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Her eyes go dark with warning. She knows what I’m doing and I don’t think it’s having the effect I was going for. Shit, maybe the opposite.

“Um… no, I don’t think so. Hi,” she tosses dismissively in Callie’s direction.

“Hi,” Callie returns in an overly bright tone. “I love your dress.”

The guys suppress a laugh as I swallow a wave of dread. Yeah, this is not going to end well.

“Thanks. It’s a Bella Amberosi,” Jana replies in a smug tone.

Callie doesn’t look impressed. Or remotely interested.

Jana scans her with a derogatory look. “I like your…”

“Boyfriend?” Callie finishes, lifting a brow. Oh boy. Here we go. “Yeah, I know. He’s amazing. I don’t blame you.”

Jana looks ready to combust, and I hold my breath. Part of me is high-fiving my girlfriend so hard right now. The otherpart knows this night will be ending in blood. Whose? We’ll probably find out soon.

My fake ex’s gaze sears into me with warning, but to my surprise, rather than snap back, she pivots and stalks back to her table.

Whoa. Once again, Callie accomplishes the impossible.

While the guys celebrate the win, she gives me another dose of encouragement.

“Thanks, Callie,” I say softly. That simple word can’t begin to capture the complex mass of gratitude moving through my chest.

As usual, she seems to understand anyway. After a quick nod, she tilts her head with a pensive expression. I brace myself for whatever she’s got loaded up to fire.

“What exactly is a Bella Amberosi?” she asks with a severe expression.

The guys burst into laughter as I draw her in with a smirk.

Despite the roughstart to the evening, the rest goes well. Luke and I order everything we think Callie would like so she has a chance to try it. They’ve even added some items to the menu since the last time we were here thatwewant to try.

Through it all, I can’t stop smiling and studying my girl with relaxed fascination. A rush moves through me every time I take in her infectious excitement. Watching her experience new things has reinvigorated my own appreciation for life. We’ve become so jaded, our journey so punctuated with pain, that I’d forgotten about all the moments of joy in our story as well.

Callie brings it all back, and not just for me. Life is blooming in Luke’s demeanor for the first time since Elena’s death as well. And if I’m honest, the decay goes back long before that. Whathappened that night wasn’t a fluke, but the result of a long, ugly slide into the darkness.

Even Eli and Sweeny are quickly under Callie’s spell. They’ve always embraced “the rockstar life” more than I have, especially after our fall from the top. Everything is a party, everyone a guest in their narrative, but not with Callie. They treat her with a gentleness and respect I didn’t even know they had in them. Within hours, she’s one of us. It’s like she’s been here since the beginning.

I’m so caught up in the wonder of it all, I nearly forget about Jana.

That is, until I hit the restroom late into the night.

After washing my hands, I push through the door into the hall, only to be ambushed by a livid movie star.

Jana’s hostile glare erases every ounce of peace I had in me.

“What the fuck is wrong with you?!” she hisses, backing me toward an alcove.

“Not now,” I return with a cold look.

“No? Then when? You won’t take my calls. Every time I approach, you treat me like I’m some jealous ex and not?—”

“Because you’reactinglike a jealous ex,” I fire back. “This! What’s happening right now is exactly why I called it off! You never played by the rules.”

“We had an agreement!”

“Exactly! Topretend,Jana. It was fake, and you kept trying to make it real!”