ALEXANDRA was steaming. Bursting through the door of Dad’s house, she took some satisfaction from slamming it behind her. The noise echoed through the emptiness, making quite the racket.

“Damn it, damn it, damn it!”

She stomped past the mirror in the hallway and looked at herself. Her face was flush and her eyebrows furrowed from the mental exertion of wrestling a crazy jumble of thoughts and emotions that made absolutely no sense anymore. She clenched her eyes shut, picturing the vixen at the construction company office with her mid-level salon hair and breast implants.

She is Bash’s ex-girlfriend?

Why am I angry?

A small voice in the back of her mind answered. Alexandra was falling for him. Sebastian Sullivan was now in a league with the most conniving, most infuriating men she knew, except he was also the sweetest, sexiest, funniest guy she had gotten to know too. There really was nothing bad she could say about him. She was the problem. She was flat out wrong.

It’s not like he tricked me.

Shit, I’m still mad as hell.

She tried to convince herself that the most infuriating part was she had been so close to telling him who she was.

She sucked in a miserable breath. That wasn’t true. She wanted to tell him, but had caved every time. She sat on the bottom step, running an anxious hand through her hair.

This is all on me.

Looking back now, she realized she had probably ignored all the hints from Dad and Rosa that Bash was straight, simply because it was convenient. It fit better into her situation. She saw it clearly—she had projected what she wanted onto the situation. Bash wasn’t remotely interested in Alex. He was just a nice, friendly next-door neighbor, and comfortable enough in his manhood to hang out with Alex Roberts.

I’m the fraudulent one.

I should be mad at myself.

The anger turned quickly to embarrassment. One thing was clear—Sebastian Sullivan wasn’t gay. Now she needed to think about how best to move forward. The simplest next step would have been to confess who she was right now, and hope he understood her reasons. She also considered waiting for Eva to show up for emotional support.

Either way, he might think I was playing him for a fool.

Groaning with angst, she got to her feet and began to pace the hallway. The image of Bash’s ex-girlfriend played on her mind, and a third option surfaced.

I might as well keep up the Alex Roberts act.

I’m not his type anyway. I’m nothing like Aileen.

For a moment, it felt like the best option, and all Bash would know after she left for LA was that Alex Roberts went back home to his boring job as a bartender.

I can disappear into obscurity and forget this craziness ever happened.

Thinking honestly, that wasn’t what she wanted. Bash had become a friend, in a murky, complicated, unusual way. The problem was still how to come clean. It was bound to squeeze the life out of that very friendship.

How can I expect him to feel anything but contempt for me after this?

* * *

Alexandra fired off a text when she returned to Bash’s place and got up to the guestroom.

‘The plan is off, Eva. We’re not telling Bash about my real identity.’

She sat cross-legged on the bed with her laptop, grimly pulling up her flight plans. There was no point making an appearance as Lexxi anymore. She could keep her original flight back to LA and forget about the chaos of the past month.

Bash called through the door before Eva answered her text. “Alex? A courier just dropped off a package for you.”

Crap. My wig.

She jumped to her feet, crossing the room to fling the door open.

“Thanks!” she said to him, pulling the box from his hands.

“You don’t have to stay cooped up in here, you know?”

“Yes, I know that,” she said with a curt tone. “I’m just organizing a few things.”

“Got it.” Bash took a step back. “Did I do something to tick you off, bro?”

Before she could answer, her phone buzzed. Both of their gazes darted back to her smartphone on the edge of the bed. She grimaced, hoping Bash couldn’t see Eva’s face and phone number light up the screen. She rushed over to the phone and flipped the screen off.

“Oh, is it your harassing ex who’s killing your mood?” Bash asked, still gesturing to the phone.

“Sure,” she answered. Wilkes came to mind at first, and then the unforgettable image of Aileen plastered all over Bash snuck back in.

“Well, none of us can change the past,” he said. “The upside is, you can choose who you keep in your life and who you let go.”

What if I don’t want to let you go?

Bash shut the guestroom door behind him, and Alexandra grabbed her phone to call back Eva before her chaotic shooting schedule pulled her away again. She hit redial and pressed it to her ear, feeling regretful.

“What do you mean we’re not telling him,” Eva said as soon as she answered. “I’m already in—”

“Thank goodness you called me back right away. I was worried I’d have to text it all out to you.”

“Text what to me? What happened?”

“Ugh! Where do I start? Let’s just say I got solid evidence today that Bash is definitely not gay, and Lexxi Rock isn’t remotely his type. He likes his women blonde and buxom with large breasts.”

Her best friend gave her a tawdry whistle. “Blonde with big boobs? Not a bad combination, but who cares what she looks like? They aren’t together, are they?”

