He grinned and toasted me with his whiskey glass. “This is the best hangover remedy I need, but if you do come, I’ll make sure I have my pants on next time.” He chuckled. “I just can’t promise I’ll drink what you make.”

An older man sitting with them, who’d been studying me, spoke. “You must be the new neighbor Sebastian mentioned earlier.” He shook my hand. “I’m Harry Goldberg, their agent.”

“Nice to meet you,” I said warily. With stark white hair and beady eyes, he had a sharp look to him, as if there wasn’t much he missed.

Blair’s face was hard as she looked at me. “Don’t you work at the coffee shop in the Grant Plaza? The one with the low-fat Frappuccino’s everyone raves about?”

“No,” I said.

Her eyes turned into slits. “You sure? I could have sworn I’d seen you there.”

I smiled tightly. “I’m pretty sure of where I work. It’s here.”

I gave Sebastian a searching look. Why was he with her?

“No, really, I think I’ve seen—”

“Can you join us for a few?” Sebastian asked, cutting her off.

Here we go. Cold then hot. Up then down.

“I don’t want to bother you during your meal, plus I have to go on soon.” My hands shook at the thought. I sucked in a breath, trying to chill out.

Concern flickered over his face. “V, sit down. Please.”

I touched my cheeks. They felt clammy.

“You are so sweet to worry about some little waitress,” Blair cooed as she leaned in and kissed Sebastian lightly on the lips. I watched as Mila clawed at her like a kitten from behind. But I couldn’t laugh. I wanted to crawl under the table.

Spider touched my hand, as if sensing my thoughts. “Here, sit by me.”

I nodded and settled in next to him. He tossed a tattooed arm around me and gave me a little hug. His other arm was already around Mila. He glanced at us both and grinned. “Bloody hell, I’ve got two beautiful birds on either side of me. All we need now is a dark room, a big-ass bed, and some lube.”

I burst out laughing along with Mila. He was just teasing, of course, but Sebastian’s jaw clenched as he stared at us. I let my eyes rove over the rest of him, taking in the tousled hair, the blazing blue eyes, the fullness of his lips—even if they did seem a bit tight. He might be with Blair, but he was angry that I was sitting next to Spider. It made no sense.

As Sebastian and Blair ducked their heads to talk to each other, Spider chuckled from beside me and whispered. “Blair’s getting her knickers in a wad at the way you’re staring at her man.”

Shit! I flicked my eyes over at her red face and then turned back to Spider. “Why does she hate me?” I whispered.

Spider cocked an eyebrow at me. “Babe, you’re hot. Sebastian’s the one who’s making it worse. He can’t take his eyes off you. He saw you come out from the back with your boss and nearly flipped his lid. I think he thought you were on a date.”

With Phil?

“He blew me off last night,” I murmured. “I don’t think he really cares.”

Spider nodded. “He’s had a rough time of it. Putting up with me, managing the band—and now Blair. I don’t know how he keeps it together. He’s my best mate, and if it wasn’t for him, I’d probably be dead. Or back in rehab.” He sighed. “We didn’t come here just to make movies, you know. Part of the reason he wanted to settle down in LA was to get me off the road for a while. He’s a good guy. Always has been.”

I nodded.

Harry said something to me and I turned back to face the table. “Sorry. What was that?” I asked.

Harry spoke again, his keen eyes on me. “I asked if you’d ever worked on a set?”

“No.” I shook my head, fighting the need to tap. Or squirm. Or something.

“You have an agent?”

“No.”

“She used to live in New York,” Mila said to him. “She’s new here.”

His eyes speared me. “Huh. New York? You look like someone I know—”

“Why would she need an agent? She plays classical music in a restaurant,” Blair interrupted in a lofty tone. “And not the best one in town either. Really, Harry, what were you thinking in coming here? This place is truly awful.”

“Her music isn’t classical by any stretch of the imagination,” Sebastian said softly, his eyes boring into mine.

Blair stared at Sebastian, her face cold. “There’s a weird undercurrent between you two that needs to stop before anyone else notices.” She pointed out the window at a group of paparazzi who were standing on the sidewalk waiting for celebrities to walk by. “They don’t miss much of anything these days.”

I blinked, unsure how to take her comments.”

Wait, I do know you!” Blair exclaimed, turning back to me. I flinched. “You’re that girl who ran out of the coffee shop after making a huge mess. No wonder you didn’t want to admit you worked there. You’re also the girl Sebastian was with at the ice cream shop.” She sent Sebastian a scowl. “Did you plan this? Are you trying to ruin our careers?”

What? That was insane. I didn’t want to ruin them.

Harry, who’d been sitting quietly, surfing on his phone, snapped his head up, a look of triumph on his face. His voice boomed across the table. “You’re Violet St. Lyons, that heiress who was in the plane crash. I knew you looked familiar.” He proudly showed them his phone, scrolling through pictures of me being hauled up in a rescue helicopter and one of me coming out of the Dublin hospital.