“Well, he has good taste. Speaking of which, thanks for what you did for Liam. Drew and I have known he was gay for years, but he wouldn’t even break his silence for us. He called me from his home on Boxing Day, which is the day after Christmas, and told me the news. Also, between us, I think he’s got his eye on someone we both know.”

“Jeff. Tell me it’s Jeff.” Stupid, Dora, stupid. Of course it’s Jeff.

“Are you all right with that?” He looks warily at me.

“Are you kidding? I would flippin’ love it. Jeff is a wonderful guy, and the two of them would be perfect together.” I reach up and hug Colin, who returns it with gusto. My feet are barely touching the floor.

“Hey, what’s this? What am I missing?” Drew’s deep, smexy voice washes over me and the butterflies stir. I mean they’re jumping. Maybe it’s the pizza or the wine mixing together.

“I was thanking our Dora for helping Liam.”

“Yeah, I’ve been meaning to drop by, but I’ve been tied up since Christmas on a project I’m working on.” Drew’s eyes meet mine, and the psychotic butterflies, pizza, and wine are having a wild party. I can’t believe these two can’t hear them. I can’t be attracted to Drew. It was Colin, always Colin. Drew wouldn’t have bowed and kissed my hand before he ravished me. For the love of chocolate…I used the word ravished.

“Dora?”

Oh, great. Now I’ve missed something.

“Sorry, what did you say?”

“Colin just said you’re okay with Liam and Jeff.” Drew’s voice is now sending shivers through me and goose bumps have popped up all over my arms and legs.

“Uh-huh, of course. I couldn’t think of a better match, except for Kevin and Julie.” Why does that depress me all of a sudden?

“Anyone taking your fancy?” Colin asks, and I realize he’s asking if I’m into anyone.

“Too busy. School, work, and Sunday dinners leave little time for anything else.”

I feel Drew’s eyes on me, and then all over me as if he’s just noticed how I look. I bite my lip. I can’t remember the last time I bit my lip. I’m nervous. What does he think? Too slutty? No, Jeff wouldn’t let me look slutty, and I didn’t appear slutty in my mirror, and hey, Drew hangs around with models who look slutty all the time.

What the hell is wrong with me? Bitchy much, Dora?

“She’s talking to herself,” Jeff’s voice punches through my thoughts.

“Are you talking to me?”

“You’re the only female standing with us.”

I look around. He’s right. Just Drew, Colin, Liam, Jeff and I are standing in this little intimate circle.

“Shouldn’t you guys be circulating? You’re the hosts,” I say a little too quickly and maybe a little defensively.

“So are you,” Drew replies with a little delicious smirk.

How the hell can a smirk be delicious? What was in that wine? I feel my arm being taken, and I look up to see Drew gazing at me.

“Come with me, Dora. We need to do some hosting.”

I can’t think of a damn response. My brain has gone on strike, but my stomach is full of activity.

The crowd parts as we move along, and I’m the object of many stares. Instead of being nervous, I stare back. How dare they look at me like I don’t belong here. Chilton did, but who the heck is he? I hear whispering and I want to yell that my mom taught me it’s rude to whisper. If you can’t say it out loud, then drop dead.

Okay, my mom never said the last part, but it sounds better than what she says.

Drew doesn’t stop as we make a sweep around the apartment, even though he’s hailed by everyone. He just smiles and keeps moving.

“Shouldn’t you stop and speak to your fans?” I finally ask.

“I see these people all the time. They’re phony, Dora. They only like me because they think I can help their careers. They don’t care a lick about me. They’re shallow, and I’m tired of all this bullshit.”

He sounds so sad. I want to take him in my arms and hold him, and then run my fingers through his hair. Okay, so maybe not that, but I’m supposed to help him. I wish I could strangle Henry for being so vague. I’m not good at guessing games. I’m a spell-everything-out-for-me type of girl.

“There are phony people everywhere,” I say, “but I’m sure not everyone in this room is fake.”

Yeah, Dora, that sounds good. Way to pick up his mood.

“Nope. Every single one of them, except for our little group, of course. Agents, models and makeup artists, they all want a huge piece of the pie and expect us to give it to them. I worked hard to get where I am, and I didn’t step on people to get here. Sorry to be such a downer on New Year’s. Maybe we should dance.”

“But there’s no music,” I say as he takes me in his arms and moves flush against me and sways like he can hear music.

He leans down. “I love that you’re wearing my present,” he whispers.

I suddenly forget that we’re surrounded by people. My focus is solely on the sound of his heartbeat and the chime of my necklace.

“Are you cold?” he whispers, his voice mesmerizing.

“No, why?”

“Because you’re shivering.”

He pulls me closer. My legs wobble. Jumping stomach and wobbly legs are nothing to laugh at, and I’m definitely not laughing right now. I’m burning up, hotter than Hades, but I don’t want to leave his arms.

What am I saying? Here I am in the arms of the “bad boy” of modeling and I want to stay. The flu, that’s it. I didn’t have my shot this year. All the symptoms: shivering, upset stomach, wobbly legs, and fever. Yes, it’s the flu. Whew, close one there.

“Ten, nine, eight, seven…”

Why is Drew counting? Oh, shit—it’s almost New Year’s, and what happens at the end of the countdown? People kiss, and I don’t want him to catch my sickness. Trying to pull away, I hear “two” and I pull a little harder, but it’s like I’m strapped into a straitjacket. I had to endure one of those in a psych class this year.

“Happy New Year, Dora.” Drew leans down and gently lifts my chin, sealing his lips to mine.

And then it happens.

Fireworks.

Okay, so there are some going off outside, but I mean within me. His tongue pushes its way in, and my body goes wild, just like it did on Halloween. In fact, it’s exactly the same feeling and the same lips. Sweet Jesus, it was Drew, not Colin.

A feeling of panic washes over me. I have to get out of here. I break contact, and before Drew can react, I lose myself in the horn-blowing, screaming crowd.

Where the hell is my door? Great, all the tallest people in the room have surrounded me. I look up and see Jeff. He makes his way to me, looking worried.

“Dora, what’s wrong?” he yells.

“I have to get back to my room. Please help me.” I grab his hand and let him lead me through the mayhem. Finally, I see my door and Jeff opens it, pushing me before closing it behind him.

“What’s up? You look like you’ve seen a ghost.” He reaches into the fridge, grabs a bottle of water, and then tosses it to me.

“Worse,” I say while taking a deep swallow of the cold liquid. “I’m in a nightmare.” I cap the bottle and lie on the bed.

“What nightmare?” Jeff lies beside me on his side, his face inches from mine. He gently pushes back a rogue hair that has come loose from my ponytail and runs his cool fingers down my heated cheeks.

“I thought it was the flu, but it’s Drew.”

“You’re making about as much sense as trying to make peace with zombies. Great. I got you to smile. That zombie marathon the other night is still giving me the creeps. Let’s start from when I lost you.”

“Yeah, remind me I’m mad at you for subjecting me to all those movies after I tell you what happened,” I joke. I still have the goofy smile on my face from his zombie remark. Love my zombie movies. “I lost you, and then I found Colin, and he didn’t give me butterflies and Drew did, and it’s because it’s him, not Colin.”

He lets out a soft chuckle. “That pretty much cleared up nothing.”