Page 46 of Overexposed

“Right,” Ollie said as the waitress returned with our drinks. How fast had they made that margarita? “We’re all going to have the steaks…”

chapter

eighteen

Stella

Gem robbed me of the temptation to play vegan when the food came out. Yes, I liked meat—of both varieties, double entendre accepted. Despite not ordering the margarita, I downed a long swallow of it. Ice cold, sour, and salty—it was perfect. I managed tonotshotgun the whole drink, but I still finished it swiftly.

The waitress snared my empty glass and replaced it with a fresh margarita. The rim of salt on the glass added an almost artistic flare. Yeah, if I was going to drink like this, I needed nachos. Still when the steaks arrived with their grilled perfection and the fat baked potatoes and buttered broccolini, I think I died a little.

My mouth watered. Every bit of it looked fantastic. Even worse, itsmelledbetter. Those steak plates started around hundred and fifty. Money shots or not, I could get a week’s worth of groceries for my dad for that much.

“Not hungry?” Ollie asked as he nudged the plate a little closer to me.

“I started a fast earlier today,” I said, not missing a beat. The margarita helped me maintain the lie. “So, no food for me.”

Frowning, Ollie glared as I picked up my drink, saluted him, and then took a sip. The warmth spread through my system, and it definitely helped to blunt the uneasy edges of being out on the town with these two devastatingly attractive men.

I knew exactly what Gem was like in bed, and he was definitelymay I have some more please. I kind of hoped Ollie was the same. I licked some of the salt off the rim before I took another drink. Probably better to keep those thoughts to myself.

“You’re kidding,” Ollie said after a beat. “Right?”

“I never kid about fasting,” I said, then met his gaze. “A girl has to keep her figure and the best way to do that is to alternately fast. So we’re on a fasting moment. Sorry, boys…”

Eyes narrowing, Ollie leaned forward. Oh, there was even a vein throbbing in his forehead. “You didn’t say anything about a fast earlier.”

“You didn’t say anything about this place earlier,” I fired back. “We discussed coffee.” I blinked. “Wait.” I turned to Gem, then continued, “Wediscussed coffee.”

“We did,” Gem said, flicking a look from me to Ollie, then back again.

“Right, so you didn’t ask me if I was hungry.” Yep that logic worked. Ollie pursed his lips as he kept his gaze fixed on me. Oh, I’d really tweaked someone.

Oops.

“You need to eat,” he said after several moments. “Fast or not, you were at the party for a few hours, probably had to get ready before then. The best fasts don’t go longer than ten hours, so you must be nearly there. Eat.” He tapped my plate almost imperiously.

“Or what?” I dared him. First, he insisted on taking me home after Dillon’s assault. That worked out pretty well for me, even if I hadn’t expected Gem to be there. Right, it also kind of led to the NDA.

Then he insisted on leaving his attorney to help me at the police station, no matter what I said. Peter was a good guy; he’d definitely gotten the detective to stop being an asshole. So…right, okay that also worked out.

Somehow, he got my phone number, and what did he do? He gave me a hot tip for a good place to get shots and I got them. As promised, he came through with it. I suppose it didn’t hurt that he wasalsothere with Gem. But there it was.

So if he wanted toinsistI eat, I wanted to hear what was on the other side of the coin.

“Dammit, Stella, you need to eat. Especially if you’re drinking like that. If you don’t want the steak, I’ll order you something else.”

Fuck.

The world just ground to a halt. Ollie cut his gaze from me to Gem. Gem, for his part, had gone almost preternaturally still. The amused smile on his face vanished and his expression went flat.

I downed the margarita like a shot this time.

“Your name is Stella?” The quiet question carried a legion of hurt under each syllable. Knuckles whitening as he flexed his fingers, Gem didn’t wait for me to answer as he focused on Ollie again. “How the fuck do you know her name?”

“Don’t look at me. Seven had her name, phone number,andhome address days ago. I just got her name.”

“And my number,” I tacked on. If he was going to throw me under a bus, he could get down here and let the wheels bounce over him too. “You texted me about the after-party and then called to flirt, remember? And I was all like,what about bro codeand you were allfuck that, Gem had his shot. Remember?” I smiled wide, fluttering my lashes innocently as Ollie glaredshut the fuck updaggers back at me.

---