Page 78 of Hearts Storm

I shrug. “I guess so.”

“You guess so?” Noia asks, pouring wine with one hand while gesturing wildly with the other. “Come on. He’s so hot for you.”

I accept the glass Noia practically shoves into my hand and take a long sip. “He’s picking me up at seven on Saturday.”

“This is awesome!” Lizzy exclaims, snapping her chopsticks apart. “The gala will be the perfect setting. Romantic lighting, music, dancing...” She bounces her eyebrows. “No doubt, Logan is going to lose his shit when he finds out your Brex’s date. Maybe this will be what finally pushes him over the edge.”

“We’re just going as friends.”

They burst into laughter, shaking their heads.

Yeah, I wouldn’t believe me either.

“If you say so,” Sasha says around a bite of orange chicken, pointing her chopsticks in my direction. “Remember we’re going dress shopping in a couple of days.”

“Speaking of,” Lizzy says, her expression turning apologetic. “I’m not gonna be able to go shopping with you. Rowan is wrapping up his movie in L.A., and I promised I’d be there for the final few days of filming The Treehouse.”

“Oh, that’s right,” I say, trying to hide my disappointment. “I’m excited to see it when it comes out next year.”

She nods, giving me a bright smile. “Me too. It’s been in post-production for the past month and they’re just wrapping up. I’m flying out tomorrow morning.”

“Lucky,” Noia sighs. “I’d kill to be on set, watching Rowan do his thing.”

“It is pretty fun,” Lizzy sighs. “The flurry of all the action. Watching him order people around and get all serious about his craft…” She shudders. “So hot.”

“Well, I won’t be able to make it either,” Noia says, loading up her plate with fried rice. “Ryder and I are heading to Seattle for the weekend. Some tattoo convention he’s been dying to go to.”

“Which means,” Sasha grins. “Jax and I will be representing Skin & Ink at the gala. Those two are always sticking their fingers into every charity pie in town.”

“Jax and Ryder have raised over one hundred thousand dollars for various causes over the last two years,” Lizzy points out. “It’s kind of their thing.”

Lizzy has been working with Jax and Ryder at Skin & Ink as a tattoo artist for years. She’s also an up-and-coming painter. A few months ago, Rowan showed up after being gone for almost fifteen years.

Along with her brother, all three grew up together as besties. He ghosted her the summer after high school to become an actor, but he came home to Lakeside to win her back. And make a movie about their lives. He’s also been People’s Sexiest Man Alive... twice.

Talk about romantic.

The conversation shifts to talk of Noia’s next novel and Sasha’s plans for Summit Studio as we settle in to eat.

I’m halfway through my beef and broccoli when Lizzy snatches up the remote with a mischievous glint in her eye. “Nope. We are not watching whatever this is.” She gestures at the screen to where I paused the horror flick I picked earlier. “We need something with heart. And steam.”

She scrolls through my Passionflix app with a wicked gleam in her eye.

“Ah-ha!” she crows. “Here it is.”

The title card fills my screen in elegant cursive: My Only One.

It’s a Rowan Cole movie from a few years ago. Based on a best-selling novel, it’s one of many that earned him a Golden Globe nomination.

“Really?” I groan, dropping my head back against the couch. “Your boyfriend’s movie? On girls’ night?”

“Excuse me,” Lizzy admonishes, crossing her legs pretzel-style on the couch. “He’s my fiancé. And this is a masterpiece.”

Noia snorts into her wine glass. “So she says. Every time.”

For years, Lizzy refused to watch Rowan’s movies. That’s how pissed she was at him. But now that they’re back together and in love, she can’t get enough.

“I say it because it’s true.” Lizzy presses play, and the opening scene unfolds. It’s a rainy night in New York City, and Rowan’s character is standing under an awning, watching the woman of his dreams walk away after a botched first date.