I’m dancing with Cookie now. She’s been detailing her skincare routine for the past several minutes. I’m pretending to pay attention, while wondering how the fuck I—a world-class athlete—ended up getting paid to dance with a woman named Cookie.
Oh, how the mighty have fallen.
“Then I have to lock it all in to maintain my moisture barrier, so for that I like to use—”
“My turn,” Evelyn—a.k.a., the fucking worst—cuts in out of the blue.
“This song isn’t over,” Cookie says as she’s jostled back by Evelyn’s shove. “You’ve already had one-on-one time during the hiking date.”
“Right. Which is how I know you’re putting the poor guy to sleep.” Evelyn twists her lips into a cruel smile. “He needs someone with a higher IQ than yours to entertain him.”
I stop, slightly shaken by the aggression in her voice.
Cookie steps forward, eyes blazing as she jabs a finger toward Evelyn. “What the fuck did you just say to me, you uppity bitch?”
Evelyn looks pleased as she crosses her arms. “At least you recognize that I’m superior.”
Cookie’s laughs, incredulous. “You strut around the house bragging about kissing Emmett, bragging about your job. Babe, we all know you’re a fake life coach sponsored by Mommy and Daddy.”
Evelyn’s dark eyes narrow, a spiteful expression morphing her features.
I take another step back.
“No one in their right mind would hire you. You can’t even coach yourself into success. You’re just here to be an actress—but you’ll fail at that, too.”
I hold a fist up to my mouth, stifling the disbelieving laugh that threatens to lurch from my lips. Because, fuck, this isvicious.
I take another step away, just in time to avoid Evelyn’s hand darting out to… yank Cookie’s hair. Then it’s a blur of curses and swinging arms.
It reminds me of Parker and Riley as children. Small, wild, annoying children. And I’m in the middle, an active participant in so many ways. A night that already felt embarrassing has tipped straight into humiliating.
“Ladies!” Akira attempts to push her way between them. “Have a little fucking self-respect. You’re both too good for this!”
But they don’t seem to hear her. They just keep at it.
I watch in horror, jaw slack, hands clasped behind my neck. When I move to intervene, I feel Teri’s hand on my arm. “Not yet,” she murmurs, observing them raptly.
I step away from her to take in the scene before me. The chaos. The spectacle. Women fighting, cameras recording, Richard grinning like a kid on Christmas morning—my self-loathing hits an all-time high.
For the first time in weeks, I give in to the instinct to run. I slip off the dance floor, mostly unnoticed—thanks to the chaos erupting around me—and make a beeline for the front door.
I stride into the night air, past the row of cars out front, and around the corner to a shadowed spot. Quiet surrounds me as I lean against the wall, tip my head back, and let my eyes fall shut, drawing long, slow breaths to ease my rising tension.
Within moments, quick footsteps approach, as though someone is jogging in my direction. They round the corner, and I don’t open my eyes. I’m reverting to that thing little kids do, where they seem to believe that if they can’t see you, you can’t see them.
“Emmett,” Julia’s usually smooth voice practically hisses. “What are you doing? You need to be in there, dealing with this in front of the cameras.” She steps closer, and I smell her. Patchouli and green grass. “Look at me.”
I don’t want to open my eyes because I know how fucking hot she looks in that stupid denim dress, and the minute I lay eyes on her, I’m going to do something I shouldn’t.
Trouble.
She steps closer, nudging the toe of my boot with her foot. “I don’t know what kind of meltdown you’re having at the moment, but you can snap out of it anytime now. Richard is breathing down my neck. He’s got his eye on youandon me. You do know that, right?”
I swallow, squeezing my eyes shut tighter. Yes, I know all of this.
And none of it matters. Not as much as—
“Emmett! This is what you signed up for.” Her voice cracks, and the sound splinters my chest. I can hear the hurt in her tone. “Your family is depending on you. You need this money. You need—”
