Page 19

chapter

eighteen

Stella

G em robbed me of the temptation to play vegan when the food came out. Yes, I liked meat—of both varieties, double entendre accepted. Despite not ordering the margarita, I downed a long swallow of it. Ice cold, sour, and salty—it was perfect. I managed to not shotgun the whole drink, but I still finished it swiftly.

The waitress snared my empty glass and replaced it with a fresh margarita. The rim of salt on the glass added an almost artistic flare. Yeah, if I was going to drink like this, I needed nachos. Still when the steaks arrived with their grilled perfection and the fat baked potatoes and buttered broccolini, I think I died a little.

My mouth watered. Every bit of it looked fantastic. Even worse, it smelled better. Those steak plates started around hundred and fifty. Money shots or not, I could get a week’s worth of groceries for my dad for that much.

“Not hungry?” Ollie asked as he nudged the plate a little closer to me.

“I started a fast earlier today,” I said, not missing a beat. The margarita helped me maintain the lie. “So, no food for me.”

Frowning, Ollie glared as I picked up my drink, saluted him, and then took a sip. The warmth spread through my system, and it definitely helped to blunt the uneasy edges of being out on the town with these two devastatingly attractive men.

I knew exactly what Gem was like in bed, and he was definitely may I have some more please . I kind of hoped Ollie was the same. I licked some of the salt off the rim before I took another drink. Probably better to keep those thoughts to myself.

“You’re kidding,” Ollie said after a beat. “Right?”

“I never kid about fasting,” I said, then met his gaze. “A girl has to keep her figure and the best way to do that is to alternately fast. So we’re on a fasting moment. Sorry, boys…”

Eyes narrowing, Ollie leaned forward. Oh, there was even a vein throbbing in his forehead. “You didn’t say anything about a fast earlier.”

“You didn’t say anything about this place earlier,” I fired back. “We discussed coffee.” I blinked. “Wait.” I turned to Gem, then continued, “ We discussed coffee.”

“We did,” Gem said, flicking a look from me to Ollie, then back again.

“Right, so you didn’t ask me if I was hungry.” Yep that logic worked. Ollie pursed his lips as he kept his gaze fixed on me. Oh, I’d really tweaked someone.

Oops.

“You need to eat,” he said after several moments. “Fast or not, you were at the party for a few hours, probably had to get ready before then. The best fasts don’t go longer than ten hours, so you must be nearly there. Eat.” He tapped my plate almost imperiously.

“Or what?” I dared him. First, he insisted on taking me home after Dillon’s assault. That worked out pretty well for me, even if I hadn’t expected Gem to be there. Right, it also kind of led to the NDA.

Then he insisted on leaving his attorney to help me at the police station, no matter what I said. Peter was a good guy; he’d definitely gotten the detective to stop being an asshole. So…right, okay that also worked out.

Somehow, he got my phone number, and what did he do? He gave me a hot tip for a good place to get shots and I got them. As promised, he came through with it. I suppose it didn’t hurt that he was also there with Gem. But there it was.

So if he wanted to insist I eat, I wanted to hear what was on the other side of the coin.

“Dammit, Stella, you need to eat. Especially if you’re drinking like that. If you don’t want the steak, I’ll order you something else.”

Fuck .

The world just ground to a halt. Ollie cut his gaze from me to Gem. Gem, for his part, had gone almost preternaturally still. The amused smile on his face vanished and his expression went flat.

I downed the margarita like a shot this time.

“Your name is Stella?” The quiet question carried a legion of hurt under each syllable. Knuckles whitening as he flexed his fingers, Gem didn’t wait for me to answer as he focused on Ollie again. “How the fuck do you know her name?”

“Don’t look at me. Seven had her name, phone number, and home address days ago. I just got her name.”

“And my number,” I tacked on. If he was going to throw me under a bus, he could get down here and let the wheels bounce over him too. “You texted me about the after-party and then called to flirt, remember? And I was all like, what about bro code and you were all fuck that, Gem had his shot . Remember?” I smiled wide, fluttering my lashes innocently as Ollie glared shut the fuck up daggers back at me.

Gem sat back in his seat, shaking his head. “I see.”

