Page 31

chapter

thirty

Stella

I t felt like cheating, it really did. It felt wrong …but at the same time, I was having too much fun to let something silly like morals get in my way. Not when I was reaping the benefits in such a spectacular way.

“Okay, so Jerry found out that Candice Irons and Jeremy Rogers have been hooking up at the Mon Claire Hotel every Wednesday at two,” Gem told me with a wide grin after hanging up his call. “It’s only a half-hour drive from here. We’ve got time to grab lunch on the way if we leave now.”

I got to my feet and grabbed my boots to pull them on. “Let’s do it!” Because worst-case scenario, Jerry’s tip didn’t pay off and I still had a nice lunch out with Gem. Unlike my covert dates with Ollie, I didn’t need to hide my affection for Gem.

A few days ago The Nightly Mail had splashed photos of us across a four-page spread after someone papped us making out on the beach. I wasn’t even mad about it because the photos were scorching hot. Seven was initially pissed, but as Gem pointed out, it was a freebie. We were selling the Seven-and-Stella story and he hadn’t needed to pay me for it.

Gem and Ollie were going out of their way to get me the inside tips on where to photograph other celebs. Particularly elusive, big-ticket ones, that tabloids paid big money for. To my surprise, Jerry was on board with our gaming the system and had been slipping us tips himself.

Seven hated it, but none of us gave two fucks what Seven liked.

“Where do you want to do lunch?” Gem asked as we headed out to their enormous garage. We took one of Seven’s cars—a sleek black McLaren—and Gem had raided his twin’s closet for a Hugo Boss sport coat and collared shirt. If not for how intimately I knew Gemini Harrison, I’d have easily been fooled that he was Seven. No wonder Seven had done so well in the action-movie industry, with such a perfect stunt double.

I shrugged, settling into the low seat of the sports car. “I’m easy.”

Gem’s lips curled in a sly grin. “Well…in that case…”

Laughing, I shook my head. “This morning in the shower with Ollie wasn’t enough? Damn, Gem, here I was thinking I was the sex addict in this ménage à trois.” It’d been a lovely shower. Gem had washed my hair for me while Ollie had held me aloft, impaled on his cock. Then they’d swapped so Ollie could comb the conditioner through my lengths. The sweet, floral scent every time my hair moved turned me on now.

“Let’s hit up the new Yakiniku restaurant. I’ve heard great things about it,” Gem suggested, driving us out of their very secure property with all the casual confidence of…well…of Seven.

“Hai Dozo? I heard they have like a six-month waiting list for a table,” I commented, shaking my head. “Also, their seating is all outdoors and super visible to paps.”

Gem grinned, all teeth. “Good. I’ll make sure to look extra infatuated with you as we eat, as if that’d be a hard ask.”

“Seven ought to be paying you for all this work you’re putting in as him,” I grumbled, but really…I much preferred to be out with Gem than faking it with Seven. “What’s he doing with all his free time now that you’re doing the heavy lifting for his reputation?”

“He’s studying for the role Carriage Pictures is offering,” Gem told me with a sigh. “It’s a big deal to him and would majorly elevate his career to the next level since it’s slated to be a huge franchise. Spin-offs, small screen, merch—literally all the things. And if he signs on at this stage of the project, he stands to take a cut of every facet of the franchise, rather than just take a wage for his role.”

Okay, I guessed I could understand that. It seemed like a lot of pressure, though, with the morality clause he’d mentioned so many times. His private life had to be squeaky clean and his reputation gold-plated. The fake cheating scandal really could have fucked things up.

Weirdly, in the two weeks I’d lived in the guys house, I’d softened toward Seven a little bit. Not a lot. He still made me want to smother him with a pillow full of snakes. But I no longer actively tried to sabotage his career—because he meant a lot to Gem and Ollie and they meant a lot to me.

Crap. I was developing big feelings. This was going to hurt when it ended.

If it ended.

It didn’t have to…did it?

Who was I kidding? This wasn’t my happily ever after.

“I can get us in,” Gem said, circling back to the question of our lunch spot. “Or rather, Seven can.” He winked, and I couldn’t fight my grin. For a guy who hated being in the spotlight, he sure was having fun pretending to be his brother.

Sure enough, the restaurant practically fell all over themselves rearranging tables to accommodate us, and Gem took every opportunity for PDA while we waited. He was so fucking sexy, it was easy to forget we were on full display as he kissed me in front of dozens of other diners.

“I guess my invitation was lost in the mail,” Ollie drawled, pulling up a chair to join us a few minutes after we were seated. “Snow, baby, you look fucking delicious today. Your hair, in particular, seems very clean.” He kept his voice low enough to not be overheard, but my cheeks flamed nonetheless.

Gem kicked him under the table and Ollie pouted. The inability for him to show public affection toward me was starting to wear thin.

