Hiding Out in Hollywood (Celebrity Love)

Chapter Four

"You look like you're getting ready to go out."

Emily yelped. She turned around to face Shelby, who'd managed to sneak up behind her in her bedroom. Shelby looked both curious and entertained.

"I thought you were still at work," Emily said, trying to hide the dress she was holding. If Shelby saw it, there was no way she would be able to claim she was just meeting a friend for coffee or frozen yogurt.

"I was, and then like I always do, I came home. You were in the shower. Let me see the dress." Shelby's light brown curls bounced as she took a step to the side, attempting to peek at what Emily was concealing behind her back.

"What dress?" Emily blinked.

"The one you're trying to hide from me."

"I'm not hiding it," Emily lied. "I was just seeing if it needs to be washed." She walked over to her closet and hung the dress up between a sweater and a skirt.

"You took a shower to do laundry?" Shelby's blue eyes sparkled as she gave Emily a look that was a combination of disbelief and amusement.

"No, I took a shower because I like to be clean."

"So you're going out?"

Emily rubbed the back of her neck. This wasn't a conversation she wanted to have right now.

"Yes, I'm going out," she told Shelby. "I thought I'd leave the apartment and go somewhere that isn't yoga or a meeting with Wally."

"I approve of this plan."

Or you think you do, Emily thought. She flashed Shelby a smile, and then pretended to inspect a pair of jeans.

"Where are you going?" Shelby sat down on Emily's bed.

"Not sure." That was true, technically. Raine hadn't mentioned where he was taking her when she'd texted him with her address earlier. She brushed an invisible speck off the jeans she was examining.

"Do I know who you're going with?"

"Someone I know from yoga." Emily took a T-shirt off a clothes hanger. She had no plans to wear it, but hoped it would throw Shelby off the trail of what was really going on.

Shelby glanced at the T-shirt. "Let me guess. It's between a raw juice bar and Urth Caffé."

"Is that what you think yoga people do?"

"Well, don't they?" Shelby asked.

"I'm a yoga person. Have you ever seen me at a juice bar?"

"I don't know what you do after your yoga class. You could have a double life I know nothing about."

She knew Shelby was joking, but Emily couldn't help feeling a twinge of guilt. She didn't want Shelby to know anything about her plans for tonight, so in a way, she kind of was leading a double life.

It will be over soon, she told herself. One dinner with Raine, and that was all. It had to stop there. She'd had a moment where instead of being smart about it, she had let her feelings take over, and she couldn't let it happen again.

"I'm not going to a juice bar, at least not that I know of," Emily said. "I'll take it your plans for the night are much more exciting than that?"

Shelby was silent. Emily looked at her just in time to see a frown tugging at the corners of her mouth. Shelby caught herself after a second or two and shrugged.

"Nah. I'm going to stay in and do some unpacking. It's annoying to not be able to find my stuff."

To anyone but her, Shelby would have sounded believable. Emily had known her for too long, though, and she recognized the frown and the faraway look in her eyes—she'd seen it too many times in college. Back then, it had meant something was up with Darren. Since Shelby had met up with him last night, she had a hunch it did now, too.