Dammit, that photo was definitely going to be sold to the highest bidder.
Chapter Five
IRINA
Whenever she startedto think about that kiss, Irina took two deep breaths in, then slowly let them out. That kiss was earthshaking and maddening, because Knox had absolutely proven her wrong. She hadn’t realized lip-locks could be like that. Mind-numbing overwhelm from the senses was not something she’d experienced before. Leave it to her to muck it up and feel that way about her future ex-husband.
Her future ex-husband who had no problem moving along to other prospects. Her throat got thick at that thought. The online tabloids had splashed all kinds of photos of him living it up with Tanner and Mach at all the exclusive night spots in Los Angeles.
Best that she understood he was a leopard who wouldn’t change his spots over one amazing kiss.
Her phone rang with a video request from Courtney.
This time, she answered, because she hadn’t meant to ghost her best friend while she’d been in Los Angeles. Or Knox, or anyone else…life had just been freaking nuts.
“Hey Courtney,” she said, flipping the camera on and immediately missing her bestie being in the same room. They needed to remedy that situation as soon as filming wrapped and before all the chaos of the wedding took hold.
“She’s alive.” Courtney had a flair for dramatics she shared with her now-husband, Bax.
“I’m alive.” Irina pulled her legs up under her on the sofa. “Can I see the baby?”
Courtney moved her video camera to show little Harley. They did the chit-chat check-in gig before Bax commandeered the iPad.
He held it to his face, frowning, then pulling it back so the visual was not of his nose hair.
“Seven-point-five?” he asked. “And you’re avoiding him?”
Oh shit. She hadn’t been avoiding him, she’d just been on set, and he’d been going out with the guys every night. It’d been easy enough to see that the ranking hadn’t bothered himthatmuch. Not with the amount of partying he’d done in the meantime.
They’d swapped messages, which was evidence she wasn’t actually avoiding him, even if she did hole up in her apartment whenever she got home. It wasn’t like he’d come knocking or asking for seconds.
“Knox told you what happened,” she said, a guilty ache settling in her chest.
“It’s all the guys can talk about,” Courtney said from off-screen. “All they’ve talked about fordays.”
Irina pulled her lips together. “I’m glad Knox has someone to discuss it with.” What did it say he discussed it at all? “And, no, I’m not avoiding him.” Was she? Crap, maybe she was…she didn’t mean to, though. “I needed to focus on running my lines for another audition.” She held up her notebook where she’d made notes about those lines.Lies!“I just…” She couldn’t let herself feel those wonderfully distracting things again when they couldn’t mean anything. She couldn’t let them mean anything.
“You’ve got shit to do.” Bax nodded. “But I’m worried about my friend. He’s taken a hit to his ego over this whole thing and he’s—what’s that word you used, Courtney?”
“Ruminating,” she hollered, again from off-screen. “Becca said when you mull over the same topic over and over with every-freaking-body in the band, it’s called ruminating.”
Becca was Linx’s girl. Linx played bass for Dimefront, and he’d fallen head over heels for Becca. She was a therapist by trade, and her skill set came in handy for the band on more than one occasion. Like now, when they needed to know what ruminating meant.
She and Irina weren’t close, but Irina dug the way Becca went with the flow and never shied away from any conflict the band struggled with.
“Knox is ruminating,” Bax said, as though this were a really bad thing.
“About the kiss?” Irina did her best to go with nonchalant, I-can’t-believe-he’s-obsessing. The truth was, however, that she had fudged a scene early in the day when she got overly internally focused on the best lip-lock she’d ever experienced.
“Uh-huh.” Bax moved through their Denver house to the kitchen and went about multitasking while talking to Irina and mixing up a baby bottle for Harley. “Guy needs a redo.”
Oh, no, no, no.The first kiss was a toe-curling disaster, she didn’t need to step in that ring again just to play with fire. Best to just marry the guy, let that run its course, and then file for an amicable divorce without any emotions involved.
“Irina,” Knox called from the hallway as he knocked.
“Here’s Knox now,” she said, cheerfully. “He must’ve heard me come in.”
“Nah,” Bax shook his head. “I texted him that you’re there and want to talk to him.”