“No.”

“That’s what matters. Lexxi, darling, just start from the beginning and tell me everything.”

Alexandra relayed the story of running into Aileen, and concluded with, “So, you don’t have to come out here anymore, Eva. I’ll be back in LA before you make the trip. Plus, there’s no point in telling him now. I’ll only look like an idiot, especially since he knows I thought he was gay.”

“Wait, he knows you thought he was gay? Lexxi, do you get what that means?”

“What?”

“Well on top of sounding utterly crazy, it means all this time, Sebastian has been trying to clue you in. He already knows you’re a woman!” she said excitedly.

Alexandra clutched the phone to her ear, trying to piece it together in her head, but not following at all. “Eva, what in the hell are you talking about? What does his knowing I thought he was gay have to do with that?”

Eva let out a long breath. “Isn’t it obvious? You told me that since you’ve been back home, Bash has been extra-chummy, extra-touchy feely and extra-available, right?”

“Yes. So what?”

“Well, what straight man would act that way with another guy?”

“Um.”

“No straight man would do that, Lex. A straight man would make a point of keeping another guy at arm’s length. He had to have known you’re female Lex!”

Eva’s enthusiasm wasn’t rubbing off on Alexandra. She immediately tried to protest, but Eva’s reasoning made sense.

“Crap. Why wouldn’t he just say he knew?”

“Maybe he was being polite. The same way you were, by not just coming out and asking him if he was gay. I swear, people tiptoe around each other too much these days. I blame it on political correctness.”

“Hold on,” Alexandra said, processing all the times Bash made more intimate advances over the past month. “Holy crap. It wasn’t my imagination…Oh my God, you could be right!”

“Of course I’m right.”

“So… what should I do? How should I handle this, Eva? By the way, I should mention that his ex-girlfriend slipped him her phone number before we left the office.”

“So what?”

“You’re the only person I’ll admit this in front of, but I wanted to snap her stilettos and push her down a flight of stairs, preferably face first.”

“That sounds like something I would do, darling.”

“Ugh. I don’t even think he was interested in her. My gut instincts just kicked in.”

Eva chimed with laughter. “Darling, since you’ve already scoped out the competition, you know exactly where you stand. I think it’s the perfect time to let the rock star out of the bag.”

“There’s just one problem. I don’t look anything like the real Lexxi Rock anymore. No super-long purple hair, no tres chic designer wardrobe, not a hint of the old it-factor. I look like Alex Roberts.”

“Who cares? I’ve been thinking about this, Lexxi, and I’ve come to the conclusion you’ve got too many different people to be. Just be yourself. Remember when I used to work at the lounge you sang at back in college? You were a nobody, love. We both were absolute clichés. You were the chick with the guitar and I was the overly dramatic, underfed girl. It’s not Lexxi who’s a star. She’s just an image for the stage. It’s you, woman. It’s time you start being yourself again.”

Alexandra barely heard a word Eva said. Her eyes were fixated on the couriered box that Bash had just delivered to her room.

“Are you listening to me?”

“Yes. Okay maybe I was a bit distracted. Tell me again.”

“Jeez, Lex. Just go to him and tell him who you are.”

All the nervousness spread through Alexandra’s body again. “Are you suggesting I walk downstairs and tell him to his face that I’m Lexxi Rock…like right now?” She stared at the door and shook her head. “I can’t do that, Eva.”

There was a pause on the other end of the line. “I figured you would say that. Well don’t worry, Lex. Your bestie can save you. Personally, I have no qualms about telling him to his face for you.”

Alexandra giggled. Eva sounded determined. “No, no, this is crazy. Look, I’ve already made up my mind. Bash might or might not have figured out I’m a woman, but knowing he’s straight makes the situation a whole lot messier. Suppose you’re right, and he’s attracted to me. Do you even remember the horrible track record I have with men? This is bound to end badly.”

“How would you know that? You haven’t given him a chance.”

“Well, I lied to him for a month, for starters. Even if he got past that, he lives here in Tucson, and I live in LA…and what about when I get back there and things get busy with performing and recording and tours? It could never work. It was a great fantasy, Eva, but the best thing for me to do is stick to my guns.”

“Too late for that, darling.”

“The hell it is.”

“Will you listen to yourself, Lex? You’ve written him off before you even try. Besides, my plane already touched down, Lexxi. Surprise!”

“What? You’re in Tucson?”

“I am, love. I’m sitting in this limo, waiting for you to stop the craziness so you can give me that address again.”

The phone slipped from her hand and fell to the floor with a thump.

She shouted, “Eva Reese is in Tucson? I’m not ready! Arizona is not ready!”