“Aren’t you supposed to be doing a sit-down interview with Men in Film today?” Gem asked, handing over a menu anyway. “Slick and I were on our way to Mon Claire to snap some pics of naughty, cheating celebs.”

“I was, but it finished early. Then I spotted Seven’s McLaren in the valet here and figured I’d come join you. I do so love to eat out.” He licked his lips, holding eye contact, and I shifted in my seat. He really did enjoy eating out , that much was true.

I groaned, shaking my head. “Stop it. You’re going to give some other random photographer the shot of their life in a minute, when I drag the both of you into the bathroom.” Because much like the entire dining area, the doors to the restrooms were far too visible to literally any hack job with a telephoto lens.

Normally, there wouldn’t be much worth photographing when it was just rich and famous eating their lunch. But I had no doubt the story would go wild if I got caught getting double dicked down in the bathrooms.

“So Seven was whining about the whole paparazzi thing this morning over coffee,” Ollie said, shifting the subject smoothly, then paused strategically as the waitress came by to take our orders.

We all waited until she was gone again before continuing. “He’s permanently whining about everything involving me,” I muttered, letting my leg rest against Ollie’s under the table. From my other side, Gem’s hand had found my knee and stroked little circles on my thigh. “I should probably find somewhere new to live.” Since we’d all agreed that the security in my previous apartment was basically nonexistent.

Ollie hummed thoughtfully, slouching in his seat. “It wouldn’t send the best message though, would it? You’ve been living with Seven for two weeks now. If you suddenly moved out, it’d seem like things were on the rocks between you.”

I smiled, shaking my head. “You just don’t want to lose the easy access to my bed, Olivier.”

“True,” he agreed. “But also, optics, Snowy my sweet.” His wink was far too sexy for this time of day.

I sighed, shaking my head and trying to ignore how insanely attracted I was to the both of them. I’d thought maybe the appeal would wear off once I’d let them fuck me stupid for a couple of days, but it was only getting worse. I liked them both so much it actually made my chest hurt.

“Well, I can’t stay forever. We will have to brainstorm something. When is Sev supposed to sign this deal anyway?”

Gem shrugged. “No idea. They’re dicking around with contracts at the moment.”

Our drinks arrived then, and the conversation shifted between the boys to discuss the press tour that Ollie was currently in the middle of. It was for a movie set to release in a couple of months, and he seemed genuinely excited about it. The amount of promotional work the studio had him and the whole cast doing said they had high hopes for some accolades too.

“…are those ones all with Violetta?” Gem was asking when I tuned back into their conversation, having just briefly being lost staring at the line of Gem’s jaw and thinking about whether I could discreetly palm his dick under the table.

I frowned. “Violetta Dulce? She’s in the movie with you?”

Ollie quirked a brow at me, tilting his head to the side. “Yes. She’s the leading lady.”

I blinked a couple of times, storing that information in my brain. “Oh. I didn’t know that, I don’t think.”

Gem’s fingers squeezed my knee lightly. “Do you not like Violetta, Slick? She’s pretty new. I’ve never worked with her.”

I bit my lip, asking myself silently whether I was seriously jealous of a woman simply doing her job. Violetta Dulce was a goddamn knockout though. Stunning didn’t begin to touch on her beauty. She was a former Miss Universe contestant turned actress after a social media boom, but from what I’d seen, she was actually a good actress.

And Ollie had already mentioned it was a “high-heat” movie, and that meant the gorgeous woman had been kissing my man.

“I haven’t crossed paths with her,” I admitted, swallowing back my childish jealousy. “She doesn’t even live in LA, I don’t think?”

Ollie shook his head. “Nah, she has a place up in northern Cali somewhere. She’s just here for this series of interviews, since we have to do them together. Chemistry and all that, you know?”

I pursed my lips, nodding. Logically, yes that all made sense. But the feral cavewoman part of my brain was freaking right the fuck out. I didn’t know enough about Violetta to know whether I should be so worried or not. If it were Clara Belle or any of the other countless vapid actresses I was familiar with, I wouldn’t give it a second thought.

“Do you enjoy acting, Ollie?” I asked thoughtfully, taking a sip of my Chardonnay. “Does it make you happy?”

His gaze was confident and open as he replied. “One hundred percent, yes. It’s what I was born to do, and I couldn’t imagine doing anything else with my life. I hope I’m still playing the dashing villain and tragic hero when I’m old and gray.” He practically sparkled when he spoke about his acting. It was beautiful. “What about you, Snow? Do you enjoy what you do?”

I used to. But now? I wasn’t so sure…

Being on the other side of the camera had given me a fresh perspective on the lives of the celebrities whose scandals paid my bills. I had nothing else, though, so I gave a tight smile and nodded.

“Sure. Love it. Oh, look, here’s our food…”