Page 85 of Anyone But the Superstar

‘Uh oh.’ Park leans his arm against Anne’s beside him. ‘I thoughtIwas your favorite astronaut.’

Distracting myself from the pinprick of jealousy, I grab one of the cookies off the plate Holt set on the coffee table earlier. ‘These are great. Glad to know I’m not the only guy who can bake.’

Holt nods with a smile. ‘Which makes me happy that you’re the one staying in Jules’ condo. All the cooking equipment I bought her will finally get some use.’

Anne’s wide eyes bore into me, as if in warning.

‘Wait.’ Em shifts on the couch, frowning at me. ‘You’restaying in Jules’ condo?’

‘Yeah.’ Vance snags a cookie for himself. ‘I gave Felix the key when his hotel was infiltrated by fans.’

‘And I appreciate it.’ I speak slowly, not understanding Anne’s reaction or Em’s pointed interest.

Until Em’s next statement.

‘But I gaveAnnethe key.’

Merde.

21

FELIX

‘Did you and Annereallymeet by showing up at the same condo?’ Amanda leans her elbow on the car door’s armrest, her laugh laced with disbelief. ‘And just like that—’ she snaps her fingers ‘—you hired her to watch over your emotional support animal?’

I glance at the chauffer in front of us, surprised Amanda would ask me something like that with him in easy listening distance.

Back at Vance’s house, when Anne and my shared living arrangements were outed, Anne saved us with a we-made-the-best-of-the-situation lie. Explaining how we hadn’t wanted to trouble Vance and Em, who had already gone out of their way to help us.

It was obvious Em wanted to follow up with more questions, but whether out of courtesy or the fact that Park dropped Mike Hunt in her arms to hold, everyone went back to petting my emotional support animal.

Amanda’s eyebrows lift, waiting for an answer.

It seems not everyone is so easily distracted.

I give her a small nod. ‘Thanks for the ride, Amanda. I appreciate it.’

She’s silent for a second, as if debating whether or not to accept my abrupt change of subject.

For the first time, I’m uncomfortable around her. But as soon as the thought forms, it vanishes when she shrugs and smiles. ‘Not a problem.’

I blame Anne for my sudden distrust of everyone. Every woman.

In the moment, I was grateful for Anne’s quick thinking, but now I’m starting to think of it as a quick lie. And instead of just wondering what I don’t know about Anne, I’m questioning everything I do as well.

I close my eyes against the southbound oncoming traffic lights on interstate forty-five, my head hurting.

Hopefully, Jack has a good reason for calling and insisting I not go to the condo, but instead meet him at the hotel.

Walking to the car with Anne, I’d pulled my phone out, ready to use it as a shield between us until we got to the condo and I could unleash all the questions I’ve stored up over the past weeks with her. That’s when I saw all the missed calls from Jack. He’d been calling and texting all night, but I had turned off my phone when dinner started, not wanting to be rude. His last message was to inform me that he was boarding a plane for Houston and wanted a face-to-face tonight, even though he’d be arriving late.

I’d hesitated for a moment, not wanting to put off the inquisition that I’ve already put off for far too long. But one more look at Anne in that dress made me think that it might be best to regroup and reorganize my thoughts before we started that conversation.

And honestly, a petty part of me felt vindicated at Anne’sshocked expression when I told her I’d text her later and asked Amanda to give me a ride to the hotel so I could meet up with my manager.

‘Hey.’ Amanda lays a hand on my arm. ‘You okay?’

‘Hmmm.’ I drop my head against the headrest. ‘Headache.’