We even have a date night tonight. Not a real date, of course. He’s just helping me with my list and still refuses to let anyone else take me out because of “security risks.”
I’m not stupid; I don’t argue.
The more I get to know him, the deeper my crush gets. Since that first run, when we’re with the rest of the group, he’s often next to me. And maybe it’s my imagination, but even when we aren’t physically close together, our eyes meet from across the room. He touches me often, and with each brush of his shoulder or pass of his hand, I break out in full-body shivers, remembering that one night we had back in San Francisco. Oh, I remember that night to the point of obsession, to the point of forgetting everything else, especially the role of Cassidy Reynolds in his life.
But here she is, and I can’t ignore her presence any longer. I can’t be jealous—well, I am, but I shouldn’t be. And I can’t help wonder if Cassidy knows that Chase is taking me out tonight. Maybe they are only back to casually dating, or maybe they have an open relationship. I’ll never understand Hollywood. If Chase were mine, I’d never share.
An hour later, I’m done with my massage and having iced coffees at a poolside table with Daisy and Emma when Cassidy walks past again, returning from the path to Chase’s cottage.
“Hi!” Cassidy says with a friendly wave as she approaches us.
The worse part is she seems nice.
Emma looks up from her laptop.
“Hey, Cassidy! I haven’t seen you in forever!” Emma rises, and she and Cassidy do the LA air-kiss thing.
“Cassidy, this is Daisy and Olivia,” Emma introduces.
Daisy smiles. “Hi! I loved you in It Takes Two. That was such a great movie.”
“Thanks,” Cassidy says, a warm smile lighting up her beautiful face. Ugh. Why can’t she be awful?
“Chase has mentioned you both. It’s so nice to finally meet you,” the star says graciously, giving me a once-over.
He’s mentioned me to Cassidy? I wish I could ask more, but there’s no graceful way to insert that into the conversation.
Daisy and Cassidy exchange pleasantries while I paste a fake smile on my face and search for any flaws. But there aren’t any. I’m gutted. She’s nice, beautiful, and pretty much perfect for Chase.
“I wish I could stay longer, but I have a date I’m already late for,” Cassidy says, looking at her watch with a frown.
Date what? Maybe she just means an appointment.
“Ooh, anyone interesting?” Emma asks before Cassidy turns to leave.
Bless you, Emma, you nosy wench.
“It’s in the early days, and we’re keeping it private, but he shows some promise. I’ve decided I need to get back out there. It’s been too long.”
“But—I thought you were back with Chase,” I blurt out.
Cassidy tilts her head, frowning, her eyes speculative. “I’m not seeing Chase. At least, not for real, not for years. We still get photographed together and our publicists fan the flames, but that’s just PR. I thought that—” She stops herself.
Daisy and Emma look from me to Cassidy, then back to me, as if they’re watching a ping-pong match.
“But I heard… He said…” I trail off, trying to think.
What had he said when I brought up Cassidy being his girlfriend? Had he confirmed it, or had he been noncommittal and I just assumed?
“Trust me, the first lesson to learn in this crazy town is not to trust rumors. I’m helping Chase out with something right now, but you’ll have to ask him about that yourself. It seems like he might be into someone else.”
“Good to know,” I say, my mind in a whirl.
After Cassidy saunters away, Emma turns to me. “Soooo, that was interesting.”
“I don’t understand. Chase led me to think he was back with Cassidy.”
“Obviously, you misunderstood,” Emma says. “Besides, you and Chase are going out on a date tonight. He would never take another girl out if he was with someone else. He’s not the type to cheat. Hell, ever since that one girl sold her story about hooking up with him to the tabloids, he’s hardly been with anyone.”
Except for me. Except for San Francisco. I’ve never been more tempted to tell Daisy and Emma everything and ask what they think. They know that we kissed in San Francisco, but they don’t know the details or the extent of it. I’m not experienced like they are, so I’m way out of my depth. I don’t know the dos and don’ts of hookup etiquette.