Page 106 of Now Their Starlet

God, I’m such an idiot. Thank goodness she’s giving me the most obvious signs known to mankind, because if she weren’t, the jury is still out on whether I’d have the balls to make the true first move.

“I think now’s a good time,” I breathe out.

“Duh,” she says, rolling her eyes. “I⁠—”

I cut her off, dipping my head and capturing her lips with my own. Her chamomile scent explodes from her, sweetening with the hint of honey.

Fuck, this is perfect. She’s perfect.

Her lips are soft and plush against mine, and she’s pressing her chest against mine in a way that reminds me she’s not wearing a bra under her t-shirt.

When I pull away to take a small breath, her hands grip the curls at the base of my neck and she pulls me back in.

Who am I to complain?

CHAPTER 22

Andi

Time moves differently—now that I’m away from my mother.

It’s strange and hard to describe. The world seems to be moving far too fast. Even when I’m spending most of my days in my Dad’s office, organizing footage he has from my childhood, and discussing ideas for the docuseries with Cameron, I feel like I’m being a little overwhelmed with stimulation.

At the same time, I want to soak everything in and never let it go.

Dr. Brennar would probably put it into fancier words, but I was seriously going stir-crazy, locked away in solitary confinement.

Bit by bit, I’m reclaiming parts of my mind that were starting to slip away.

I drink my white chocolate mochas out on the porch. I normally wake up too late to watch the sunrise, but the view is no less stunning. When it’s not cloudy, I can see basically the entirety of LA from the backyard.

I get to eat delicious food for every meal and not a kale leaf in sight.. Even though everyone’s busy, it’s an unspoken rule that everyone is home by dinner.

Beck’s a sucker for pasta from that Italian place I love. We order so much that I’m sure we’re becoming some of their best customers. We should ask about a loyalty rewards program the next time we order takeout from them.

Leo organized a big hot pot the other night, and even though having all seven of us eating together wasn’t as intimate an experience as when he and I ate together over my stove, it was just as delicious.

Eli bought us all pizza over the weekend, and I made fun of the way he ate an entire Meat Lovers Pizza to himself. I told him he was more of a pig than the ham piled on top of his slice of pizza was, and we all had a good laugh.

Everett’s a surprisingly talented chef, he grilled us all up some steaks and potatoes, and everything was cooked to perfection and seasoned just right. Maybe it isn’t too surprising when I think about it. He is the most likely to have his shit together, it seems.

Cameron even called his mom to get his family’s truffle mac and cheese recipe. We totally burned the roux when we first tried to make it together, but it still turned out fantastic.

I knew I loved food before Gina only fed me a diet of bitter kale leaves for a month, but the fact that all of my guys have put effort into making sure I’m fed well has made a simple part of my recovery a bonding experience.

It’s not hard to meet Dr. Brennar’s nutrition requirements when I know I get to share time with my pack.

Ever since that kiss with Cameron, I’ve been thinking about them as my pack a lot more often. The title feels right.

My phone buzzes against the wicker table, and my stomach does that familiar, unwelcome lurch before I remember that I have a new number. A new phone entirely, too. She doesn’t have any access to this one. Old habits die hard, I guess.

It’s Ezra.

Ezra

hey. weird timing I know but I wanted you to hear it from me first

talked to a lawyer about my dad yesterday. Testifying against him