Beeeeeeeeep. Beeeeeeeeep. Beeeeeeeeep.

Emily pried one of her eyelids open. She shot a dirty look at her alarm clock, willing the time to magically set itself back two hours so she could keep sleeping.

It wasn't that she had been out late last night. The problem had been falling asleep after getting home, as she'd thought about her evening with Raine.

Once she and Raine had finished dinner and dessert, there weren't a lot of places where they could have gone and remained unnoticed, at least in her mind. They'd stayed at Imagine and had talked over after-dessert coffee for a while longer, until Paul had checked on them a few times and she had started to feel self-conscious about still being there. Raine had driven her home and had walked her to her door, and she'd asked him to come inside where they would have more privacy to say goodnight.

Emily closed her eyes again and laid back against her pillows, remembering how Raine's arm had felt around her waist as he had drawn her close, and the moment his lips had met hers. Their kiss had been soft at first, just like it had been at the restaurant. Then he'd pulled her even closer, his other hand tangling in her hair. She'd felt herself sink into him, losing track of time and anything around them.

Even the memory of their goodnight kiss sent butterflies swarming to Emily's stomach. Logic told her these feelings were dangerous, and the fact she was not only considering going out with him again, but looking forward to it, could only set her on a path straight back to tabloid chaos. Even so, Emily couldn't deny how much she had enjoyed her time with Raine last night, or how right kissing him had felt.

She'd expected Shelby to pounce the second Raine had left. Emily had stood in the foyer after closing the door behind him and had silently counted to five before turning around and giving herself up to the interrogation. Shelby hadn't been in the living room, though, and the kitchen had also been curiously silent. After grabbing a glass of water, Emily had tiptoed down the hallway to her bedroom, both perplexed and relieved that she had gotten away with making her escape for the night.

Now, Emily kept her eyes closed and listened. She didn't hear any noise from outside her bedroom door, which meant Shelby had already left for work.

Bet I have a text from her, she thought, forcing herself to sit up. She reached over to her bedside table and picked up her phone, then stopped. She and Raine had been careful last night, but if they'd been spotted, experience told her she would have messages from a lot more people than Shelby. That included Wally. While she could ignore some messages, it would be a lot more difficult to step around questions from him.

She chewed the inside of her lip, surveying the dark screen. Then she unlocked her phone.

There was nothing. No texts, no Facebook messages, and no Twitter notifications. Relief flooded her body. Could she and Raine really have gotten away with a private night out?

If Wally knew anything, he would have texted me and tried calling me five times by now, she thought. I have to be in the clear.

To prove it to herself, she opened her web browser app and scoured the Internet. There was nothing on Tinseltown Buzz or anywhere else she looked. And even though she was certain Wally would have grilled her about her night before posting anything on Wally Hood Goes Hollywood, she went to his site, too, just to make sure.

First headline—nope. Second headline—definitely not about her and Raine. She kept scrolling down the page until she got to the third headline.

Emily blinked and read the story. Then she scrolled back up and read it again.

C-Samp and Flameboy Get Bromantic in Hollywood

Well, well, well... this is an interesting pairing. Blistering Twilight singer Cory Sampson was spotted at El Compadre, breaking bread—or make that burritos and flaming margaritas—with former Ashes of Brooklyn guitar player Jesse Cinder.

While it's not unusual to see musicians dining together around L.A., the sighting of C-Samp and Flameboy as dinner companions does raise an eyebrow or two over here at Wally Hood Goes Hollywood.

As you might recall, aside from creating music—C-Samp in the big leagues, of course, and Flameboy on the indie circuit—these two have one significant thing in common: Emily Watts, who cut ties with both of them after exposing the love-triangle-that-wasn't in a Twitter tell-all about three months ago.

Since the Em-Girl was never dating Cinder, and C-Samp went radio silent on their one-time relationship for weeks before trying to win her back, these guys aren't really rivals. Still, their friendship is pretty much out of left field, and judging by how engrossed both were in the conversation they were having when this pic was snapped, one can only wonder how their new bromance began.

Then again, C-Samp does have an awful lot of unexpected time on his hands with the first part of Blistering Twilight's tour now being rescheduled, thanks to his broken ankle.

Will these two still be hanging out once C-Samp gets his walking cast and hits the road?

"Are you serious, Wally?" Emily mumbled, still staring at the screen.

She didn't really care if Cory and Jesse had suddenly become friends, and she didn't want to know why they'd had dinner together. What she did want to know was why Wally had brought her name into it, and why he hadn't warned her about it first.

