commanding the attention of our entire group.
“Well, this evening has officially turned to shit.” Peter sighed. Pain returned to his eyes, threatening to break me once more.
“I’m sorry. He wasn’t supposed to get in until tomorrow evening.”
“You don’t have to apologize.” Peter gave me a half-hearted smile. “If you’re happy and he isn’t a flaming douche, that’s all that matters.”
I reached out and gave his arm a squeeze, focusing my attention on our group, where everyone remained captivated by Phineas, who was regaling them with the tale of our red carpet experience. Violet and Kirsten’s elbows rested on the table, their heads propped up in their hands, leaning in as far as possible to Phineas, like he was a magnet and they were made of metal. That was Phineas, charismatic as ever. As taken aback as I was to see him, I wasn’t surprised to feel my heart fluttering in my chest when I looked at him. I’d missed him, something I felt guilty to admit with Peter a foot behind me.
Phineas looked up from the table, his large, brown eyes lighting up the moment he saw me. He’d already been smiling, but somehow that smile seemed to stretch even farther across his face now. Without finishing his story, he scooted his chair away from the table and stood up to meet me.
“You’re early.” I wrapped my arms around his lean, muscular body.
“Yeah, our little crisis was averted much quicker and more efficiently than I thought it would be.”
Sensing his distraction, I pulled my body away from his, tilting my head to look up at his face, which was momentarily focused on something behind me. A subtle change in his expression, a falter in his smile, and the sudden loss of the sparkle in his eyes, easy to miss for those who didn’t know him, told me it was Peter.
“Peter,” he greeted him, acknowledging my suspicion, “it’s nice to see you again.”
I looked over my shoulder, locking eyes with Peter. “Phineas,” he returned the greeting, nodding, “glad you could make it.”
“You look beautiful.” I turned my head to find Phineas once again giving me his full, undivided attention. He leaned in and kissed me on the forehead, eliciting a sigh from Kirsten, who had a dreamy look in her glassy eyes.
“Damn, you’re even better looking in person,” she cooed, somehow even more intoxicated than she had been when I left the table. Phineas and I shared a smirk. Across the table, Peter rolled his eyes.
“Finish your premiere story,” Elle urged Phineas as we took a seat. “I need to know who else Mena mowed down that night.”
“Seriously? You had to go there?”
He shrugged. “Actually, I do believe I finished that story. The premiere was a raging success for Drake Publishing, and Mena and I parted ways and went home for the night when it was over.” He gave my thigh a quick squeeze underneath the table. Surprised by this unexpected move, I jumped, willing myself not to look at Peter, as he would know simply by the expression on my face what had really happened between Phineas and I the night of the premiere.
“Boooorrriiiing,” Violet added, having moved from beer to hard liquor.
“I assure you that night was far from boring,” Phineas responded, shooting me a sideways glance.
Against my better judgment, I peered up at Peter, hoping he hadn’t heard that last comment. He had. And he looked just as sick on the outside as I felt on the inside. At least Tweedle Drunk and Tweedle Drunker hadn’t appeared to have heard or deciphered the meaning behind that last statement, saving me from quite a few awkward comments.
“So, what’s Kira Capucci like?” Salvatore asked, steering the tone of the conversation away from the NC-17 version of the premiere story. I mentally reminded myself to buy him a drink later. Understandably curious, Connor and Luke leaned in to hear Phineas’s response.
“She’s like every other celebrity I’ve met. Not as self-absorbed as you may believe, generous, and … friendly.” I nudged Phineas’s foot underneath the table.
“And by friendly he means flirty,” I added. “I’m sure Phin could dig her number out of the trash, if you’d like.”
Connor stared at Phineas in disbelief. “You threw away Kira Capucci’s number? Kira Capucci,” he expounded, pronouncing each syllable as though they were separate words.
Phineas shrugged, much to their befuddlement, and it occurred to me just how deep his feelings had been for me even then. Instead of a night of wild, passionate, beautiful people sex,