Page 2 of Stuck with my Mountain Daddies

I took a sip of my champagne, let the bubbles fizzle on my tongue. “Yeah. People love an underdog, right?”

She held my stare just long enough for it to be a power move, then giggled and leaned into me. “Babe, youkillme. Let’s get a picture before we’re too drunk to FaceTune.”

I smiled for the camera, the perfect picture of success.

Ava tried to emulate me, but truth be told, the drink was hitting her hard.

“You know, I was just telling Mr. Cartwright how close we are.” She hiccuped, swaying against me. “Oh, where is he?”

I gritted my teeth. Why was she talking to the manIwas doing business with?

I blinked slowly. “Ava. Maybe you should sit.”

“Oh, babe. Don’t be mad.” She pouted. “We can all be famous, right? We don’t need to… to bring each other down. We can lift one another up.”

Carmen shifted beside me, her hand lightly brushing my back in warning.

“Not tonight,” she whispered. “Don’t give her a soundbite.”

But Ava was on one now. She stepped back, loud enough for the surrounding circle of influencers to turn toward us, drawn by the scent of scandal like sharks to blood.

She spun in a little circle, nearly knocking into a server.

“Mr. Cartwright!” she called out, slurring enough to make my stomach twist. “Where did he go? He wassonice. I told him we go way back… like,wayback. That I basically discovered you. Isn’t that true?”

The air around me crystallized. My fingers curled tight around the stem of my champagne flute.

“No,” I said sharply. “It’s not.”

She blinked, swaying. “Oh, semantics. Come on.”

“Maybe we shouldn’t be talking about this atmyevent when you’re this drunk.”

Again, Carmen’s fingers gently pressed against the small of my back. Her silentnot here, not nowwarning.

But Ava was just getting started.

“I’m beingsupportive,” she protested, wobbling as she stepped back into center stage. Her voice rose a little too loudly, drawing the attention of moths to an influencer flame. “Like, I told him you were incredible. I said we’re practically sisters. Ihelpedyou, Riles.”

The crowd around us shifted. People leaned in. Phones hovered.

I felt heat rush up my neck.

“You helped me?” I repeated, voice cool.

Ava threw up her hands, swaying slightly. “I mean, yeah! I introduced you toeveryone. Got you invites. Styled you for your first major shoot! Don’t act like you did it all yourself.”

I stared at her. “You mean the shoot where you bailed last minute and left me scrambling for backup glam?”

She gasped as if I’d slapped her. “Wow. Okay. That’s how it is?”

“You’re the one who just tried to rewrite history in front of my future sponsor.”

“I was only being nice,” she shot back. “You always make everything so serious. Dang, no wonder you’re stressed all the time. You’re, like, addicted to control.”

“And you’re addicted to attention,” I snapped, stepping forward. “That’s why you inserted yourself into my meeting, Ava. Because you saw someone important talking to me and couldn’t stand not being the center of it.”

Her eyes narrowed. “You really think you’rethatrelevant? Please. You’re not a disruptor. You’re just another internet girl with a filter pack and a fake story.”

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