muffled her cries because she let out all her frustrations…

Only to hear another knock on the door. She rolled her eyes and shifted against the mattress so that her cheek was pressed against cool sheets.

Each pound of a fist against the door was harder and louder than the one before. She finally relented, jumped to her feet, raced to the door and ripped it open.

She frowned when she saw him standing there.

Rory Galveston.

“What are you doing here?”

He cocked his head and brushed past her.

She pushed the door closed. “How was your date?”

“Shitty. They’ve all been shitty, and I don’t give a fuck about any of this,” he ground out, pivoting to face her head on. “I don’t give a fuck about Carlene or Star, or Wendy.”

“That’s interesting.” Gina squared her shoulders, preparing herself for battle. “You two looked quite happy on the pier earlier.” She bowed her head sheepishly. “Your photos are all over the internet.”

“That’s exactly what I’m talking about.” He pointed an accusing finger at her. “That’s the bullshit I’m talking about. That’s what I was supposed to do, right? I was supposed to go out there on that pier today and pretend, right?”

“Right.”

“Well, I’m done pretending.” He took a measured step toward her, his stride so long that he practically reached her in one stride. “Everything on that pier with Wendy was faked, because it’s what you asked me to do, but I’m done.”

“Done with what?” Gina said, her throat drying in an instant while her heart pounded against her ribs. It was like all the air was being drained out of the room and she was left to suffocate under the pressure of Rory’s presence.

“I’m done being a fucking puppet.”