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Grey rested his drink on the railing near my arm but remained facing me instead of looking out toward the ocean. “I’ve never seen you perform before tonight. You’re … just amazing. You mesmerize the audience. I was in awe.”

His words weren’t something that I hadn’t heard a thousand times, but maybe because they came from a dude who was used to performing for an audience and weren’t just tossed out by a woman that was trying to work her way into my bed, it felt like they meant something. Somehow, the words didn’t feel so empty or calculating.

I took a hasty sip to stop myself from saying anything stupid. “Thanks, man. You didn’t stay to watch Ryder?”

“No.” He glanced down at his feet and suddenly he didn’t look like the supremely self-confident guy that I’d observed all that night at Talia’s goodbye party. His voice sounded gruff. “I saw you leaving. You looked lost. Like you could use a friend.”

Something shifted inside me. I didn’t know what I felt, but it wasn’t something I was comfortable with. My heart beat faster. Maybe it was that he just got too close to my secrets. To my truths.

Surprisingly, my reaction was also physical. A flutter in my stomach. A tightness in my chest. A tightening of my cock inside my pants.

My jaw clenched as I snarled back at him. “Yeah? Well, you thought wrong.”

Remi

I had nothing better going on, so after the end of the workday ‘going on maternity leave’ party for Celia, which consisted of cake in the break room, I accepted the invitation to go out with my coworkers to a local restaurant. Celia was a production assistant at Hollywood Exposé, the TV and online celebrity news conglomerate that I worked for as a feature story writer. She was one of those bubbly girls that everyone loved.

When I got to the restaurant twenty minutes later, Celia’s table was full. I ended up at an ancillary table with other staff writers. Except for the two writers who wrote the script for Mindy Blakedale, the face of Hollywood Exposé, all the other writers and editors worked primarily alone. They were an observant and quiet bunch — not exactly the life of the party.

I’d asked a few of my colleagues what they were working on, but they all were a tight-lipped crew. No one wanted to give away their inside scoop, despite the fact we were all working for the same team.

I liked Celia and most of the people who worked behind the cameras at my job, but a majority of those friendly people were at the cool kid’s table. I was stuck with the nerds. I probably could have barreled my way into that group, securing an empty chair from another table and shoehorning it in to be included with the fun group, but I was just too tired to make the effort. It had been a long and exhausting week.

I finished up my second drink and then started planning my exit strategy. I could just say goodbye and good luck to Celia and be on my way. There was no need for elaborate excuses even though it appeared that I would be the first to leave.

I said my goodbyes to the glum writer’s table, then to Celia and several co-workers I was friendly with, and within a few minutes, I was slipping out the door into the fresh air.

It wasn’t until I was in front of my apartment door digging through my purse and searching for my key that I found it.

It was a blue notecard with words scrawled in ugly black marker across it. The ink was badly smeared, but I could clearly make out what it said.

I know who you are

REMINGTON

watch your back

I couldn’t help but hurriedly glance over my shoulder even though I was alone in the hallway. Fumbling with my keys, I nearly dropped them as I tried to unlock my door as quickly as I could. I didn’t breathe until I got into my apartment and locked the door behind me.

My heart pounded as I stared at the card.Remington. Somebody knew. Who? And, what were they going to do about it?Watch your back. That sounded like a threat.

I let my purse drop to the floor. And then I slid down right next to it. I thought I’d left my past behind.

Greyson

I almost didn’t go to the baby shower.Because of him.

But, in the end, I went.Because of him.

My friend, Talia, was hosting a baby shower for Sidney Anderson, the bassist for the rock band Ghost Parker. Out of the blue, less than a week ago, he found out he was a father. The mother had abandoned the baby on his doorstep claiming it was his. Now his friends were coming together to support him.

I was more of an acquaintance than a friend. I’d only met Sid a handful of times, but I was friends with Talia, and Talia was living in my beach house with her boyfriend, Ryder, who was a guitarist in Sid’s band.

I liked Talia’s friends. They partied a hell of a lot harder than me; they knew how to have a good time. Plus, with the whole rock star thing, they didn’t make too much of my own fame. I was currently filming the 9thseason of the primetime soap,Devious.I was the longest-running cast member, starring as bad boy titan, Colton Grimaldi, since episode 1 of the series. As my fame skyrocketed, it became nearly impossible to interact with people on a normal level, so having some friends outside of the acting world who knew me as Greyson and treated me like an ordinary person was refreshing.

So, here I was in my own house that I’d been avoiding since Talia moved in. I still wasn’t too sure how Ryder felt about me. I usually stayed at my penthouse in Hollywood during filming anyway, so it was no big deal.

I carried my wrapped gifts, a baby monitor and a white-noise sound machine, up to the top floor where everyone was gathered waiting for Sid to arrive. Talia had done a great job decorating. There were balloons, ribbons, and streamers, all baby blue, everywhere. A huge banner draped across the wall exclaimedIt’s a Boy!And the tables were covered withOh, Baby!printed tablecloths and piled with gifts. And, shit, there was blue confetti littering every surface of the house already.

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