“What?” she gasped. “Who told you that?”

“Your brother,” she said apologetically. “He said that you weren’t at home when he got in. I haven’t confirmed with your parents because I wanted to speak with you first.”

Bryna swallowed her red-hot anger. “Pace is my stepbrother. My father is filming in New Zealand until Christmas, and my mother is probably off somewhere, coked out and sleeping with one of her twenty-something cabana boys. Feel free to verify with them, but neither was home. Nor was Pace, and for once, he never came into my room.”

Coach Baker shifted uncomfortably. “What about your stepmother?”

“I didn’t see her all night.” Here came the theatrics. Bryna put her hand over her mouth and swallowed as if she had to keep from crying. She breathed in heavily, shook her head, and then looked away. She couldn’t believe this was happening to her. “You don’t know what it’s like at home right now, Coach Baker. I was sick in my room, all alone. Pace is throwing out wild accusations. I don’t have a parental figure in the house anymore. I look up to you so much, Coach Baker, and knowing that you might believe this of me just makes it all worse.”

“Bryna, I’m sorry. I know things have been rough with your home life lately. You’ve been so consistent all these years, and this was just a one-time miss, so we’ll put the whole thing behind us. Let’s just get to practice.”

“Thank you, Coach Baker,” Bryna said, wiping her eyes. “Can I just have a minute before I go out there?”

“Of course.”

Coach Baker walked out of her office to herd the rest of the team, and Bryna pulled out her cell phone. Dropping the theatrics, she let her temper take over. How dare Pace rat me out to my coach! She wouldn’t stand for this. He couldn’t get away with it. She hoped he knew what he had gotten himself into because, from now on, this wasn’t just fun and games. He had messed with her life, and he was going to pay.

She jotted out a text message to Pace.

Game on.

Bryna left practice in a hurry. She wanted to get home and prepare for her inevitable showdown with Pace once he got home from football practice.

On her way out of the building, she’d told Avery and Tara how Pace had lied to their coach. They couldn’t believe that he would lie, let alone stoop to that level, but they were glad nothing bad had come of it. She wished she had someone to confide in about Jude, but she couldn’t tell the girls that she hadn’t actually been sick.

On her way home, her phone started ringing. She glanced down at the display. Gates. She sighed. This had been a long time coming. She clicked the Bluetooth feature.

“You have one minute before I hang up,” she answered.

“I’m sorry. I miss you. I want to make it up to you.”

Bryna rolled her eyes. “And how does Chloe feel about that?”

“Chloe and I aren’t even together, Bri.”

“You’re not a couple, or you’re not fucking?”

“Bryna,” he sighed. “Come on. I’m making an effort here.”

“Sidestepping the question isn’t making an effort,” she responded. She was still pissed about what she had walked into that night with Chloe and Gates. He shouldn’t have blindsided her with that.

“We’re not together, and we’re not fucking either. All right?”

“Fine.”

“You and I are the only people in each other’s lives who know the real person behind the mask. You were there for me before my acting career exploded. Everyone else sees the movies, and you see the dick who you agreed to date even though he was a nobody.”

Bryna laughed despite herself. “I would never date a nobody. I knew you would be huge.”

“Would be huge?” he asked, laughing.

“We’re not talking about your dick, Gates!”

“Fine. Fine. I’m just trying to make this right. I’ll be gone through most of Christmas break, but I actually have an appearance scheduled for New Year’s Eve in Los Angeles. If you aren’t seeing anyone else, maybe you could be my date?”

She didn’t know her plans for Christmas or New Year’s. Her dad was supposed to be in town for both, as far as he had told her, and she usually dropped everything to spend as much time with him as possible. Also, she didn’t know if, by the end of the month, she would have a hot New Year’s date with Jude all lined up.

“I don’t know. If nothing else comes up, then count me in. But just as a friend, Gates.”

“Sounds like a vote of confidence, B. I invite you to the Chateau Marmont hotel for a posh New Year’s exclusive, and you say, only if you don’t find a better offer.”

Bryna’s heart rate picked up in excitement. “The Chateau Marmont? You are on the rise, aren’t you?”

“Say you’ll go with me.”

“I stand by my answer.”

Gates laughed. “If I didn’t know better, I’d think you were seeing someone else.”

“What is that supposed to mean?” she demanded.

“I know you, and you wouldn’t be interested in some Harmony or Covenant trust fund baby. And with your extracurricular schedule, where would you find the time to meet someone new who could compete with me?”

Bryna shook her head in disbelief. This had been a relatively pleasant conversation up until that comment. Now, the anger that had momentarily dissolved was rearing its ugly head again.

“You’re right. How could anyone ever compete with the ex-boyfriend I dumped for lying to me about sleeping with his costar? In fact, maybe you should just invite Chloe to the New Year’s party.”

“Oh, so there is someone.”

“Stop fishing,” she snapped.

Gates laughed lightly. “I’m not fishing. I have to get back. I hope I see you on New Year’s, Bri.”

“Bye, Gates.” She hung up the phone with relief.

She felt like she was performing on a tightrope. Every footstep forward left her wobbling and in a more precarious position than the step before, but she couldn’t turn around now. All she could do was keep walking down the unsteady rope and hope she would make it over to the other side without falling and breaking her neck.

“SO, B,” Pace said, leaning against the wall next to Bryna’s locker, “you going to Jemma’s house party this weekend? Her parents are out of town.” He waggled his eyebrows up and down.

It took everything in her being not to throw the locker door into his smug face. Pace had never responded to her threatening text message earlier this week about interfering with Coach Baker. She was left waiting for another double-cross, and all she wanted to do was wrap her hands around his neck and throttle him. Except he might enjoy that. Gross!

“Isn’t it enough that you harass me at home, Pace?” She stuffed her books into her bag.

“Hardly.”

Bryna wrinkled her nose and slammed the locker shut.

“So, Jemma’s party?” he asked again.

“No,” she spat. “I’m not going to Jemma’s party. I have better things to do.”

Bryna started walking down the hall, but Pace fell into step beside her.

“What better things? Off with your mysterious stranger again? Are you going to tell me who he is? I know it’s not Gates since he’s out of town.”

“I don’t know what you’re talking about,” Bryna said.

Why does Pace have to latch on to this one thing? She couldn’t let him find out about Jude. This was her secret to keep, and she didn’t want Pace to have any leverage over her. He clearly wanted to ruin her life, and she shuddered to think what he would do if he found out.

“Don’t you have class on the other side of campus?”

“I do,” he agreed and then went right back to the other subject. “You should bring him to Jemma’s party, so we can all meet him.”