Page 26 of Reality With You (Arden Beach #1)

A low moan squeezed out of Lennon as large, strong hands kneaded into her bare back.

For a moment, she forgot the cameras were around, nearly losing herself in the masseuse’s blissful ministrations as he loosened knot upon knot.

After the beach clean-up, Avery reached out to Lennon about spending some one-on-one time together.

The bride invited her for a spa day later that week at a five-star hotel, with one catch: It would be filmed for the show.

“They’re following me everywhere until the wedding,” Avery lamented via text.

Lennon wasn’t in any position to decline because she, too, was under contract for a certain number of hours. And they were paying her rent. Besides, who was she to complain when “work” those days meant going to the spa with a friend?

The skilled masseuse—if any gods existed, they’d surely blessed this man’s hands—continued working at her shoulders where the bulk of her tension coiled.

“This feels so good after all that work on the beach,” Avery remarked, her voice languid and slightly distorted from her cheek pressing into the soft massage table.

Lennon tensed at the reminder of that day. Kelsey’s accusations had annoyed her, but the conversation she overheard between Kelsey and Dylan gnawed at her more. It planted a seed of fear she couldn’t shake.

Is that how Dylan felt every time he looked at Lennon—shame over what happened in the past? Was she a tether to all his mistakes? A reminder of his failures? Would that baggage always be there, weighing him down so long as she was in his life?

The fear that she’d never be able to let go of what happened between them wasn’t new, but the thought of her representing something negative to him cut differently.

The masseuse must have noticed she’d stiffened because his hands paused momentarily before repositioning and increasing the pressure.

Blessed by gods or not, nothing could unfurl the tightness wound deep within.

After their massages, Lennon and Avery slipped into swimsuits and submerged themselves in a jacuzzi nestled in a private room covered in polished marble with gold veining and shimmering glass mosaic tiles.

Avery had slicked her hair back in a perfect low bun, showing off delicate pearl earrings.

A server brought them champagne as they settled into the hot, bubbling water.

It would have been a dream if it weren’t for the two cameramen with rigs strapped to their bodies spoiling the vibe.

“It was nice to see Dylan again,” Avery said, her posture gracefully straight and her skin flawless despite having been pressed into a hole for an hour. Lennon’s limbs felt like goo after the massage. “He seems to be doing well.”

Lennon smiled softly, watching the water bubbling around her as she thought of walking along the beach with him. It used to be one of their favorite things to do when they were together.

“The way you two were with each other, I almost forgot—” Avery stopped short with a tight smile. Her cheeks reddened slightly. “I’m happy you’re friends again.”

Lennon’s heart gave a hollow throb. “Me too.”

Avery’s smile softened. “Just between the two of us, is the door for more completely closed?”

The camera loomed over Avery’s shoulder. “Just the two of us?” Lennon remarked with a quirked brow.

Avery’s dimples appeared again as she rolled her eyes up, stifling a laugh at herself. But the question still hung between them.

“You’re the one getting married soon. Why are we talking about me?” Lennon parried back coyly, opting for an obvious evasion tactic instead of giving—or thinking about—an honest answer. She prayed Avery didn’t press it.

For a moment, it seemed like she might, but Avery conceded, the look in her eyes suggesting she understood. Lennon silently thanked her with her own.

“So, I wanted to talk to you about something,” Avery said hesitantly, as though wading into uncertain waters. “Kelsey told me you talked at the beach, and things didn’t exactly … go well.”

Oh, boy.

Lennon placed her flute down on the flat, wide edge of the jacuzzi. It was better that she didn’t have alcohol in her system for this conversation. Even a little bit. “That’s a fair assessment. What did she tell you?”

“That she tried to smooth things out, but you weren’t exactly receptive. And … that you accused her of saying things she hadn’t.”

A low scoff slipped out as Lennon rolled her eyes. “Here’s the thing: She did say those things.”

Surprise flashed across Avery’s face. “That you’re trying to get back with Dylan for his money? She said that?”

“It was strongly suggested,” Lennon said. “And you heard the comments at the brunch about my age and having to choose between my career and a family, which she tried to deny on the beach.”

Avery’s lips pressed together, her expression caught somewhere between guilt and incredulity. “Kelsey can come off strong sometimes, and her intentions are often misunderstood. She doesn’t always have the best bedside manner, but she has a good heart.”

That was debatable.

