I saw Eve sitting on the counter as Brett and I made our way into Max’s kitchen.

There was an extra glass of wine right next to her that she handed to me and said, “Cheers, bitch.”

“Cheers,” I responded. I snaked my arms around her neck, pulling her in for the tightest hug. As I released her, I saw the guys do their kind of hug, and then Brett grabbed a beer out of the fridge.

“I’ve been told I can’t talk about Sophia,” Eve said, rolling her eyes so hard. “So, this is me not talking about her.” She took a sip of her wine. “Can you believe my fucking boyfriend represents the enemy? Okay, now, I’m really not talking about her.”

I looked at Brett and laughed as we’d just had this conversation during our drive over here. He’d told me not to bring up Sophia. I hadn’t planned to, but I knew, if Max had told Eve, it would be impossible for her not to mention Sophia.

And I was right.

“Told ya,” I said to Brett.

“Eve,” Max warned, “you know how I feel about this.”

“I know,” she said. “I just had to mention it, babe. Now, it’s out of my system, and we can move on.”

“You sure you’re done?” he asked her.

She held her glass to her lips again and took a large gulp. “Mmhmm.”

Eve had just gotten into town this morning and come straight to Max’s place where she’d be for the next week. I knew I’d see her the whole time she was here, so I wasn’t bummed that she was staying with him. Besides, I was basically living at Brett’s anyway. I hadn’t moved any of my things in, but given that I only lived a few floors down, it wasn’t hard to pop by my place for a change of clothes.

Since her first visit, she’d been shipping me outfits to wear for all my events. Now that she was in Miami, she could stock me up. My calendar was getting extremely busy, and I really needed something amazing to wear to The Agency’s sixth-anniversary party that was going to be in a few days. Max had asked Eve to be his date, which was another reason she had flown in.

As for Brett and me, no one at the party would know we were together. They couldn’t. It wasn’t the right time for that. If the media found out we were dating, they’d say the most awful things about me. So, like any other night we were out in public, Brett and I would just be agent and actress.

Regardless, I wanted to look my best for him.

I went over to the island and rested my elbows on top of it. “What are you making?” I asked Max.

“It’s always Italian when Max cooks,” Brett said.

“And it’s delicious,” Eve added.

She’d told me he had cooked for her during the time he stayed with her in LA.

“We’ve got about five minutes until it’s ready,” Max said. “How about you take James out back, so Brett and I can talk a little business?”

Eve slid off the counter. She looped her arm through mine and brought me out the sliding glass door. There was a massive patio with a fireplace and several seating areas. His pool was a giant rectangle where the water ran off the edge, and directly beyond it was the ocean.

It was the most beautiful view.

Eve was right next to me as I stood on the bank, looking at the houses across the way and at the open water. A few boats were passing through, and some of the people waved.

“It’s so peaceful here,” I said.

“You have no idea. I went swimming today and fell asleep in the pool.” She tugged down the shoulder of her shirt to show me how red she was. “You know this is what we’re going to be doing every day I’m here, so get ready for some major relaxation.”

I smiled at her from the corner of my eye. “Don’t think you’re getting off from styling me. I need tons of new stuff.”

“I have fifteen outfits for you upstairs, and another ten are getting delivered tomorrow. We’ll have a fashion show when you come over for lunch.”

“You got all of that already?”

She nodded and did a little dance in her heels. “Wait until you see the dress I picked out for you for The Agency party. Brett is going to diiie when he sees you. We’re not going to have him approve it; you’re just going to show up, wearing it, and he’s going to take you in the restroom and fuck your brains out.”

“He’ll be pissed if he doesn’t see the dress first.”

“Trust me, he’s going to have plenty of other things on his mind, so he won’t even remember that he hasn’t approved it.”

I took a drink from my wine. “Has the party been stressful to plan?”

I was surprised I didn’t know what Eve was talking about, and I wondered what else was on his mind. Brett didn’t talk business a lot, mostly because any communication with his clients was confidential. But he did mention things about The Agency in general, like how well his team was producing and how quickly they were growing and how they needed to hire more support staff.

“The guys aren’t planning the party. Some big-time Miami party planner is doing all the work. I’m talking about the guest list.”

“What do you mean?”

She turned toward me and stared into my eyes, searching them like she was looking for something. And then, almost immediately, an expression of shock covered her face. “Oh my God, you don’t know.”

“Know what?”

“Brett is going to murder me.”

“Why?”

“No, Brett won’t have a chance to murder me because Max is going to kill me first.”

I set my wine on the ground and put my hands on her shoulders to stop her from moving. “What the hell are you talking about?”

She shook her head, her mouth finally opening. “I don’t know how to tell you this, so I’m just going to come out and say it.”

“Okay.”

“James, I’m so sorry.”

I held her tighter. “Eve, you’re dragging this out, and it’s making me nervous.”

“That’s because I have to tell you something I really don’t want to, and I wanted to hurt someone when I found out myself.”

“Say it already.”

“Sophia and Abel are coming to the party.”

She’d blurted it out so fast, I wasn’t sure I’d heard her correctly.

“What?”

