Page 28 of True Stars Collide

Zoe was the most authentic woman––most authentic person––he’d ever met. Her feelings hadn’t been fake when they were alone together and neither had his. Their connection was real. It went way beyond the mind-blowing sex and into how she made him feel cared for. Safe to be himself with her. And he was in love with her.

Everything had happened so fast, and they hadn’t yet built up the kind of communication they needed because their relationship started as a PR stunt. But if he could convince her to try, he knew she’d work on their marriage with the same effort she put into what was important to her.

And he wasn’t going to allow her to run away.

No way would he agree to an annulment. And he knew just how to convince her to make it real.

Sandwich forgotten, he ran downstairs to the studio and grabbed a pen and piece of paper and began to write.

CHAPTER 14

Zoe swiped some salt from the rim of her Cadillac margarita and lifted her finger to her lips. The great thing about Chateau Marmont was it was filled with celebrities. So at the moment, nobody was paying attention to her. It was only 4:15 p.m., so Bar Marmont wasn’t crowded yet.

Earlier, she’d checked into a suite, showered and changed into a miniscule excuse for a dress. Thigh-high scarlet leather boots that matched her lipstick, messy black eyeliner, a floppy black hat à la Stevie Nicks, and it was showtime.

If she was about to make a major scene, she may as well do it in style. But there wasn’t enough tequila to make her feel okay about it. She’d already decided to pretend to be drunk because if she really did get wasted? Well, everyone knows liquor is truth serum and she’d start proclaiming her love for Liam Jones instead of advertising their epic break-up.

Krissy was tipping off the press for a 4:30 scene, so she had time for one stiff cocktail for courage. Easy to pretend she’d already been drinking. She’d slurred for the cute young wannabe actor tending bar. Setting the stage and all that.

Her stomach clenched again. What a nightmare this morning had been. Ian was a major pain in the ass. He just couldn’t give her time to tell Liam herself. The flash of pain in his bottle green eyes kept replaying in her mind. Had she made a terrible mistake in not talking to him first?

Well, no going back now. The stage was set. She still hadn’t come up with a plan. Celebrities went wild at the Chateau, so she needed to stand out beyond the regular nip slip or epic make-out session. Climb onto the bar and dance? Yell out to everyone to join her in a toast? Her throat grew parched.

Maybe she did need more liquid courage than she’d anticipated.

She picked up her cocktail and downed half of it in one sip and smacked the glass down. Who cared if the sticky liquid sloshed onto the bar? Krissy had advised her to be rude. She waved to the bartender to bring her another.

“Zoe! There she is! Zoe, is it true your marriage is already over?”

“Did Liam cheat on you?” A harsh voice bellowed over her shoulder.

A blaze of anger flashed through her system. Damn piranhas. But they were making it easy on her. She hadn’t had to do a single thing but sit alone at the bar. No scene needed.

Show time.

She tossed back the rest of her margarita and swiveled to face them. She held up one finger. “One question at a time.” She added a slight slur to her voice.

A scrawny bald guy scrambled forward with his microphone. “Is it true you left Liam?”

She closed her eyes for a moment and gathered her energy. She could pull this off. “It’s true. Our marriage was a mistake.”

A stocky guy with a Weezer baseball cap shouted out the next question. “Did ‘Love ’em and Leave ’em Liam’ cheat on you?”

Her nostrils flared. Jerk. “You’re joking, right? Who would cheat on this?” She waved her hand down her body in the skimpy dress.

“What will happen to the band? Are you leaving?”

The bartender placed her fresh cocktail next to her elbow. She turned away from the pack or reporters and chugged some more tequila before responding.

“Of course not. We’ve recorded the album. Which is incredible by the way. We’re professionals. I’m going to keep partying and doing whatever I want and so is he. End of story.” She waved one hand again, like she didn’t have a care in the world.

“But you were married for less than a month. Was it even real?” The bleach-blonde shark she recognized from Vegas smirked at her.

Figured the woman was front and center for this story.

“Oh, it was real. We had a very, very good time, if you know what I mean.” She winked at scrawny guy. “But I’m too young to settle down. I’m ready to go have fun on tour and a husband would cramp my style. If you know what I mean.”

At that comment, another flurry of questions erupted. Fortunately, the hotel’s security team rushed to her rescue and herded the unruly media from the bar.

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