Ollie rolled his eyes. “Oh, quit it. You literally asked if we could sneak out the back of the party because you didn’t want to see the paparazzi. Remember? She’s not my girl, Ollie .”

Well, that was interesting. I tilted my head and leaned forward in question. “I see,” I parroted Gem in a teasing voice.

Gem glowered at his friend. “That was well after you slid into her messages, dickhead.”

Ollie just shrugged, unconcerned. “Ahh, semantics. We’re all here now right? Are you gonna start eating that steak, Stella? Or do I need to start ordering alternate dishes from the menu?”

Crap. My protest was at the cost of the dish already in front of me, but if he started willy-nilly ordering more plates, the cost would keep adding up regardless of whether I ate them or not. Reluctantly, I picked up my cutlery and cut a slice of the perfectly cooked wagyu sirloin.

Ollie visibly relaxed as I put it in my mouth, and then the flavors hit me and I had to hold back the moan threatening to escape my mouth. We were in the middle of a very exclusive restaurant-bar situation and also halfway through an argument, so moaning like Meg Ryan wasn’t appropriate, no matter how good the steak tasted.

“Wait, did you fake it?” Gem asked, still scowling. Or now it was more of a pout than a scowl, but it was still sexy on him. Everything was sexy on Gem, even jealousy.

I blinked a couple of times, trying to understand the question as I cut another slice of steak and dipped it into the red wine au jus on the side. “Huh?”

Gem’s pout deepened. “Your orgasms…you sure seemed like you were having a good time both times, but?—”

I choked on my mouthful and had to cough a couple of times as I shook my head. “What the fuck?” I sputtered when I could trust myself to breathe.

Gem shrugged. “Well, it must have been really bad sex, which is sort of news to me and a pretty harsh blow to the ego, I’ll admit.” He sighed and swept a hand through his hair. “Are you an aspiring actress or something? If so, you’re very good.”

My jaw nearly hit the table, and I glanced at Ollie to see if he was also hearing this insanity. He just quirked an eyebrow at me, like he too was curious whether I’d been fucking faking my orgasms as some kind of…acting practice? What the shit?

“Is that… Are you serious right now? You think I didn’t give you my name or number because the sex was bad?” I squinted at him, trying to process that train of thought. “I’m just going to point out that I didn’t give my info to Ollie, either. He stole it from Seven, I assume. And Seven only had it because I signed his fucking NDA, and legal documents usually require those kinds of details. I specifically asked him not to share my details because, for one thing, I am not interested in becoming a Snatch Squad Catch ”—the tabloid-coined name of their fangirl hookups came out of my mouth with such disdain, I shocked even myself—“and for another, I have no desire to climb the Hollywood social ladder. We had fun together, Gem. The sex was fucking amazing, and no, I didn’t fake my orgasms. But that’s all it was.”

Both guys just stared at me for so long that I sighed and took another mouthful of steak and broccolini. The little trees had just the perfect level of crunch—not overdone and mushy but also not raw.

“I think that’s valid,” Ollie murmured when Gem took way too long to reply. “But I think you also underestimate how mopey and weird Gem got when he didn’t know how to contact you.”

Gem smacked him in the arm. “Bro, what the hell? Way to make me sound like a loser.”

I bit back my smile, hiding it with more food. Now that I’d started, there was no denying how starving I was. I reached for my margarita, then paused. I had driven us all here and would need to drive the guys home again. Maybe water was the better option from here on out.

“Endearing and vulnerable, dude, it’s a good thing,” Ollie assured him with a firm nod.

Gem rolled his eyes, rubbing the back of his neck. “Okay I can maybe see where you’re coming from, Stella.” He said my name carefully, like he was testing it out on his tongue. “But to be clear…the sex was good?”

Fucking men. Honestly. “The sex was amazing, Gemini. Better than amazing. Best I’ve ever had.” I delivered my praise deadpan, between bites of food, but couldn’t help loving the smile that lit his face.

“Yet,” Ollie murmured, smirking.

It was lucky I’d just swallowed my food when he said that, or I would have choked again.

“So if the sex was good… can I have your number?” Gem pushed. “I know this may surprise you given our reputation, but I’m actually a really cool guy to hang out with fully clothed as well as naked. Both options are freely available to you, Slick.”

