She just wanted to drive back to his apartment and stay there for as long as she could.
Unfortunately, Jude would be leaving the next morning on business, so that wasn’t a possibility. Somehow, between the time she had left Jude’s place for home to when she would leave with Gates to go to the Chateau Marmont New Year’s party, she would have to come down from the high she had been riding on cloud nine.
“I really wish you had told me that you were going to spend time with Gates,” Celia crooned. “I would have preferred you were with family for the holidays, of course, but I understand that you wanted to spend time with your boyfriend.”
“That’s great, Celia,” Bryna said dryly.
“So, what did you do? Did you two have a good time? I’m sure you’re mother missed your terribly. I know we did here, and your father as well.”
Bryna sighed dramatically. Coming down from this high was going to be easier than she had thought. “Can we talk about this later? I’m really tired. I didn’t get much sleep while I was gone.” She let the implication of her words sink in.
“Oh, uh…sure. I’m glad you’re home,” Celia said.
“Yeah.” That made one of them.
Bryna ascended the steps and crashed into her bedroom.
She slept for a couple of uninterrupted hours and only got up because she was starving. When she came downstairs to scrounge up something for dinner, Pace was in the kitchen. It was hard to believe that she had been eating incredible meals with Jude in St. Barts just this past week.
“You look tan,” Pace muttered before biting into a peanut butter sandwich.
Don’t engage. Retract claws. “Yep.”
She reached into the fridge, and she pulled out an apple and a bottle of Pellegrino. She wasn’t going to waste any more time in the kitchen if Pace intended to stick around. Eating out sounded like a better option.
“You weren’t really with Gates, were you?”
She bit into her apple and didn’t respond. She didn’t want to have this conversation. She tried to imagine herself back in the villa—lounging beside the pool, Jude swimming, the feel of his body pressing against hers as he took her in the cabana. Soon, that would be her life, and she wouldn’t have to deal with Pace anymore. She would get into LV State and spend her weekends with Jude in Los Angeles.
Her fantasies were distracting her enough that she missed whatever Pace had said.
“I don’t know what you just said, but I really don’t care.” She started toward the exit.
“I saw Gates on the Today show for Broken Road. That show is in New York City.”
“Really?” she said. Her eyes went wide, and her mouth dropped open in mock shock. “Groundbreaking. Who knew that the Today show was in New York?”
“It was snowing.”
“And?” she snapped. God, can’t he just spit out what he’s trying to say?
He eyed her curiously. He clearly thought he had her all figured out. “How did you come back from Christmas in New York with a tan?”
Bryna shrugged, nonplussed. “Ever heard of a tanning bed?”
“I have. I don’t think you use them.”
His eyes traveled down her body, and she shuddered at the attention. He made her feel so disgusting.
She snapped her fingers at him. “Would you cut that shit out?”
Obviously realizing he wasn’t getting anywhere with that line of reasoning, he changed tactics. “Where did you get that necklace?”
Her hand immediately reached for the diamond necklace at her throat. A smile spread on her face at the thought of Jude’s Christmas present. “Gates got it for me,” she lied.
“Gates has never gotten you a present before and certainly not anything with diamonds in it,” he said suspiciously.
“Whatever, Pace. Just because you’re jealous doesn’t mean you have to be a dick and call everything into question,” she snapped at him.
“Is that what you think?” he asked, moving forward until he was standing in front of her. “That I’m jealous of your boy toy? I’m jealous of your perfect life?”
She glared up at him. “What else could explain the slimy way you look at me? The way you try to tear apart my life? You’re jealous because you will never be anything but Valley trash. You’re an imposter in my world. You don’t have the money that you flaunt, and you’ll never have me.”
“The fact that you think I want you, Bri, just shows how much of a conceited bitch you really are. You and your world disgust me more than you could ever know. But if you think I’m flaunting now, then just wait.” He smirked down at her. “I finally get it now. Game on.” He walked through the door and then thought better of it. “Have a good New Year’s. I know I will.”
Then, he was gone. She glowered after his back and mulled over what he had said. Had he not even been part of the game? Why else had he told her coach that she had skipped practice to go out? He knew what he was trying to do. She wouldn’t let him sabotage her life. There was no way he could compete with her schemes.
Anyway, the fact that he could look at her with a straight face and say he didn’t want her or any part of her world was laughable. He stalked her like a predator after his prey. He played quarterback at Harmony. He wore two-thousand-dollar suit jackets. He clearly had a warped sense of vanity.
But if he was going to finally play her game, then she would be ready to take him down when the time came.
BRYNA STEPPED OUT of Gates’s limo and onto the red carpet leading into the Chateau Marmont in West Hollywood. She wore an Oscar de la Renta black-and-white dress and Chanel pearl heels with black tips.
Photographers lined the event, frequently stopping Gates for pictures, as reporters asked him questions. Once they reached the end of the line, he tightly wrapped an arm around her waist and pulled her away from the cameras. “You ready for this?”
“Of course. It’s going to be fun.”
“Thanks for coming with me.”
“Don’t thank me yet,” she said with a wink.
His laugh was one of complete ease, as if he didn’t have a care in the world. “I’ve missed your crazy ass.”
“You just missed me keeping your crazy ass in line. Everyone else feeds into your impulsiveness.”
He gave her an are-you-fucking-kidding-me look. “My impulsiveness? Weren’t you away at Christmas with some other guy? Not sure how much more impulsive you can get.”
“If this is you fishing again, it’s really not going to work,” Bryna told him.
“So, is it the same guy?”
“We’re not talking about this tonight. I’m here to get drunk with my friend and ring in the New Year. If you’re not providing that, maybe I’ll make new friends.”
He tugged her closer. “Babe, making friends isn’t your strong suit.”
“Whatever. Let’s just go get drinks.”
Gates took her hand and walked her through the crowd inside the connected darkened ballrooms. There were dozens of A-list celebrities at this event. Even though she was used to seeing stars who her father had worked with, the sheer quantity was enough to make her head turn.
Then, she saw someone that really did make her head turn.
She caught a glimpse of the back of his suit—a black Hugo Boss, if she had to guess, tailored to fit. It was the same dark brown hair she had run her fingers through this week. She craned her neck to see if she could see his face or profile, but Gates was moving her away from the man, and she never got a good look.
Her mind whirred to life. Was that Jude? Fuck!
He wasn’t supposed to be here. He’d said that he was going to be out of town on business. But didn’t I hear him say the exact same thing to his wife over Christmas?