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Zak and Tanya had both been in our movie The Secret Circle. I was more than a little nervous about taking Brook and Halle to a party Zak threw. The last time I’d been at his house, it had turned into an orgy, and Sage and I’d left early. She’d broken up with Bill because he’d let it slip that he’d been hooking up with girls on game weekends, and it was evident he’d slept with Ridge’s girlfriend, Penny.

The LA lifestyle rushed back to me in that instant. It would be easy to fall back into the casual sex and nonstop parties. I was a little worried I might slip back into that mode if I were surrounded by Zak and his friends.

“Are you sure that’s a good idea?” I asked.

“I’m sure Brook and I’ll be good. The real question is whether she has you domesticated or not,” Halle teased.

Ignoring the barb, I got dressed. It sounded like I was going to an LA party tonight. God help me!

◊◊◊

The hotel had a pretty good breakfast buffet. I found Mom and Dad eating with Cindy, Dean Lloyd, Professor Donaldson, Professor Katz, and a few of Cindy’s classmates. Mom had been in touch with Cindy about the planned renovations on my new house. The team was here this weekend to assess what was possible.

“Oh, my God! It’s Halle James,” one of the students said.

I sometimes forgot what a star she was. If being the daughter of Rita James wasn’t enough, she’d been in Star Academy, The Secret Circle, and was now filming Love Letters. The press loved her, and she was now a regular on all the TV gossip shows. With Rita’s permission, Frank had done his magic and was beginning to make her a household name. I could see her becoming our generation’s Drew Barrymore if she got a few more leading roles under her belt.

Whatever conversation my parents were having with the Ohio State contingent was soon forgotten. I decided to get in line for the buffet and left Halle to fend for herself. Brook and I found a table and began to eat while Halle dealt with her fans.

“Do you miss her?” Brook asked.

“Yeah, I do, but luckily, I have you to make me forget,” I said, winking at her.

“Nice one,” she said. “Halle and I keep in touch. She misses you something fierce.”

Every guy knows that when talking to your current girlfriend, you don’t want to make it obvious that you still have the hots for an ex. In fact, the best approach was to make sure you didn’t show even a hint of desire if you wished to survive the conversation with all your body parts intact. But damn, Halle looked good.

She and I had taken things slow and gotten to know each other before we took it to the next level. I had to be honest with myself: seeing her dredged up some feelings I thought I’d put behind me. I couldn’t honestly say that I wouldn’t have picked her over Brook if she’d stayed in Lincoln.

Now that I’d been dating Brook, I knew that I’d made the right choice. Brook had worked her way into my heart, and I felt like we were both all-in on this. There was no way I wanted to jeopardize what we had just because I liked Halle.

“She’s a great girl and a good friend,” I said neutrally.

“You ever think you might want to be with her?”

I raised one eyebrow because we had just ventured into dangerous waters. Apparently, Brook felt a little insecure with Halle James across the room.

“I’m a guy,” I deflected. “The truth is that Halle will always hold a special place in my heart. I’ll admit I’ve even thought about what it would be like to be with her again. But it’s always you that I come back to. I would never give you up for anyone else. I love you, Brook Davis.”

Even though I was sure how she felt about me, I was surprised to see a tear form and Brook give me a tight smile.

“I love you too.”

Halle finally broke free and got herself something to eat.

“I’d forgotten you bought a house here. Your mom says they’re going to remodel it with Cindy’s help,” Halle said.

“It’s in the Serra Retreat gated community in Malibu, across the highway from the one that Zak’s house is in,” I shared.

“That must have cost an arm and a leg. I’ve been looking for something of my own, and I’ve looked in there. You must be making a lot more money than I am,” she teased.

“I bought it from Craig Wild’s estate. The place looks like a showplace from a 1960s sitcom. It needs a lot of updating,” I admitted.

“You and Cindy were friends,” Halle stated.

“Yes, yes, we were.”

“You should invite her to the party tonight. Actually, Zak said you could invite whoever you wanted.”

That got me thinking about everyone I knew in LA, and I decided to send out text invitations. I got busy while Halle and Brook talked about Halle’s new movie. I was half-listening when I heard Halle say something that made me concerned.

“… and then Zander groped me on set.”

“Wait, what happened?” I asked, fully engaged now.