I couldn’t get Danny’s words out of my head. Austin called and texted, but I managed to blow him off with excuses about work. I knew Danny had an axe to grind and couldn’t be trusted, but something about what he said pressed my buttons. I had so much riding on this profile, and one wrong move, and it could all come tumbling down.

Could I really rely on Austin? Or would I just be collateral when he moved on to the next thing?

I tried to dig in and write my first draft of the article, but nothing seemed right on the page. I always knew how to frame my pieces, the lens that would reveal my subject in a new and unexpected way. But this time, when it came to Austin, I was stumped. Was he the way the press had always defined him, the sexy bad boy rock star? Or was he the sweet, funny guy I’d seen over the past week? Or was he the person that Danny said he was: an ego-driven asshole who had more women and secrets than he knew what to do with?

Maybe he was all of them at once, but which guy would come through in the end?

I needed to get it right, not just for me but for Austin too. I was hoping that if I turned in something real and in-depth, then Richard would forget about the juicy scandal. Which was probably the problem. I needed to separate myself from Austin and remember some of that journalistic objectivity if I was going to pull this off.

But after a few days of ignoring him and getting absolutely nowhere with my article, I was feeling a little crazy and in my own head. I needed a distraction.

“Let’s go out,” Cassie suggested. She had come over to try some of the new face masks that Grace was experimenting with, and the three of us were hanging out in the living room with oatmeal and avocado on our faces.

“It’s a Wednesday,” I told her.

“So?” she grinned. “I can find a party any day of the week.” She got up off the couch. “Come on,” she begged. “You’ve been a total stress queen the past few days, which is making me tense just being around you. We all need to have a good time.”

I glanced over at Grace, and to my surprise she nodded as well.

“It could be fun,” she said.

“Great.” Cassie didn’t even wait for my response and went right into my room and started pulling clothes from my closet. “Call up Penny,” Cassie called out. “See if her hunky movie star boyfriend can get us into any good clubs.”

---

Twenty minutes later, the three of us were dolled up and waiting at the curb for the car that Penny had sent. I didn’t like using my friend’s boyfriend’s connections, but Cassie had declared this an emergency, and Penny had been more than eager to help.

“What a great idea,” she’d said when I called her. “We’ve been holed up in our hotel room all day.”

She didn’t sound too upset about it, though, and when I heard Jax’s low rumble and Penny’s responding giggle, it wasn’t too hard to figure out exactly what they had been doing. Still, they seemed happy to come out and party with us.

I was glad—not just because I appreciated the distraction, but because I had barely gotten a chance to see Penny since she and Jax returned to New York.

Cassie smoothed down the sparkly mini-skirt she had found in the back of my closet, the one I had always thought was too short on me. Grace’s outfit was less risqué, but she looked fantastic, as well, in a flowy green dress that nicely complimented her red hair. I had stayed in my comfort zone—my favorite skinny jeans and a glittery top that dipped low in the back.

A limo pulled up to the curb, and Penny poked her head out of the sun roof. She was practically glowing, grinning at all of us.

“Ready to party?” she asked, holding up a bottle of champagne.

I loved this side of Penny. For too long she had played it safe—now she was letting loose and having fun. And in doing so, she had nabbed the perfect guy.

“Hell yes!”

We all climbed into the limo where Mr. Movie Star himself, Jax, was sitting. Introductions were made all around, and my friends were pretty good about not being openly star-struck.

“There’s a club in Soho that should be fun,” Jax told us, opening another bottle of champagne.

We all raised our glasses to that. All of us except Grace, who seemed strangely glued to her phone. I moved so I was sitting next to her, and she immediately put her phone away, giving me a smile that was a little too broad.

“Who are you texting?” I asked her.

“No one,” she told me, squirming.

It was unlike Grace to be withholding, but I let it go. Tonight was a chance to relax and let loose. And I was going to take advantage of it.

Once we got to the club, I got a glimpse of what Penny’s new life was like. There was a crowd of paparazzi waiting for us, their flashes going off as we got out of the car.

“Can’t wait to see the headlines tomorrow,” Jax said wryly.

