MARRYING THE ROCKSTAR (#3 ROCKSTAR SERIES)

♪ twenty ♪

The following week, I received feedback from SHOW SoHo regarding the Leo article.

They loved it.

"It was a smash hit," said Zita in her email to me, along with the minor corrections she needed me to make—a few things Leo would likely not love, but that she thought were more appropriate for the magazine.

I made the modifications, and Zita informed me the article would go out the next day.

And when it did, the reviews poured in. Fans from around the globe commented, so excited for an inside look at Leo's lifestyle, his fashion sense, his attitude in general. It was raw, exposing. A bit more in depth than Leo had originally agreed upon. But I thought that Zita knew what she was doing, and the article would actually be a good thing for Leo's career.

Two days later, Zita sent me another email, congratulating me.

I know we already hired you, but first the Sapphire article, and now Leo's—we're truly fans of your work, Emmaline. And we hope to see more of it. With that writing style and those personal questions and your eye for fashionable poses, we'll take any interview with anyone, as long as you're the one behind it.

It was huge praise. I kept it near my heart as I called Daphne and Sapphire and asked them if they wanted to go out to celebrate.

I invited Leo to join us, but in the past few weeks—since the touching ourselves session—he'd been distant, mostly because of work. He had to travel around the state for interviews, and a few times was even out of state, going as far as Florida and California for some TV shows and articles he was being featured in.

We talked on the phone, but most nights, our bed was empty but for me. Which prompted me to overthink everything that had happened since the night he proposed.

I had so many conflicting feelings. Loving him, but not being sure if I wanted to marry him so fast. Unsure if our love was strong enough because it felt largely rooted in sex. Unclear on whether I'd ever tolerate his moods, and if he'd ever stop being jealous of Cameron.

It was a mess in my head. A turmoil of thoughts that kept me up, tossing and turning, and struggling to stay awake the next day.

So the night out with the girls was necessary. Time away from those troubling thoughts, to focus solely on my career, was what I needed.

"To Emmaline Simmons, fashion reporter extraordinaire," said Daphne in a fake French accent, making Sapphire and I chuckle.

We'd opted for a low-key speak-easy in northern New York City, where Sapphire promised us we'd be left alone. For once, she hadn't brought Cameron along, because he was vacationing with his family.

Not having him near, watching us from afar, was strange. A part of me was curious; how was he? Had he moved on from his feelings yet? Did he still think Leo and I were destined for doom? Had he given up on pining for me, thinking I'd come back to him?

Not that he'd ever said that, but I always assumed that was what he thought.

We drank, we toasted, and we scarfed down some French fries to soak up all the liquor. By the time I got home, I was more relaxed than I'd been in a while.

"And all it took was a night with the girls," I said to myself, flipping on the light-switch in the bedroom as I got home.

I gasped, dropping my purse to the ground at the sight of someone sitting on the bed.

Leo.

I wasn't aware he'd be back yet. He'd declined the offer to join me and the girls, so I'd assumed he was out of town for another night.