Ryson leaned down and planted a kiss on Quinn’s mouth before giving me a hug and a kiss on the cheek. “How are you doing, babe?”

I tried to force a fake smile, but failed, so I shrugged my shoulders instead.

“I’ll kick his ass. He better not come anywhere near me, Paige, I swear. I’ll break his perfect little smug face.” He smirked as he said it and my mood lightened. The idea of Ryson beating Colin to a pulp was definitely enticing.

“I appreciate the offer.” I hesitated, knowing he most likely meant every single word he said and that I really shouldn’t encourage him. “But he’s not worth it.”

“Let me know if you change your mind. It would be my pleasure to teach Colin a lesson.” Ryson punched his left hand against his right palm. “Or twelve. Seriously. Just say the word.”

“Oh Lord, Ryson. Stop. She’s had enough for one day.” Quinn kicked at him with her bare feet, and he grabbed one and started to tickle the bottom of it. She squirmed and screamed, begging him to stop.

“Say you love me,” he teased, his fingers still prancing along her arch.

Quinn’s lips pressed stubbornly together, and he only attacked her feet with more fervor than before.

I rolled my eyes behind my sunglasses and lay back against my chair, all too familiar with their antics.

“Say it, Quinn, or I’ll never stop tickling you and you’ll die.”

“You’re not the boss of me,” she huffed out between fits of laughter.

“I beg to differ,” Ryson said, moving his hands up her sides.

“You’re so stubborn, Quinn AmberLynn Johnson! Just say it!” I shouted as I turned my gaze in their direction and fought back my laughter.

For as long as I could remember, Quinn and I made up fake middle names for each other and used them whenever we tried to get the other’s attention. The more ridiculous the middle name, the more fun it was.

She bolted upright in an attempt to stop his fingers from moving and squealed to Ryson, “Okay, okay. I love you. Please stop.” Then she turned to me and said incredulously, “AmberLynn? Really?”

I shrugged as Ryson planted a soft kiss on top of her nose and asked, “Was that really so difficult, AmberLynn?”

Quinn frowned. “Obviously.”

“Obviously,” he mimicked, and he wandered back inside just as my phone blared out the ringtone for Colin.

“Ooh, give me the phone!” Quinn practically shouted as she reached for me. “Please! Please let me talk to him!” She reached toward me, nearly falling off her chair as she grabbed at my phone.

“You’re not talking to him. Stop acting crazy,” I said, slapping her hands away as I pressed Ignore and breathed out in relief.

“This isn’t acting, honey,” she drawled, waggling her eyebrows.

I almost laughed. I’d done a lot of that today. Almost smiling. Almost laughing. Almost forgetting that my screwed-up love life was currently splashed across every tabloid and entertainment channel across the country. Squeezing my eyes closed, I couldn’t stop a few new tears that forced their way out. I sniffed and wiped them with the back of my hand.

Quinn reached over and patted my shoulder. “Hey, don’t cry. Are you okay?”

“I don’t want to talk to him. And as angry as I am at him right now, I’m also hurt. Is that stupid?”

“He cheated on you, Paige. He took whatever trust you had for him and broke it. I think you’re entitled to feel hurt.”

“I do. My heart hurts. As much as I don’t want it to because I feel so stupid about the whole thing, my heart is hurting. Every breath hurts,” I reluctantly admitted before allowing myself to let the pain flow.

“Breakups suck.”

“They do. Especially when you’re in the public eye like we are. Then they’re even suckier.”

I leaned my head back against the lounge chair and let tears slide down my face as the sun continued to warm my body. The sound of water trickling in the gorgeous water feature tucked in the landscaping next to the pool soothed me, and the ocean waves crashing on the beach on the other side of the privacy wall helped me to relax.

I had trusted Colin. Truly and completely. It made me sick to think about how wrong I’d been and how naive. My phone blared out Colin’s ringtone again, and I covered my eyes with a forearm and groaned.

Quinn reached for it before I could stop her. “What do you want, asshat?” She scowled into the receiver, and I couldn’t help but stare at her as she spoke. “No.” She paused. “I said no. Because she doesn’t want to talk to you.”

She rolled her eyes, and her hand opened and closed in my direction as she mimicked a mouth talking. “I swear to God, Colin, if you show up here I won’t let you in. I’ll feed you to the vultures outside just dying for a piece of meat. You’ll be the meat and I’ll help them devour you whole.”

She shook her head as his voice blasted in her ear. “Are you joking? God, you’re so pathetic. She doesn’t want to hear your half-ass apology. Honestly, Colin, what could you possibly say to her that could fix what you’ve done? She saw the video. The whole damn world saw the video.” She stayed quiet as she listened. “Exactly. There’s nothing to say, so just leave her alone and let her get the hell over you. I already have.” She pulled the phone away from her face and stuck her tongue out at it as she ended the call.

My mouth hung open. “Holy crap.”

“Sorry, I couldn’t help myself,” she said as she placed my phone back on the table.

“Don’t be sorry. That was sort of amazing,” I admitted.

“Well, I am awesome.”

“You kind of are.”

“Kind of? Clearly this breakup has broken your awesomeness meter.”

“You’re so weird.”

“I know. Hey, not to change the subject or anything, but have you talked to your mom yet? I’m only asking because she sent me a text earlier.”

Grateful for the subject change, I said, “Not yet. I should probably call her.”

“You should. She’ll make you feel better,” Quinn said with a smile.

“She’ll try.” I pushed up from the chair to go inside. “I’ll be right back.”

Walking into the privacy of the goddess quarters, I dialed my mom’s number and relaxed on the huge pile of pillows that surrounded me. My eyes focused on the rivets in the bed’s canopy, and I stared at them while the phone rang in my ear.

“Hey, honey. How’re you doing?”

My mom’s voice instantly made me want to curl up into a ball and cry. There was just something ultra comforting about mothers and the way they allowed you to drop your guard with just one word.

I sniffed and wiped the tears off my face. “Hi, Mom.”

“You okay, sweetheart? You need me to come over?”

I smiled, even though she couldn’t see it. “No. I’m at Quinn’s. I’m going to stay here for a few days.”

“Okay.” She sighed. “How are you holding up? Is there anything I can do for you?”

“I’ll be okay. I just need to pretend Colin’s dead and get on with my life,” I said bravely, then started to cry.

“I could have your father break his kneecaps.” She chuckled over the line. “Sorry, bad joke. But I’m so disappointed. I’ve had that young man over for dinner at our house. I cooked for him! Now I want to bash him over the head with something hard.”

Wanting to laugh, but not quite there yet, I sniffed. “Get in line.”

“I wish I had something better to say to you, honey. I’m just so sorry for what you’re going through, and I wish I could take the pain away,” she offered, her voice breaking.

“Thanks, Mom.” I breathed in a couple of shaky breaths. “Let’s talk about something else. What’s going on with you? How’s work? How’s Dad? How’s Stacey?”

“Everything’s fine here. Work is the same. Never changes unless something goes on with you, then my phone starts ringing off the hook and I come home to people camped in our bushes and jumping out at me every time I pull in or out of the garage.”

Guilt pinched at my heart. “I’m sorry.”