I smiled at his nickname for me. It sounded more natural on his lips. “Gemini Harrison…that’s the worst proposition I think I’ve ever heard.”

“Mmm, yeah, I agree,” Ollie murmured, nodding. “You wanna catch Snow’s eye, you need a grand gesture, Gem. Like saving her life from some psycho abusive douchewad trying to inflict brain damage.”

Fucking hell. “Brain damage,” I mumbled. “That would definitely explain a lot. Are you two going to eat or just sit there letting your food go cold?”

Yes, I was fully aware I was a hypocrite.

They both took the hint to drop the subject of…whatever that fucking subject was, and Ollie smoothly shifted the conversation to telling me about the speakeasy we were dining in. Apparently there were a few of them around that catered specifically to celebrities and uber-wealthy who wanted to drink or dine like “normal” people, without worrying about scandals and press spins.

It was a good idea, but I was already plotting how I could twist that to my benefit.

After I finished my steak, Ollie ordered dessert for all of us, and I made weak protests until the sticky date pudding was placed down in front of me. Then I needed no encouragement. Yum.

It was weird and totally not how I’d expected the night to play out after Ollie’s call…but I wasn’t mad about it. I just needed Gem to understand that no matter how much fun we were having, I wasn’t trying to date a celebrity. I was no Carriage Pictures princess, waiting for her prince to sweep her out of poverty and into the spotlight.

So long as he understood that…I guessed he could have my number.

Instead of having me drive them back to Malibu to collect their car, the guys just asked me to drop them home, which was a lot less driving. But then, of course, they spent the drive coming up with creative reasons why I needed to come inside with them.

As tempting as it was, I was enjoying the power in saying no.

“Sorry, boys,” I laughed after Gem’s adorable suggestion that we bake cookies because cookies taste better at midnight. “I need to get home and sort all the images I got outside that party, then edit and go fishing for whoever is willing to pay me the big bucks for a photo of Clara Belle slapping Seven Harrison.”

“Who were you thinking of pitching it to?” Ollie asked from the back seat as I turned onto their street. “Please don’t say The Nightly Mail .”

“Why not them?” I asked, confused. “They usually pay the highest fees and are a lot less fussy about image quality and brand recognition.”

“They’re unscrupulous bastards, that’s why,” Gem answered with a grimace. “The amount of lawsuits filed against them right now for slander and misinformation is insane. Let us put you in touch with a woman we know at Bright Starz. If it’s a referral, she will pay.”

My brows rose. “ Starz usually won’t pay a fraction of the other tabloids, and that’s even if they’ll look at the images at all. They’re notoriously hard to work with.”

“Because most of their images and stories come directly from the celebrities themselves,” Gem confessed. “They have a handful of trusted photographers and usually only buy from them with the approval of the celebs themselves.”

Huh. That made so much sense. Starz always had the biggest scoops and breaking news. They seemed to have the inside track on all the Hollywood proposals and on-set images. Now it made sense why they comparatively reported a lot less trash and scandal than others.

“If you can set it up, sure,” I agreed. “Would Clara need to give her approval?”

Gem grinned. “Nah, they’re not that strict. Come in, and I’ll get Magnolia’s business card for you.”

I chuckled, shaking my head. “Smooth, Gemini, real smooth. You can text me her info, now that you’ve got my number.” I pulled up to their front gate and gestured for Gem to lean over and put his code in the keypad.

A moment later, the gates rolled open smoothly, and I drove up the paved road to their house itself. It would have been far too childish to drop them at the gate and make them walk, even though the thought crossed my mind.

“Are you sure you don’t want to come in?” Ollie tried one last time as I slowed to a stop in front of their impressive entryway.

I smiled, shaking my head. “No, I want to, but I won’t. I have things to do that don’t involve deluding myself into thinking this is a thing. Now, shoo.”

Ollie pouted but hopped out of my car nonetheless, telling me we’d talk soon as he disappeared inside the house. Gem… lingered.

“Gemini,” I murmured, “why are you still in my car?”

“Because I have this horrible feeling that if I let you drive away, I won’t ever see you again,” he admitted with a small shrug. “And I really want to see you again, Slick.”

Fucking smooth talker had me all tied up in knots again, so I did the only sane thing I could think of and kissed him.