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•Théo clasped the edge of the bed and glared at the girl acting like she couldn't give two shits about his question. When he kept waiting for her to fess up, her snubbing and disinterested frown just showed her guilt. "What?""So we're back to lies and pretending." He used a harsher tone, not caring if he might offend her in some way, or if he would sound like a judgmental jerk. "What d'you mean?"A loud grunt preceded his argument. "You've gotta stop—" He looked away. "It's getting out of hand."Her disbelief pinned her scowl on her pretty face. "What? We were having fun just last night."He faked a chuckle at her words. He almost believed her when she said she was only going through his stuff because she thought he was seeing someone else. But when he caught her using in the bathroom again, he instantly realized the real reason she snooped on his phone and went through his luggage.She was good at pretending but she wasn't a better liar than him—that he was sure of now. At the mom
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•"Are you texting her?""No.""You're hilarious.""Shut up." Théo hunched closer to the table and checked his phone. The smirk on his best friend's face wasn't because of the alcohol, he knew.Tomek quit grinning and shifted in his seat to glance over the well-lit stage below them. "She looks great," Tomek said after spending a while watching tonight's performers.Théo let his gaze drift to the right half of the curved platform, where the tall bassist and the only female vocalist onstage were positioned. Midway on the stage stood Veronica. She stood behind a microphone stand. The black pantsuit she had on made her look like a young company executive, as opposed to a frequently touring musician."That's Ed, right?" asked Tomek.Théo put his beer glass back on the table and answered with a small nod. He took another quick look at the band in performance; the Brooklyn-based indie-rock quartet were the last performers for tonight.Ed, the band's vocalist, was now belting the song's verse.
•"How's Harriet?""Working on her book.""Her third, right?"Kyle looked up from the score papers he'd been looking at for the past half-hour. "Her novel's still in progress. The third one's non-fiction, I think," he muttered while he slumped on the hotel bed. "Pretty busy.""And still single?" Veronica asked, her voice a bit hushed. She was busy combing her hair in the bathroom. The door was ajar, and her black skirt's frills looked as wavy as her brown locks."Doesn't want distractions," he replied shortly after ignoring the suggestive manner of her question."'Course. Writing's intricate, time-consuming, and..."Kyle continued to stare at the papers he held. It had notes that she'd composed over the last two nights. He could use them in the bridge of their new song, with some vocal layers fo
•It was his latest text. No— The one before that...Or maybe it was the voice message he sent this morning?There was just something in his voice that triggered a memory she'd rather not dwell on tonight. Veronica tossed her phone onto the bed, opting to ignore another text from the guy. Because if she replied to let him know she was still up, Théo would definitely call and keep her awake for another hour.She just wasn't in the mood to talk. Chat. Ask how his day was. If he was in New York already, so on...Maybe tomorrow. Or next week. And besides, he had lots of other momentary diversions he could call up. She wasn't jealous, though. Well...maybe just a little. For tonight, though, she'd sleep the stress off. Veronica scanned the room for a fat, black furball with a lazy crooked tail. She sighed and remembered her cat was at her mom's again. She wouldn't be able to spoil and cuddle him for another couple of months; the band still had several more shows to play to promote the
•"Where were you?"Théo stepped out of the rental car after he saw Anastasia's death glare as she approached the driver's side. He slammed the door shut and locked the car. A thin coat of dust had overlain the black roof and hood."Where have you been?""Go back inside; it's gonna rain," he muttered in response. The sky just got darker. Like his mood."Do I look like I give a shit?"He placed his fist over his mouth to try to obscure the sight of him gritting his teeth. He expected this reaction from her, but did she really have to swear at him?He looked in the direction of the hotel's main entrance.It was another pricey five-star hotel near Sunset Boulevard, and he knew she would be paying for a week-long stay using her credit card—paid for by her parents, of course—just so she could join
•"Tomorrow night?" "Yeah. Why? Are you supposed to..." Anastasia frowned slightly. "You have another meeting tomorrow?"Théo held back a sigh of frustration and pocketed his phone. Gillaume just texted him coordinates again. He was expecting another dropped call, but the coordinates meant Gillaume was ready to meet up any minute now.Meaning, she was already in the States. In New York, maybe? The agency also had headquarters in the East Coast."I can call the...we can do the morning after. Or the day after that," Ana said when he kept hesitating. "You're gonna be busy all day tomorrow?""Yeah. I need to be back in New York tomorrow afternoon." "What?" Ana pulled a face. "You just arrived.""Gotta meet up with someone from the agency. I have to clear up my schedule before we go to Rome. Let them know I'll be unavailable." "Okay," she replied with a faint nod that indicated some uncertainty. "Booked a flight yet?""No. I just got the text. Meeting with them tomorrow evening." He had