After dessert and coffee, the ballroom became a bustle again with people visiting with other tables and more guests arriving who’d only purchased tickets to the fashion show. Chandler found a group of younger girls to hit on, and Mira roped Adam into assisting with her backstage where she was managing the models and designers.

Though I’d liked getting to know Mira and Adam, and while Chandler never failed to entertain, I was glad to have a minute alone with my date. I trailed my hand across his shoulders and down his back, drawing his gaze to me. I saw longing, the few flecks of copper blazing in his eyes. He grabbed my thigh and leaned in, but the anticipated kiss never came.

“Oh, you don’t need to be all PDA on my account,” a silky voice purred behind us. “Remember, I know.”

Hudson stiffened under my hand and my eyes followed his, landing on the leggy blonde taking a seat next to me. She was intimidating, not because of her attitude, but because she was drop-dead gorgeous. I tucked my hands into my lap, though Hudson’s hand remained secure on my leg under the table.

“I’m Celia.” She smiled, showing white perfect teeth. “I thought we should probably meet. Though, it doesn’t look like Hudson’s too keen on it.”

I glanced at Hudson who indeed appeared uncomfortable.

“No, you’re right. You should meet,” he said, his hand stroking my thigh. I felt purpose behind his touching me, but wasn’t sure if he meant it to claim me, calm me, or calm himself. “Now you’ve met.”

“You aren’t getting rid of me that easily, you oaf.” She smirked at Hudson then delivered another smile to me. “Believe it or not, we’re actually friends.”

I believed it. She felt comfortable around him, and he didn’t even flinch when she’d called him an oaf. It made my stomach wrench unexplainably. Then, when I wondered if they’d had sex, a sharp stabbing began in my chest. I didn’t need to flick the elastic band, already associating the thought with pain, but I did anyway since my hands were finally free under the table to do so.

Hudson sighed. “What do you want, Ceeley?”

Someone Hudson actually called by a nickname? The stabbing deepened.

“I wanted to personally thank Alayna for this whole charade.”

So, she really did know. Which really put me at a disadvantage since I knew almost nothing about her.

Celia leaned into me as if confiding a secret, but loud enough that Hudson could still hear her. “You can’t know how dreadful the idea of marrying that pain in the ass has been.” A teasing grin appeared on her lips.

“Um, I can imagine.” The stabby pains in my chest made me want to stab Hudson, too. “He’s not the settling down type.”

Hudson removed his hand from my leg, and I instantly regretted my words, even though they hadn’t been that mean, had they?

Celia giggled. “Wow. You already know him so well.” She giggled again.

Ugh, she was a giggler. I wanted to puke. Or hate her. But something about her also drew me in. “It’s nice to talk to someone else who knows.”

“But isn’t Hudson amazingly good at pretending?” She narrowed her eyes at him, and I caught the daggers he shot her in return.

“He is.” I thought about our time together, the touches, the kisses in public. Some of them had been confusing, and I had blamed that on my own tendencies to create more when there wasn’t more. But maybe it hadn’t been my overactive imagination. “Quite good.”

“I’d love to continue this wonderfully entertaining conversation, but I see someone I need to talk some business with.” Hudson stood and reached his hand out for me. “Alayna?”

I had the strange feeling he didn’t want to leave me alone with his almost-but-not-really-fiancé. The last time I’d felt that way, I’d received rather interesting tidbits of info from his little sis. “Go ahead, H. I’ll hang with Celia.”

“We’ll be fine,” Celia assured him. “And we’ll end our conversation with a pretend catfight if you want to up the charade.”

Hudson’s jaw tightened. “No catfight. In my script, you’re friendly toward each other.”

“Then she and I should sit and chat, since we’re supposed to be friends.” Celia winked at me. “Right, Alayna?”

“Right.” I winked back. I couldn’t help it. She was sort of adorable. “And since we’re friends, you should call me Laynie.”

“Friendly, not friends.” He took a deep breath, but his voice was still tight when he spoke again. “Fine. I’ll be back shortly.”

I watched him stroll off, the tight muscles of his butt hidden by his jacket, but his backside attractive all the same. Suddenly, I remembered I had a witness to my ogling, and I turned my attention back to Celia only to find she was ogling as well. Plus she had the adoration look that I’d spotted in the pics of her with him.

“You like him,” I said before I could help it. I wasn’t sure I wanted to know.

She shrugged then cocked a brow. “Seriously? I’m probably your one opportunity to get any real information about Hudson and his life and that’s what you want to know?”

I laughed. “You’re right, I’d like some info.” The list of questions I could attack Celia with was so long I didn’t know where to begin. Since I wasn’t sure how much time we had, I needed to make it good. “Okay, Mira seemed to think I should be jealous of you. Should I be? I mean, should I be pretending I am?”

Celia pursed her perfectly plump lips. “Well, isn’t that a clever way to ask the same question? No. Hudson and I have never been anything but friends. If he were a boyfriend who spilled his guts to his girlfriend, he’d tell you that I liked him, but that he’s never felt anything for me but friendship. So unless you’re the shallow type who’s jealous of all girls her guy’s friends with, then don’t play jealous.”

I was a bit shallow like that, and definitely the jealous type when in the throes of obsession. But I was playing a part, so why not make my character void of my own imperfections? “No jealousy then. What about his family? Is he close to them or is he as withdrawn with them as with everyone? I can’t quite tell.”

“He loves them all, deeply. As deeply as Hudson can love anyone, I mean. But it takes quite a lot of perception to get that.” She leaned back in her chair and eyed me. “I think someone he was in love with would know that.”