My memory of the Flynn incident swung back and forth like a heavy pendulum of guilt and pride.

On one side, I was devastated that I had let myself be drawn in by such a cheap ploy. I thought I was smarter than that.

But on the other I could still feel the aftershocks from my climax.

Was I really just a naïve girl who let a manipulating bastard take advantage of her?

I was a free, adult woman who took her pleasure when the opportunity arose.

It was enough to give me a headache.

The one thing I couldn’t do was let myself think about the look I’d seen in Flynn’s eyes—that one brief flicker of something I’d thought was real. I didn’t know if there had been any real emotion there or not, but whatever it had been, he’d buried it deep and I wasn’t going to try to dig it out, no matter how good the sex had been.

The worst part was that I lied to Kendra that evening when I handed her the money.

“You sold a treatment for a new show? That is so great! I’m so proud of you.” She threw her arms around me.

“It’s not really a big deal. I managed to do my job,” I said, grateful she couldn’t see my face.

“It’s going to be a hit, I know it. What’s it about?” She released me, still beaming from ear to ear.

“A romantic comedy?” It came out like a question.

“You’re not sure?” Kendra asked, confused.

I sighed. “Because it’s not the truth. I lied.”

I collapsed against our kitchen counter. Kendra leaned against the opposite side and crossed her arms, the expression on her face saying she was waiting for an explanation.

I still couldn’t tell her the truth. “It was just the script for a commercial. Not even a good commercial. One of those awful acne cream ads where all the people talk about ugly ducklings and other fairytale bullshit.”

“Oh, who cares, Gabs.” She rolled her eyes. “You’re doing what you love and you’re making it work. We can pay rent!”

“And buy groceries,” I added.

More than the lie, I felt what Kendra said get under my skin.

She was proud of me for doing what I loved. Except I hadn’t done any of it.

“Yay to groceries,” I said, forcing myself to smile. “I’m going to splurge...I’m getting ice cream.”

* * *

I didn’t sleep worth crap. It wasn’t until the cool, quiet hours of early morning that I understood why I was so uneasy.

Kendra had been so excited for me because she thought I was making money doing something I loved.

Instead, I’d taken off my clothes, had some pictures taken, then had sex with a man who’d set my body on fire. That wasn’t what had me crashing though.

It was the look on his face after.

I should have stayed.

I should have pushed him, fought with him. Something.

Instead, I’d let the hurt inside me win.

I’d given up. Even though I felt something between us, I’d given up.

I thought about the look I’d seen in his eyes. The entire reason I’d let him pull me down to the floor when the voice of reason had told me to pull away. That intense, strange expression on his face as though he had no idea who I was or what he was doing there. It was as though he had been seeing me for the first time.

But when he’d freaked out, what had I done?

“I ran,” I muttered.

Here I was, still stuck in my dead-end job, not doing much of anything that I’d dreamed about. Then I end up having the kind of sex girls only can dream of and when it went to shit, did I do anything to find out why? No. I fucking ran.

It was like I was just giving up on everything I’d always expected to find in my life.

I was wallowing on the couch when Kendra burst through the door with a bag of colorful ribbons and tissue paper. My eyebrows shot up. It was a rare day when she was up before me, and an even rarer one when her chestnut brown curls weren’t perfectly styled, but rather pulled back into a sloppy ponytail.

“My cousin’s son turns two next week. Look! I got him finger paint.”

I stared at the bright colors. The red, the blue, the orange…

“I lied!”

For a moment, Kendra just looked at me. Then she put the gift and trimmings down and went into the kitchen. I stayed where I was. After all, in the studio apartment we shared, the kitchen was just on the other side of the big, open room. Hugging my knees to my chest, I watched her.

Dramatic confessions were nothing new here.

We both had a penchant for drama. It was just my turn this time.

“So. Details,” she said calmly.

“I did the whole hand modeling gig. That much was real,” I said. “And I knew he probably flirted with everyone. It just felt good.”

“It’s okay to flirt and it’s even okay to have sex. You’re both consenting adults. Don’t be so hard on yourself, Gabriella.” Kendra smiled at me as she pulled two cups down out of the cabinet.

“Yeah, but I let him pay me to take naked photographs!” My face flamed at the admission.

She didn’t even blink. “For Bouvier. If anything, you could make a career out of it. I told you, you’re beautiful. It’s possible you could hit it in modeling and if anybody can make it happen, it’s Flynn McCreary.”