“Yeah, I know. And, now, you know why I was so pissed when I found out. I mean, it’s one thing to represent the enemy. But to invite her to a party that you’re going to be at? That’s just shitty. He told me they couldn’t not invite her. It would be crappy from a professional standpoint, but…”

I stopped listening to what she was saying and tried to process what it would feel like when I saw Abel and Sophia in Miami.

Florida had become my safe place. It was where I could be myself and not hide. It was where I felt most comfortable, and now, that was going to be taken away from me.

By two people who had hurt me so much.

“I think I’m going to be sick.”

“No, you’re not,” she said, putting her arm around my shoulders and leading me toward one of the couches on the other side of the patio. When we reached it, she sat us both in the middle. “Listen to me, you’re going to put on the sexy dress I got for you, and you’re going to walk into that party like you’re the hottest, most successful actress in the room. No matter how those two dickheads look, no matter what they say to you, no matter how much you hate them, you’re not going to let them get to you.” I tried to say something, but she cut me off, “Remember, if you show them how much they affect you, then they win. We will not let that happen.”

“I’m definitely going to be sick.”

“You’re already letting them win, James.”

I faced her, crossing my legs over the cushions, rubbing my hands on my knees to get rid of the sweat. “Eve, you have no idea how hard it was to see Sophia at that restaurant in LA.”

“Because of Abel?”

“No. It’s not even about him. I don’t care that she has him. I’m not in love with him anymore. It’s all the things she said to me that day in their house. She made me feel like I was the worst person in the world, and I can’t seem to let that go.”

She grabbed my hand and held it between hers. “What can I do?”

“Maybe I just won’t go.”

“You’re going. Don’t even say that.”

“Ladies,” Max said from the doorway, “dinner is ready.”

Eve’s eyes moved from him to me. “Fuck, you’re going to say something, aren’t you?” She put her other hand on my cheek. “You can’t hide it. It’s all over your face.”

“I’ll try not to bring it up.”

“It’s okay; you’re allowed to scream at him. He should have told you, so I don’t feel bad for spilling the beans.”

I’d been so caught up in the news, I hadn’t even considered Brett’s involvement in all of this. He had a horrible habit of keeping things from me. He’d been doing it since the day I met him, and it had only gotten worse.

“Come on,” she said, helping me stand and leading me back inside.

The guys were in the kitchen, filling their arms with dishes and carrying them into the dining room. On the table, there was wine in the glasses and a basket of bread in the middle along with large plates of pasta and meatballs, what looked like chicken Parmesan, and something else with eggplant.

It smelled good, but I didn’t think I could put a bite of it into my mouth.

Eve brought me over to the table. I lifted one of the glasses, held it to my lips, and guzzled until it was empty.

When I pulled it away from my mouth, I felt Brett’s stare on me.

And Eve’s.

And Max’s.

Brett then broke contact to look at Eve before he came back to me. “Thirsty?”

I reached for the bottle and refilled my glass halfway, gazing at the dark red liquid, not sure if I could even take another sip. Eventually, I glanced up. With the three of them still looking at me, I said, “You should have told me.”

“Jesus, Brett,” Max said. “I hope she’s not talking about what I think she is. And I hope to hell you weren’t the one who told her, Eve.”

“I thought Brett had told her,” she snapped.

Brett said nothing. He just continued to stare at me.

“You’ve done this to me too many times.” My voice was so quiet. I couldn’t yell. I couldn’t get mad. I was too hurt for that.

“James, that’s not fucking true,” Brett said. “I’ve only done it once before, and that was when I first met you. There was a reason I didn’t tell you I was an agent, and you know what that reason is. Don’t compare that to this, goddamn it.”

He waited for me to comment. I didn’t.

“I promise, I wouldn’t have let you walk into that party without you knowing who was going to be there.”

“That doesn’t make it okay.”

He walked over to me and put his hand in the back of my hair, tightly holding my head. “No, it doesn’t. I know it was wrong to keep it from you. But I didn’t want to hurt you, and I knew that was what this news would do.”

“Brett…”

He held me with even more power. “I’m just as fucking pissed as you are. The last thing I want is that cunt at my party. She’s going to ruin my time. I’d like to call her myself and tell her not to come, but I can’t, and you know why.”

“Max, everyone in this room hates you right now,” Eve said.

“Jesus Christ,” Max said. He was the only one sitting, the only one with food on his plate, the only one who was eating. When he realized we were all looking at him, he put his fork down. “When are you all going to accept that Sophia is my client? I’m not uninviting her. I’m not asking her to leave early. I’m not saying a goddamn word to her about any of this. You’re both adults, and you’ll have to figure out a way to play nice, for the sake of The Agency.”

My stare moved back to Brett as he said, “I want to make this better.”

I shook my head. “You can’t.”

I pulled his hand off me and walked over to my seat, putting a few noodles on my plate, knowing I’d have the hardest time even getting those down.

Sophia was going to come, and there was nothing anyone in this room could do about it. I could scream at Brett, I could start a fight, I could spend the night at my place tonight instead of his. But it wouldn’t solve anything.

I just had to get through this party.

And, somehow, I would.