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Chapter 26: Caught
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The Fontaines of Hollywood series: The Lies Between the Lines Chapter 27: The Party
I still have no idea how Luca does this to me, how he brings out an angry side that I didn't know I had.My mood bounces all over the place as I get ready for the party. A cold shower helps, but only a little. One moment I feel ashamed and embarrassed, the next I'm back to being pissed - pissed at myself and at Luca. Everything is a joke to him. Sometimes I wonder if he has real feelings, or if he's gotten so good at the fake ones that he's forgotten what the genuine ones are like.An image of him hunched over next to the pool floats to the front of my mind. He seemed to be feeling something genuine enough then. But if he's not going to show any real emotions around other people - around me - how am I supposed to respond?I do some of Dad's breathing exercises as I pull on my dress. I need to calm myself down before the party. There are going to be a lot of important industry people there tonight, and Luca and I need to present a united front, even if I'm still reeling on the inside
The Fontaines of Hollywood series: The Lies Between the Lines Chapter 28: A Little Chat With Rafe
It's moments like this that remind me of just how screwed up this arrangement with Luca is. Luca and I might stand here with our hands all over each other, but in reality we're almost strangers - we know so little about each other."I might go grab myself a drink," I tell Luca. "Would you like anything?""I'll grab us drinks, love," he says. "I wouldn't be a gentleman if - ""Nonsense. You and your brother are talking. I'll be right back." I stand up on my toes and kiss him on the cheek. Then I turn to Dante and Ashlyn. "Would either of you like anything?"They both decline, and then I finally have the chance to slip away through the crowd.There are waiters walking through the room with trays of champagne, but there's also a bar in the far corner. I head there. I order a dirty martini for Luca - his usual drink when we're out together - and a seltzer water with lime for myself. Part of me longs to have something alcoholic, just to get me through this party, but I've already had m
The Fontaines of Hollywood series: The Lies Between the Lines Chapter 29: Jealousy
Luca doesn't wait for me to respond. I don't even have time to grab my drink before he's pulling me away from the bar. His arm slides more fully around my waist, holding me against his side as we go back across the room away from the bar - and his brother Rafe."What was that about?" I demand."You tell me. What were you and Rafe talking about before I got there?""Just random stuff, nothing important. I was telling him about the bathroom.""It looked like a lot more than that.""Well, it wasn't. We were just talking.""He was leaning awfully close to you for just talking."I nearly stop in my tracks. "What exactly are you implying here? We were just talking.""But to everyone else here, it looked like a hell of a lot more. Good God, Emilia, he was flirting with you - ""Making toilet jokes is not flirting."Confusion flickers across Luca's face, but he keeps going. "And you were flirting right back - ""I wasn't flirting. I was talking.""You were giggling. And leaning int
The Fontaines of Hollywood series: The Lies Between the Lines Chapter 30: Luca Finds Out
If I thought I could forget about what happened last week during our practice session, I was wrong. The memory of it is burned into my skin, into every inch of my body. My reaction to him now is instant and strong - and almost overwhelming in its intensity.One of his hands spreads against my back, holding me tight against him. The other tangles in my hair, gripping the strands so tightly it hurts. But I don't care. I like the pain.The force of his kiss pushes me back. He backs me up against the railing of the terrace, but I'm not worried about falling over, not as long as he's holding me like this. In fact, I can hardly think of anything but the taste of him, the heat of him, the hard urgency of his mouth against mine. I want to drown in this feeling.And then, just when I begin to fear I might actually lose myself completely in the sensations rushing through me, he pulls back, his mouth releasing mine.I can only stare at him, dazed, as he pulls me away from the edge of the terr
The Fontaines of Hollywood series: The Lies Between the Lines Chapter 31: Revelations
The next few minutes happen as if in slow motion.One second Luca is standing next to his older brother, his fist raised. The next his arm is soaring through the air, and before I can even move, his fist is colliding with Dante's face. Dante isn't prepared for the strike, and the blow knocks him over backward.It takes a second for the people around them to notice. But one by one, they all turn. The happy party smiles shift into expressions of shock and surprise. A couple of people cry out.All this before I find the ability to move. Ashlyn is frozen, too.We both snap into action at the same time, nearly tripping over each other - and over the poor waiter picking up the broken glass - in our effort to get to the door. We squeeze past each other to get inside, and we push through the crowd almost as one.By the time we reach the men, Rafe is already there, pulling Luca off of their brother.Luca looks nothing like himself. His golden hair falls in disheveled strands across his fa
The Fontaines of Hollywood series: The Lies Between the Lines Chapter 32: Passion Takes Over
Like on the terrace only a short time ago, once I'm over the initial shock, my body responds immediately. As Luca's lips move against mine, heat surges through me, drowning out nearly everything else.I don't know what I'm doing, but I don't stop to think. My hands reach up and grab his shoulders. My mouth opens beneath his. My tongue reaches out and meets his. His hands slide up my back, holding me close. The heat of him burns through the slinky material of my dress.This is crazy, a little voice in my mind says. But it's too weak to do anything. I am too weak to do anything but succumb to the intense need coursing through my body. In this moment, all that exists is him.His fingers dig into my back, trying to draw me even nearer. But the stick shift is in the way, a hard, plastic protrusion sticking up between us. With a frustrated groan, Luca releases me and pulls back."Climb over," he says in a rough voice.I hesitate - now that we've stopped, if only for a second, I'm starti
The Fontaines of Hollywood series: The Lies Between the Lines Chapter 33: Scandal
Of all the ways I thought such an eventful evening might end...well, let's just say that dealing with the police was definitely not part of the plan. And neither was having the paparazzi snap pictures of the entire ordeal.But of all the things that happened last night, the whole "almost having sex with Luca" thing is what's been freaking me out the most. Which also means it's the thing I'm trying hardest not to think about.Fortunately, no charges of public indecency or whatever are being pressed against us. But the media sure got plenty of pictures of Luca and me with the police. And plenty more of me half-naked on top of Luca.It's now 8 AM the following morning, and I'm running on approximately forty-five minutes of sleep and two - going on three - cups of coffee. I've spent most of the night sitting up in bed, trying to make sense of everything that's happened. Oh, and also frantically refreshing all of the big celebrity news websites on my laptop, watching the story unfold in
The Fontaines of Hollywood series: The Lies Between the Lines Chapter 34: A New Arrangement
My breath catches in my chest. For a moment, there's something in Luca's eyes - a spark - that makes me think he means to kiss me. I stiffen, but he stops a couple of feet away from me."Yes, we do need to talk," I hear myself say.He hesitates for a moment - a very, very long moment. His eyes bore into mine, and behind the exhaustion I see something that for a brief, terrifying instant brings butterflies to my stomach. My lips tingle slightly as I remember the way his mouth tasted last night. Even though I know better, part of me still wants to taste it again.But he doesn't move. And whatever it is that I see in his eyes disappears again."I trust you've seen the internet," he says.I nod. "And I thought Cataclysm: Aftermath would be the first time the world saw me half-naked." It's supposed to be a joke, but I don't quite pull it off."We have a problem," he says, rubbing the side of his neck. "A big problem. This sort of publicity was not in our plan. I've been up all night t
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