“He didn’t believe I would do it,” I said sheepishly. “You know how I like a dare. And then he brought out body paint and, I don’t know, it just escalated from there.”

“And there’s nothing wrong with that,” Kendra said and then shook her head. “You’re not going to forgive yourself, are you?”

“For doing exactly what I judged other women for doing? Nope.”

“I’m so sorry, Gabs. I keep putting you in these awful situations,” Kendra said, pouring two cups of hot water and adding in tea bags.

I continued with my confession. “And then when I lied, you were so proud of me for my writing and I realized I was ignoring what I really want out of life. I mean…there’s the writing, which is going to shit. And there’s my love life…which doesn’t exist.”

Sighing, I braced my elbow on the back of the couch and stared outside. “I don’t want sexy little flings, no matter how blue the man’s eyes are. I want love, the whole romance and flowers and everything kind of love. Ugh. I’m so naïve!”

“It’s not naïve.” Kendra came down and sat beside me. Shoulder-bumping me, she said, “Love’s kind of the thing. We all want it. I’d even be willing to bet asshats like Flynn want love. They just don’t know how to get it. And that’s the difference. You do and you can.”

“Yeah?” I glowered into my tea cup. “Then where’s my Prince Charming?”

“Still waiting for you to find him, Cinderella.” She grinned at me. “Come on. You need to cheer up. There’s this party—”

I stopped her. “This sounds familiar. A lot like the last time where I came out with a hand modeling job at the studio of sin.”

“Yeah, it is an industry party.” She laughed. “They’re celebrating all the up-and-comers.”

“You mean you?” I asked.

“Well, yes.” She glowed. “Apparently, I’m finally an up-and-comer. Open bar, free food.”

“More like all I can eat because other models only peck at it.”

She grinned. “That’s my Gabs! Come on, it’ll be fun.”

My stomach twisted as something occurred to me. “What if he’s there?”

“No chance,” Kendra said. “Word has it he’s off to Europe. I heard the project director for the swimwear line complaining about how much he can get away with just because he’s Flynn McCreary.”

“Then count me in,” I said.

* * *

I was glad I’d agreed.

I’d never been to this sort of party before.

It was the kind people could see from miles away, thanks to laser light shows and the spotlights bursting from neighboring buildings.

Then there was a red carpet. An actual red carpet. Kendra’s agent had sent over a gigantic SUV with silver spinning rims and when it pulled up to the velvet ropes, Kendra grabbed my hand and pulled me out. I had no choice but to follow her down that red carpet, trying not to look too dazzled…and trying not to fall or stumble too much in the extra-high heels she’d loaned me.

Inside, still blinking from all the flashbulbs, I was left alone as Kendra was swept away by a flock of reed-thin models. I managed to snag a glass of champagne from a passing waiter and tell myself that I loved to play the part of the mysterious outsider. I was just working up a back-story for my fashion correspondent turned film producer when I was interrupted.

“I saw you on the red carpet with Kendra Facet, didn’t I?”

I started to turn with a snarky comment since I was sure I was about to be asked to be a go-between. Ice blue eyes looked down on me from a handsome, chiseled face and I swallowed the snark.

“Yes, she’s my roommate. She invited me. I’m not just making that up.” I had the feeling I was starting to babble.

He laughed, the sound warm and inviting. He was tall, easily six-three, six-four, and dressed in a conservative, yet expensive suit. As good-looking as he was, he didn’t look like a model or have the searching look of an agent finding an angle. That meant he was probably one of the countless executives that kept the fashion industry in the billions of dollars.

“My name’s Edward.” He held out his hand.

“Nice to meet you. I’m Gabriella.” I took it, smiling at the little tingle of warmth that went through me.

“Kendra’s roommate.”

“That’s me,” I said.

He smiled again and sipped his drink though I could see his eyes traveling down the outfit Kendra had carefully chosen. It was one of the few things of hers that could actually fit me, though I filled it out quite a bit more than she did.

I waited, assuming he was trying to find a way to bring up Kendra again. I would’ve done it myself just to get it over with, but here he was, speaking to me and I wasn’t certain I wanted to end that just yet—then I’d go back to playing the mysterious outsider.

“You come here often?” I asked.

He laughed, that deep sensual sound, and I felt it tangle in my stomach. Wow. That was some laugh.

“Yes, actually. It’s kind of a family obligation.” He looked down at me and I saw something in those blue eyes shift, as if making some sort of internal decision. “Would you like to dance, Gabriella?”

