be perfect for our intimate wedding and for family and friends to spend time together.
I pad across the little walkway to the pool area, spotting Elle already there and pulling a patio umbrella over to her lounger. Beck is dressed in trunks and chatting up the bartender.
“What’ll you drink, Manatee?” Beck calls.
I consider as I approach, stopping next to him at the bar shielded by a thatch roof. I tug the sunglasses down my nose to inspect my friend. “Coffee.”
He laughs. “Only with a chaser.”
He orders me a margarita to go with my coffee, and a few minutes later, both are in front of me courtesy of our personal bartender, plus a margarita for him. We clink mugs and glasses.
“You aren’t worried about your abs?” I tease, nodding toward his six-pack stomach.
“My dad might be a prick, but I have exceptional genetics.”
“So, you won’t be checking out the gym while you’re here.”
He shakes his head vehemently while he answers, “Every day at 6 a.m.”
I throw my head back and laugh before starting back toward the loungers with a coffee in one hand and a margarita in the other.
Beck and I shift into seats next to Elle.
“Your speech at the party was epic,” she informs him. “All that stuff about togetherness. You must be practicing for your Emmy acceptance.”
“I do have a working draft on me at all times,” he says. “But for real, I gotta remind you fools in love there’s a more important commitment than to each other.”
“Which is?” Elle asks, opening a package of hair dye and laying her supplies out in front of her.
“To the group. We’re together for life,” he vows.
The words help soothe the dull ache in my stomach, and I lean over and hug Beck. “We’re going to remind you of that once you’re a legit A-lister and want nothing to do with us.”
“Impossible.”
Rae comes over wearing a one-piece with denim shorts, and I wave her to the lounger next to me.
“You need a hand with that?” Beck asks Elle, watching her open her bleach and mix it in the shade.
“Nah, I’ve been doing my roots for ages.”
“Without a mirror?” Beck asks. “All right, Annie’s not going to say it, so I will. Think of the pictures. I’m not being photographed with a zebra.”
Elle rolls her eyes. “Okay, fine. Hold your phone camera up for me?”
Beck turns to do that, and I focus on Rae as she drops onto the next lounger.
“Cute bathing suit.”
She grunts as she reaches for sunscreen. She applies it, twisting to reach her back.
“Here, I’ve got you.” I take the tube from her hand and rub some into her skin, scanning for any other marks.
Beck and Elle are talking about some new joke she’s working on, and I lower my voice.
“The other night after your set,” I say under my breath, “I noticed you had bruises on your wrist. As if someone had put their hands on you.”
Rae stiffens but doesn’t answer. When I hand the tube back to her, I look at her wrist, still covered in bracelets.
“It happened the first night in LA,” she says at last. “The booth at BLUE is in the middle of the bar. Partway through my set, this guy grabbed me from behind. Security was busy doing something else. I told them afterward they needed to pay more fucking attention, and they said they would. But the next night, I saw a woman getting pawed on the dance floor. She motioned for help, but no one came. I ended up leaving the booth and found her huddled in the alley behind the club. Her skirt was ripped. Her fucking hands were cut.”
Shock rises up. “That’s bullshit.”
“It’s assault,” she corrects. “And they weren’t going to do anything about it.”
Disbelief and anger clash in my chest.
“I told her to go to the police station to make a statement, even put her in a cab with all the cash I had on me to make sure she got there okay. I don’t know if she did. But if the club had done their fucking job, it wouldn’t have happened.”
“Did you talk to the promoter who booked you?”
“He brushed it off. I’ll take it to the owner.” Rae shifts back in her chair, sliding her glasses on her face. “But it’s part of a corporation and it’s hard to find someone to take responsibility.”
“Let me help. If anyone puts their hands on you, I will hunt them down myself,” I vow. “Which corporation?”
“Echo Entertainment Group. They have