Page 74 of The Temptation of Truth

“Weird, right?”

I whip around and come eye to eye with Mabel. “Huh?”

She smirks. “Being up here while they’re all down there, staring up at us like we’re animals in a zoo.”

“Is that how it always is? Being famous?”

“Pretty much. Especially if I’m with the others. They attract the attention, but I can sort of blend in from time to time if I’m on my own.”

She glances over my shoulder toward the main dance floor again, and I don’t miss the way her smile falters, revealing the sadness underneath. I speak without thinking.

“I could find you in any crowd.”

She flicks her eyes to mine, something intense and almost painful flashing in those amber irises.

“You might be the only one.”

I do a quick scan of the venue, noting several people with their attention set on Mabel. It’s no surprise to me that people are looking. She’s gorgeous and charismatic. People are always going to look. Something akin to jealousy stirs in my stomach, but I force a small smile and shake my head.

“No. Definitely not the only one.”

I’m not sure if it’s the lighting from the DJ booth or my eyes playing tricks, but Mabel’s cheeks seem to color with a flush before that smirk of hers is back.

“Well, maybe I’ll try to slip down there later and find someone to feed my ego.”

She winks at me, then walks away, leaving me with my stomach at my feet and my heart in my throat.

Help feed her ego?

What does that mean? Dancing? It’s got to be dancing, right? She wants to find someone to dance with. I’m not completely certain what kind of dancing happens in dark nightclubs after midnight, but something tells me it’s not the kind I did at high school prom. It’s probably a lot of touching. Groping. Grinding? I wince.

Wait.

Or does she mean she wants tohook upwith someone? That’s a rock star thing to do, right? Hook up with someone you meet while clubbing? Would it be another supermodel? A woman like Kat Hughes? Someone tall and thin with more sex appeal in their left earlobe than I have in my entire body?

Oh God.

Will she be bringing them back to the suite?

I might throw up.

I don’t know that I’ve ever felt this intense blend of emotions before. Jealousy and anger and sadness. It’s overwhelming. It’s unbearable. It’s...

Well, it’s stupid, is what it is.

I shouldn’t care if she hooks up with someone tonight. Idon’tcare. It doesn’t matter to me because I’m not gay, and I don’t have any feelings, whatsoever, for Mabel Rossi.

I shake my head as if I can rattle loose my ridiculous thoughts, and then I zero in on the bar. Callie said that tonight is bound to get wild. I might as well jump in headfirst.

Shoulders back. Chin up.

I manage half the distance between myself and the bar before my shoulders start to slump, and I grip my purse a little tighter. The text I got from Brady earlier flashes in my head.

Making money doesn’t mean you don’t have to run things by me first.

My brows furrow, and I practice the excuses under my breath.

“It was just one drink. I didn’t even finish it. I just wanted something to hold. I didn’t want to text you and bother you over a single drink.”