“Look, I know she’s your best friend, and I don’t want any drama,” Lennon said carefully. “But I think Kelsey knew exactly what she was saying.”

Avery lowered her gaze, her long, dark lashes falling like a curtain.

“I’m sorry you feel that way. I can see both sides.

” When she looked up, Avery wore a placating smile.

“Can you give her another chance? I told her you were probably getting used to everything. Moving back to Arden Beach, getting to know everyone, and healing from what happened with your record deal. It’s a lot. ”

Lennon furrowed her brow. “I don’t think I’m the problem here,” she remarked in partial disbelief, pressing a hand to her chest. Her pulse pounded beneath her fingers, her stomach going uneasy.

“I mean, relationships are a two-way street,” Avery said, softly lifting her shoulder.

“It requires effort from both sides to make it work. I’d love for you and Kelsey to get along, especially since you’re both in my wedding.

It’ll be a lot more fun if we’re all friends. ” She smiled, hope alight in her eyes.

Lennon’s blood pumped harder at the implication she’d had anything to do with her and Kelsey not hitting it off, and that it was now her responsibility to fix that.

She wanted to say her instincts told her Kelsey couldn’t be trusted, but this was Avery’s best friend and maid of honor they were talking about.

She was never going to side with Lennon.

And it was clear that Avery wanted to avoid conflict.

Without Avery, Lennon wouldn’t have been cast on the show, and she invited her to be a bridesmaid when she had no obligation to do so. Lennon would seem ungrateful—and like she was trying to stir up drama—if she denied her this one request.

Avery watched her expectantly. Lennon gritted her teeth and called upon the skill she had mastered in her years working in customer service.

“I’ll do my best,” she said, forcing a convincing though painful smile.

“She’s trying to make me look like a fucking gold digger.”

Lennon fisted a jar of peanut butter and dumped it in the shopping cart, where her phone sat perched against her bag in the front basket.

On the screen, Erin jogged on a hotel treadmill.

The distant whir of the machine and pounding of Erin’s sneakers hitting the belt in Lennon’s earbuds overlayed the soft pop/rock music and ambient noise of the grocery store.

Lennon had spent the better part of half an hour venting. Bruno dropped her off at her apartment after filming, and she immediately dialed Erin as she walked off some of her frustration on the way to the market.

Ironically, an afternoon at the spa had had the opposite of its intended effect. Lennon’s blood roiled. She had new knots on top of the old ones.

“She even made it sound like I used my friendship with Avery to get on the show,” Lennon continued, her voice pitched low but sharp. “Which, I guess, technically is true, but that’s not the full picture. It was Avery’s idea.”

She wandered a couple of aisles over to the baking section. A disturbing thought slammed into her as she reached for a bag of flour. “She said something at the brunch when we talked about Dylan,” Lennon recalled. “How it was ‘convenient’ that I returned while he was rehabilitating.”

“That’s a weird thing to say,” Erin remarked, a little breathless as she bobbed with every step in her jog, her blonde ponytail swinging behind her.

“I think she was suggesting I’m trying to take advantage of what he’s going through to get close to him again.

Fucking A. This woman is a psycho.” Lennon dropped the flour in the cart with a thud.

“Kelsey is twisting everything to make it seem like I’m some opportunistic manipulator.

She’s been baiting me, and I’ve fallen right into it. ”

“Mean girls really don’t leave it behind in high school, do they? They just find bigger stages.”

“I can’t believe she’s Avery’s best friend.” Lennon collected a few more items—sugar, cinnamon, cream of tartar. “Avery is so sweet. It’s like Snow White and the Evil Queen being besties.”

“Avery probably doesn’t see it. Or she doesn’t want to,” Erin reasoned. “But it sounds like Kelsey may be threatened by you, and she’s doing everything she can to push you out.”

“Threatened by me? For what? She’s the one who filmed a movie , after all,” Lennon said mockingly. She turned down another aisle, cans and bottles of soda lining the shelves to her right. The same glass bottles of root beer she and Dylan shared at her apartment brought her to a stop.

Another sickening realization clicked. “She wants Dylan.”

Erin glanced at the camera, her sweat-beaded brow furrowing. “How do you know?”

“She was flirting with him at the beach. She all but rubbed her scent on him. And I overheard them talking. They sounded like they were …” A dull, twisting heat pooled in her stomach. “ Bonding .”