Page 207 of Ashley & the A-Listers

“How do you feel?” Dylan asked. “He went to the press. On purpose. To leak a huge secret about Cameron. And you got caught in the crosshairs.”

Ashley had been struggling with that very question while she tried not to stare at River too hard on set, noticing he was already there by the time they arrived, and still busy even when they were leaving. He was repeating outfits and his dark circles were bruising.

Ashley had Dylan, Cam, and her friends to talk to, to lean on, to comfort her. Who did River have? Where was he now?

“The press flipped my life upside down. I can’t go back to the gym. It sucks. But… I’m adjusting.” She sighed. “River and I talked. I knew how he felt about Cam, how his past relationships turned out. He asked for one thing: not to leave him out. And I did that. I’m a bad pack alpha,” she admitted, voice tightening. “I put myself first, let my hindbrain get in the way, instead of considering how my actions affected the pack. Affected River.”

Her impulsiveness to bond her omega totally violated his long-standing relationship with River.

“Why didn’t I learn the first time not to jump the gun?” she asked.

She missed having River around. Missed seeing him and Cameron be cute together, missed him razzing Dylan all the time. Missed his scent and his smooth talking and his stupid mustache and nice arms and the way he got two coffees at the counter instead of one. She missed meeting him in the kitchenfor snacks in the middle of the night and sitting at the bar together and chatting or letting the silence soak in peacefully around them.

Now that filming had started, it wasn’t nearly as often, but on the rare day when he would pop by her house and keep her company while she fiddled with remodeling… She missed their talks.

“I know Cameron is hurting,” Ashley said. “But I also feel like weallwronged River. And I don’t know how to make it better.”

As pack alpha, that was kind of her whole job, and she was failing.

It was becoming her theme.

“I agree that we all kind of… fumbled this getting-together thing. If you think about it… River is kind of right. He waited years for Cameron to decide he was ready to go public, and it seems as if Cameron wasn’t willing to take that step until we got involved.”

It was kind of Dylan to saywe,but Ashley knew it washer.

Sabrina, the head of his management, didn’t seem that annoyed that he’d gotten all packed up. Now that she thought about it, did Cam fight for River as hard as he should have? Would it have truly been so different if it was River in the photograph, like he’d intended?

Dylan stroked his fingers up and down her arm. “Do you think Cameron will ever forgive him? Do you think River would ever forgive Cameron? Or is it over for good?”

Ashley turned her face into Dylan’s chest, breathed in his familiar, comforting scent, and closed her eyes. “I don’t know. Cameron acts like the last person he wants to see is River.” And yet Ashley found his eyes drawn to him on set, while the other wasn’t looking. Their attention volley balled back and forth. “But the bond is conflicted. He doesn’t like to talk about the situation.”

And being cooped up on set all the time wasn’t giving Cameron a chance to be spotted in the press, so the story had faded relatively quickly anyway.

Ashley still feared social media, but Kenzie and Jordan loved to read online and roast the “jealous trolls.”

“Do you think Cam still loves him?” Ashley asked.

“Of course. I think he’s coming to terms with how much he hurt River.”

“Do you think our actions outweigh River’s? He put your omega in danger. Are you willing to let that go so quickly?”

He asked it too lightly, and their bond was free of hurt, of anger. “It seems as if you have,” Ashley said, meeting his gaze.

Dylan shrugged. “I told River I know what it’s like to overcompensate when you don’t feel like enough.”

Ashley frowned, and her heart ached. “I want to apologize to him. For reacting, for jumping the gun, for betraying his trust.”

“Do you think Cam will come around?” Dylan asked.

Ashley leaned into him, sighing. “He needs to come to terms with his role in all of this. Needs to understandwhyRiver did what he did. The first step to that is getting them to talk, right? We just need to give him an opportunity to do so.”

Dylan brushed a hand over his jaw, the shadow of his stubble hissing against his palm. “I agree. I mean, River had a reason behind his actions, even if we don’t agree with whatever it was. He wasn’t doing it to… hurt any one of us. He just… made a mistake.”

“Are we too soft?” Ashley asked, doubting herself. “Am I thinking with my heart instead of like an alpha?”

Dylan tapped her chin, tilting her head up. “Hey. You’re thinking of the entire pack, which is very alpha of you.”

Ashley elbowed him, rolling her eyes. Affection struck her, making her chest go tight, and she pounced, pushing him down to the couch and laying atop him.

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