She opened a new text message. Interesting choice of front-page stories today, she typed. Want to explain why my name's in one of them? She sent the text to Wally.

More than an hour later, when she arrived at Bountiful Sun Yoga and checked her phone one last time before heading inside, Wally still hadn't answered.

She could tell herself he hadn't seen the text yet, but the chances of that were pretty slim. He usually responded so quickly at any hour, she sometimes asked him if he ever slept. It was also possible he was interviewing someone and would reply when he was done, or being awake all the time had caught up with him and he actually was asleep. More likely, though, he was avoiding answering her, in the hopes she would forget she'd sent him a text.

They were partnering on her new column, though. Business partners and friends answer each other, she thought, turning her phone off. She would text Wally again after class if she still hadn't heard from him.

Emily slipped her phone into her bag and headed into the classroom. The circle of giggling females near the front of the room told her Raine was already there. Then she saw him, sitting cross-legged on his mat, his head bobbing up and down as a woman knelt in front of him, talking animatedly. Emily could appreciate the adoration on the woman's face. Now that she had the memory of last night on her mind, she wanted nothing more than to grab Raine by the ears and kiss him again, even though she needed to stay off everyone's radar more than ever. Wally mentioning her in his post about Cory and Jesse hadn't done her any favors.

She knew sitting near Raine could be dangerous today, especially since she had no idea how he'd greet her after their date, or how she should greet him. There was the risk of their new closeness being exposed if they weren't careful, and of someone snapping a photo of her and Raine together to sell to the news outlets if their classmates suspected anything. Things like that happened all the time in this town.

Emily's eyes scanned the rest of the room. There was an open spot on the floor close to where she stood, which was a few rows away from where Raine sat. She hung back, unsure if she should sit there and text him an explanation about the story on Wally's site, and how it was better for her to go out of her way to be inconspicuous this morning, or if she should take a chance and sit closer to him.

A girl brushed past her and dropped her mat down in the open spot Emily had been contemplating. That decided it, unless she wanted to sit at the back of the room. She lifted her chin and marched up to the row where Raine sat. There was a space next to him big enough for her to roll out her mat. She wondered what he'd said to keep anyone else from claiming it.

"Mind if I sit here?" she asked, trying to sound breezy. "Or is this spot saved?"

She'd said it for the benefit of Kami and the other women hanging on to Raine's every word and gesture. Raine turned his head to look at her, an amused smile playing on his lips.

Don't give us away, she silently pleaded. It was as though he'd heard her, because she swore he now looked even more entertained.

"Good morning," he said, his voice equally breezy. "All yours."

To Raine's credit, he shifted his attention to a woman who'd said something to him and didn't watch Emily as she arranged her mat and sat down. The same couldn't be said for Kami, who glared at her the entire time.

"'Morning," Emily said to her. "Sorry, were you saving this spot for someone?"

"No." Kami's eyes darted in the other direction. Then she touched Raine's arm. "Hey, I just forgot that I have the funniest thing to tell you."

Emily listened to Kami prattle on about something that had happened at an audition she'd had for a national commercial. Certain she was safe, but not wanting to tempt a conversation that could give her and Raine away, she extended her legs out in front of her and stretched forward, trying to bring her nose to her knees. She stayed in the stretch until the buzz of voices around her began to quiet down and she knew class was about to begin.

After opening the class, the first exercise Satya asked them to do was cat-cow. Emily chanced a glimpse at Raine as she got onto her hands and knees. He looked at her at the same time. Their eyes locked for a moment, then he made a funny face. She stifled a laugh, then turned her head to face forward and closed her eyes. She concentrated on the exercise. Head back, spine curved inward, inhale. Head in, spine rounded upward, exhale.

When she glanced at Raine again a few minutes later, during stretch pose, he was already watching her. Instead of doing something to make her laugh, though, this time his eyes searched hers. His expression reminded her of the one she'd seen on his face last night just before he had leaned in to kiss her. Her heart did a flip-flop. Emily had to close her eyes and remind herself she was in the middle of a yoga class so she wouldn't give in to the dangerously overwhelming urge to repeat their kiss now.

She did her best to not look at Raine again until the yoga set was finished and they were getting ready for meditation. As she watched Satya demonstrate the mudra they'd be using, she felt Raine's hand touch her knee. She covered his hand with hers just long enough to squeeze it, then moved it to mimic the position Satya's fingers were in.

When their meditation was finished, they laid on the floor for the gong relaxation. As Satya hit the instrument with a mallet and the first notes sounded, Raine reached for Emily's hand. Knowing everyone had their eyes closed, and that Satya was facing away from them, Emily kept her hand in Raine's until the final notes of the gong faded away.