“Hunky movie star juggles half a dozen babes?” Penny offered.

Jax laughed. “Don’t give them any ideas,” he warned.

We all headed into the club. Immediately we were taken to the VIP section, where bottles of champagne were chilling for us. Cassie let out a squeal at the luxury and immediately began pouring glasses for everyone.

“Thank you so much,” she said in a toast to Penny and Jax. “We all needed a night out, and this is better than any of us could imagine.”

“It’s my pleasure.” Jax put his arm around Penny. “Any friends of Penny are friends of mine.”

Britney Spears came on, and all of us let out a cry of excitement.

“Now that’s what I’m talking about!” Cassie pulled us all to our feet and pretty soon we were at the center of the dance floor, shaking our booties to the music.

I was having fun, but I couldn’t stop thinking about Austin. This was his life too—the VIP passes, the backstage access—but he’d walked away. After a few songs, I took a break from the dance floor and headed towards the bar to order myself a martini. I barely even noticed the guy standing next to me until he offered to buy me a drink.

He was cute, in that Wall Street kind of way. Tall with sandy blond hair and blue eyes. Didn’t give off that creepy vibe. All in all, not a bad option. At least, that’s what I would have thought a week ago before Austin James had resurfaced in my life. Now all I could do was compare everyone I met to Austin.

“Thank you, but I’m OK,” I told the stranger.

He took it well and moved aside so I could order. When I turned around with my full drink, intending to head back to the dance floor, I ran right into someone, promptly spilling my drink down the front of their shirt.

“I’m so sorry.” I fumbled with my napkin, blotting at the liquid before I even bothered to look up. “Austin?”

As if I had conjured him with my thoughts, Austin was standing in front of me, wearing my martini.

“What are you doing here?” I blurted out.

“Nice to see you, too,” he told me, taking me by the elbow and leading me through the club. “Grace texted me,” he said as we wove through the crowd.

Of course. That’s why she was being so secretive with her phone. But why had she texted Austin?

He pulled me through a door at the end of the hallway and suddenly we were outside of the club in an alley.

“Why are you avoiding me?” he asked once the noise from the club was cut off by the closed door.

“I’m not avoiding you,” I lied.

He gave me a look.

“I’m sorry.” I slumped back against the wall. “I’ve just got a lot on my mind right now,” I confessed, before realizing that he really didn’t have any reason to be annoyed with me. “But you’re the one who wanted me to leave you alone? Remember what happened at the cabin at breakfast?”

“I just didn’t want you manhandling me in front of your brother,” Austin argued.

I couldn’t help laughing. “I was hardly manhandling you,” I said.

“Oh no?” Austin folded his arms across his chest. “I’m pretty sure your hand was literally inching towards my manhood under the table.”

I snorted. “Your manhood?”

Austin grinned. “You know what I mean.”

I bit my lip. This was supposed to be a serious conversation.

“I thought you needed your space too,” I told him. “I thought you felt this whole thing was a mistake.”

Austin took a step towards me. My back was against the brick wall so I couldn’t go anywhere. Not that I wanted to. In fact, my heartbeat sped up as he came closer, my skin getting hot.

“It is a mistake,” Austin agreed, his gaze fixed on mine. “Logically I know that. It’s a bad idea for us to get involved—not just because of your brother, but because of your job. But even when I tell myself all the reasons I should stay away, I can’t stop thinking about you.”

I lost my breath at that. Because it was exactly how I felt.

“What does that mean?”

Austin shrugged. “Hell if I know. I don’t even know what this is,” he said, stroking my cheek. “All I know is that there are a million reasons we should stay away from each other and one reason that we shouldn’t.”

“What’s the one reason?” I asked, my voice low and husky.

Austin cupped my face and lowered his lips to mine.

It was a kiss unlike any of the others we had shared. This one was slow and sweet. Austin took his time kissing me, his tongue sliding across the seam of my lips as he tasted me. Ravished me with his mouth. I was grateful for the brick wall behind me because I would have melted into a puddle on the floor without the support. My knees were like jello by the time Austin pulled away.

He touched my cheek.

“Want to get out of here?”