FALLING FOR THE ROCKSTAR (#1 ROCKSTAR SERIES)

♪ ten ♪ 🔥

"Hey," I said, touching Cameron's shoulder once we'd gotten situated in the car. We'd exited through the underground garage this time (for the full experience, Cameron reminded) and cruised up a narrow, winding tunnel to get out onto the streets of New York City.

He didn't shrug me off, but he flinched at my touch. "Yeah?" He winced, then shook his head. "Sorry, that came out rude." Setting his hand atop mine, he issued me a curt smile. "All good."

"All good?" My eyebrows inched upward. "I doubt that. What's wrong?" I squeezed him. "That went well, didn't it? Or," I gulped, "did I misinterpret it? I'm usually excellent at reading people, but maybe it's different with celebrities, so—"

"—it was fine," he said, his voice almost a hiss. "Everything was fine. That's why I said all good."

"Okay, but you're not acting all good. You're acting like it was atrocious and nothing went the way it was supposed to." I removed my hand and rubbed the back of my neck. I'd been sitting stiffly during the entire dinner, as if slouching would deduct points from the rating Leo would likely give me. A guy like him had to have a rating system, and I wouldn't escape it, even though I was dating Cameron. "Did I mess up? Was this a test of some kind that I failed?"

"Emma." Cameron's voice took on a warning tone. "Stop it. All," he gritted his teeth, "good."

I wasn't attempting to pick a fight, but I wanted to know why he was so down, so sluggish. We'd left the place, and everything appeared to have gone smoothly, unless I'd missed a detail that meant that Leo was unhappy with me. He'd been so warm, so kind, borderline too kind, but it was nice receiving so much attention from a celebrity like him. And it had pleasantly surprised me to witness he was everything I'd dreamed him of being.

"Did he disapprove of me? That's why he wanted to meet me, right? Because he cares about you, you're his friend, so he wanted to make sure you were dating the appropriate kind of girl? And he didn't think I was that girl?"

"No." Cameron took my hand, compressed it in his, his demeanor shifting. "You are that girl. You're perfect, Emma. Disapprove of you? No, that's not it at all. On the contrary; he did like you. He liked you a lot, I could tell."

"Oh." I deflated into the back-seat cushions, uncertain if I should be flattered or flustered or offended or worried. I forgot about Cameron's mood and retreated into my mind, processing the information.

Leo Lee liked me. He liked me? What did that mean?

"I mean, how could he not?" Cameron let go of my hand and massaged his temples, his irritated voice returning. The car made an abrupt stop at a red light. Through the closed windows I heard a few evening party-goers yelling at us, asking that we roll the window down. "Like I said, you're perfect. He's perfect, too, so perfection recognizes perfection, yeah?"

I squinted at him, noting the change in tone, the rigidity of his words. Was that jealousy I detected? Or annoyance? "What are you talking about?"

"Leo—you liked him too, right?" Before I could answer, he shook his head at me. "No, no, I'm not upset about that. He's Leo Lee, everyone loves him the second they meet him. And it's genuine, because he's always genuine. That's his major flaw; he's too honest, he's too charming, he's too perfect."

"Cam," I said, brushing a finger near his cheek. I'd never called him that before, but hearing Leo use the nickname tonight made me want to use it, too. It suited Cameron well—and I wondered whether it'd soothe him to hear it from me. "I didn't like him, not like that."

Cameron fixed me with a gaze so close to a glare that it took me by surprise. "It's okay if you did. It makes sense." He wriggled about, shifting his seating position as if to distance himself from me. "Leo is every woman's dream, every man's fantasy. I get it."