She could sense Raine watching her after class was over and, in spite of herself, couldn't help the smile that spread across her lips. She turned to whisper something to him, stopping when Kami appeared beside him and picked up where she had left off with the story she'd been telling him before class.

Emily heard him offer Kami a couple of one-word responses. She busied herself with turning on her phone, gathering her yoga mat, and heading for the classroom door.

Her phone chimed as she slipped on her sandals. She glanced at the screen and saw a message from Raine.

Please don't run away before I can ask you out again.

She typed a message back. I think you did just ask me out again. Maybe.

"Is that a maybe I asked you out again, or a maybe to going out again?" Raine's voice was barely a murmur as he appeared at her side.

"That depends on if you were asking me out," she replied, keeping her voice low. She started walking toward the coffee bar. Raine paused, giving her time to put distance between them, then followed her. He stood behind her in line, rather than beside her, typing something on his phone.

Her phone chimed again. I was definitely asking you out.

Then I'm definitely saying yes, she texted back.

Tonight?

She looked up, giving a slight shake of her head, then returned her eyes to her phone. She began typing again, but another text from him appeared on her screen.

Not tonight?

She finished writing the message she'd started. Wally talked me into covering Jaxon Dale's roast tonight for my column. I'm free all day tomorrow and on Sunday night.

She sent the text, hoping he knew she would much rather be spending tonight with him than at some spectacle of an event honoring a music industry mogul. After this, she'd need to have a serious talk with Wally about how she saw her column and how she saw herself covering celebrity fashion, as opposed to what he seemed to want her to do.

A new message from Raine appeared on her screen. Tomorrow. Just a twosome. I mean, just the two of us.

Her lips curved upward as she typed. Don't start.

Too late. I already saw you smile. Pick you up at noon?

"What can I get you?"

Emily's head snapped up. It took her a moment to realize she was now at the front of the line, and the barista was waiting for her to order.

She cleared her throat. "My usual—the Italian roast with non-fat milk and sugar. Thank you."

As casually as she could, Emily turned her head in Raine's direction and met his eyes. She nodded at him, aware she was probably beaming, then looked down at her phone. A smiley emoji from Raine popped up on her screen a second later.

* * *

"This is the last time I let Wally talk me into something," Emily muttered, trying not to appear as annoyed as she felt after a gangly guy in an ill-fitting suit shoved past her and stepped on her foot as he went by. He was probably part of the event team who'd put the roast together. Either that, or he was a celebrity's personal assistant. He could have been the guest of honor himself, and she still would have felt like telling him off for leaving a scuff on her brand new Badgley Mischka heels.

Her irritation with another guy wasn't helping her patience much. She pursed her lips, re-reading the text Wally had just sent her.

Missed your text about the story this morning, sorry. You still on for tonight?

He'd finally acknowledged her, while conveniently ignoring why she had sent him a message at all.

Way to dodge me, she typed. And yes, I'm still covering the roast. Already here.

Wally's reply was lightning-fast. Have fun!

She shook her head. Of course he hadn't said anything about the story he'd posted on his site. She would grill him when they had their next planning meeting. It would be a little harder to avoid her questions in person.

Emily kept a tight hold on her phone as she adjusted her purse strap. This roast was the last place she wanted to be, but Wally had insisted she cover it for her column. Rumor had it pop princess Britannia Silver planned to show up in a dress made of shredded pages of a contract with Jaxon Dale's record label that she desperately wanted out of, and Wally had practically been over the moon about giving Emily a front-row seat. Emily wondered if he'd noticed how unenthusiastic she had been when she'd agreed, or if he had also purposely ignored that.

The only good things she'd seen so far were a table of hors d'oeuvres and waiters walking around with trays of champagne. She searched the crowd for the closest waiter with bubbly.

That was when she spotted him.

There was no missing Cory, really. Not with his ankle in a cast that a woman she recognized from a television entertainment news show was scrawling all over in golden glitter pen. Not with the crutches he propped his six-foot-three frame up on. And especially not with the tangle of sandy-colored hair she'd run her hands through on more than one occasion, the light green eyes she had looked into for hours, and the lips that had kissed every inch of her body.

She spun around so her back faced him, praying he hadn't seen her. There had to be another place she could stand where she wouldn't be so out in the open while waiting for Britannia's big entrance. She took a few steps forward and then veered to the left, heading for a pillar that would keep her mostly out of Cory's view.

"Emily!"

She froze. The voice calling her name had come from right behind her, and she would have recognized it anywhere.

Emily plastered a smile on her face and turned around to face Cory.