“Working,” River said softly.
And it hadn’t been a question or a statement, either. It was almost as if she’d just remembered that they were here because she and her girlfriend had won a contest and that they weren’t just two new friends getting to know each other.
“I meant that when I’m on camera, I can’t be drunk. I need to be put-together, for obvious reasons.”
“This is all fake, isn’t it?” River asked in that same tone she’d just used.
The door behind Kennedy opened before she could answer River’s question, and she turned to see Jessie standing there.
“Kennedy!”
“What?” she asked.
“Why am I constantly chasing you and your girlfriend around this house?”
“I don’t know. You need to get your steps in?”
River laughed, and Kennedy turned and smiled at her.
“You are both adults, not children. You know we’re… filming for the charity. This gets them views on their YouTube channel, which can bring them more money.”
“I know that. River and I were only grabbing candy to bring to dinner for dessert. River, do you have anything licorice-flavored? Jessie loves that stuff.”
“I–”
“I hate licorice,” Jessie corrected.
“I know,” Kennedy teased and stood up.
“I have a Michelin Star award-winning chef out there, making dinner for you. I’m sure she’s making dessert, too.”
“There’s a Michelin Star chef out there?” River asked, standing up. “Shit. Can I meet them?”
“Of course, you can. She’s in the kitchen with her crew. But I was hoping we could do the meet and greet with all four of you. Lacey still hasn’t met Kennedy.”
“Go,” Kennedy said to River. “And I’ll go meet Lacey.”
“Really? Are you sure?” River asked.
“Yes. It’s better this way. Right, Jessie? It won’t look as forced as if you all try to get together and pretend like we haven’t met yet.”
“Fine. I give up.”
Kennedy walked over to her, placed her hand on her forearm, squeezed, and said, “There’s alcohol in the kitchen. Have some of it and relax.”
“Shut up.” Jessie laughed.
Kennedy then walked out with Jessie and River behind them, but when she saw Cameron sitting on the sofa next to the beautiful redhead she’d seen in the photo, two feelings hit her at once. One was jealousy because Lacey was making her girlfriend laugh, and it was Cameron’s genuine laugh, not one faked for the camera filming them. The other feeling was somethingshe couldn’t quite identify, but it amounted to her wanting to follow River into the kitchen more than wanting to sit down on Cameron’s other side.
“Hey, Ken,” Cameron said. “Where have you been?”
“River was kind enough to share some of her handmade candy with me. I got you some, too.” She pulled out the two pieces out of her pocket and handed them to Cameron before she looked at Lacey and held out her hand. “Hi, Lacey. I’m Kennedy. Nice to meet you.”
“Hi. It’s nice to meet you, too.” Lacey shook her hand. “Where did River go?”
“Oh, Jessie told her that there was a really good chef in there, so she wanted to meet them.”
“Sounds like her,” Lacey replied.