We passed our glasses off onto a passing server and moved onto the dance floor. Each step, each moment erased the Flynn incident a little more. Edward made comments about people I pointed out, never anything rude but always interesting. As people came up and tried to interrupt us, he introduced me and then waved them away, keeping his arms loosely around me the entire time.

He was something straight out of a fairytale. It was like I’d kissed the toad and here I was with Prince Charming. It was easier to believe in things like love…or at least romance again.

After a couple songs, he leaned over my hand and kissed the back of it. The feel of his lips on the back of my hand had warmth racing through me and I fought a dopey sigh.

“I apologize, Gabriella, but if I don’t mingle, people will start to talk.”

He winked at me and waited for me to let him go. I did so with a smile then watched as model after model deliberately threw herself in his path. When he walked up to Kendra, my smile faded and I told myself that was it. He had finally found the one he’d been looking for, and I’d be forgotten, just another dance. Then Kendra’s eyes caught mine and she smiled. They leaned towards each other and looked at me as they spoke. My stomach flipped. They were talking about me.

As the night waned on, I heard his name brought up over and over.

“He was just featured on the Forbes list again,” an agent said—I knew her vaguely. She’d tried to approach Kendra and when she saw me, she turned her back.

“Too bad he’s never listed as a most-eligible bachelor,” her friend added.

I covertly studied him and because I was doing so, it wasn’t hard to notice that I wasn’t the only one. A couple of Kendra’s friends, somebody I suspected was another agent, a few more models.

I tried not to listen to the idle gossip and add to it my own ideas. I heard nothing but gossip and when I finally caught up with Kendra, she didn’t know who he was, either. Then again, she was drunk enough I was surprised she remembered who I was.

The one thing I did know was that everywhere I went, his eyes always seemed to find me. Once or twice we’d raised our glasses and smiled, but he kept his distance.

At the end of the night, or more accurately, early morning, I was following Kendra into the town car when she mentioned him.

“He likes you.”

“What?” I half fell attempting to get her into the car without falling. Once she collapsed inside, I paused outside the door to take off my—her—shoes.

“The gorgeous tall guy. The one you danced with. He couldn’t take his eyes off you.”

“Did too many glasses of wine turn you into a ten year old? Is this elementary school?” I asked, rolling my eyes. Kendra was always silly when she got drunk.

“No, I’m serious. He came right up and knew we were roommates and he wanted to know if you were single.”

“Did you tell him I’m out with a new man every night?” I kept up the false humor. I didn’t know how much of what she was saying was true or how much she’d remember. “I have a very busy, very elite and exclusive waiting list, you know. Maybe I can fit him into my calendar in a decade or so from now. I’ll have my people call his people.”

She laugh-giggle-snorted and spoke with the cheer of the very drunk. “Told him you were single, but picky. Lived like a nun… mostly.” She snickered. “You weren’t a nun last week.”

Her head fell back, eyes drooping. For a second, I thought she’d fallen asleep, but then she cracked one eye open. “Oh. He’s…I remember now. I’ve seen him before. He’s…”

I caught movement out of the corner of my eye and my heart gave a funny little skip. “…Right behind me.”

Edward grinned apologetically. “I didn’t mean to sneak up on you like that, I just wanted to make sure I caught you before you left.”

“Um, thanks. Have a good night.” I realized I sounded rude, but I had no idea what to say. It was his fault for catching me off guard. I was a writer, not into improv. I needed time to edit or I said stupid shit. Case in point.

“See, I told you!” Kendra called from the interior of the SUV. “She’s picky!”

I shot her a glare even though she couldn’t see me. “Ignore her, please.”

He held out his hand. A small crowd of party guests went by and called out goodbyes to him, but he just waved without taking his eyes off me. Nervously, feeling silly as I stood there holding my borrowed shoes, I went to step off the curb and then stopped, stepping back into them. I wobbled a bit and he was there to steady me.

“It always amazes me how women can make it look so easy to walk in those things.”

I shot him a look. “You clearly haven’t seen me walking then.”

“Oh, I have.” He smiled slowly. “I’m still amazed.”

Still holding onto my hand, he led me to the other side of the car and opened the door, helping me inside. He didn’t let go. Kendra’s eyes drifted closed and I sat there, not knowing what to do, sure I would screw everything up at any moment.

“I can’t let you leave without you giving me your number.” He finally released my hand, but he didn’t close the door.

“Really?” I asked.

“Please.” He gave me another charming smile. “I’ll call tomorrow.”