Gold (All that Glitters #2)(49)

“I love it.”

This was more than she could have ever imagined when she’d started this with him. A house? A f*cking house? Shit!

“Good.”

She beamed at him. “Thank you. I’ll never be able to thank you enough. What do I need to do?”

“Seeing that smile back on your face is thank-you enough. Don’t worry about anything. I paid for it in cash. Your name is on the contract, but I have my accountant handling taxes and upkeep. I wanted this for you.”

“This is insane,” she said, unable to keep from smiling.

He laughed. “A little. All you have to do is furnish it. Maybe we could do that together,” he suggested.

“Absolutely,” she squealed. I have my own house! She pulled him closer and planted a very thankful kiss on his lips. “We’ll have to christen every room.”

Sunday afternoon, Bryna left Hugh, so he could fly back to Vail. They had ordered a good deal of furniture together, but it would take a lot more work before her new house was all in order. She still couldn’t f*cking believe it. The only way to make it real would be to tell everyone she knew.

She dialed Trihn’s number and waited for her friend to answer.

“B! You’ve resurfaced from your secret weekend arrangements,” Trihn joked.

“And what an amazing secret it has been, but I think it’s time to clue you guys in.”

“Hot stranger?”

“Oh, yes. Big news. You and Stacia are going to flip when you hear this.”

“Ah!” Trihn screamed. “I’ll call her, and we’ll meet at my place?”

“Sure. Be there in ten.”

Stacia was already at Trihn’s off-campus apartment when Bryna parked her Aston Martin on the street. She jogged up the first flight of stairs, and Trihn let her inside.

“Oh my God!” Stacia cried. “Look at you! You actually look happy. I have my bestie back.”

Bryna laughed. She felt like herself again. The past month of depression had seemed to wash off of her in one afternoon. It wasn’t that she had forgotten about Jude’s devastation, but she had renewed purpose. Things with Hugh were on the right course, and the irony wasn’t lost on her that she had gotten the house because of her distress over Jude.

“It’s good to be back. So, you both know I’ve been seeing Hugh, my hot stranger.”

“Yeah,” Trihn said.

“For so long! We’re dying to get details,” Stacia said.

“Well, he’s a resort owner.”

Stacia’s mouth dropped open. “For real?”

Bryna nodded. “Oh, yes. I mean, I’ve gotten luxurious things from him, but today took the cake.”

“Better than the Alexander McQueen dress and the Harry Winston bracelet?” Trihn asked. “This should be good.”

Bryna produced the key out of the front pocket of her purse. “This.”

“Gah!” Stacia cried. “What does it open?”

“Let me guess!” Trihn said. “A car?”

“Does this look like a car key?” Bryna asked.

“No. A fancy hotel room?” Stacia guessed.

“A safety deposit box,” Trihn said.

“Oh my God, no. You’re crazy.”

“Tell!” Stacia said.

“A house!” she squealed.

Both girls jumped up in shock.

“A house?” Trihn asked.

“Yes! And on top of that, he’s letting me furnish it however I want.”

“Are you moving in together?” Stacia asked.

Bryna wrinkled her nose. “No. Please. He doesn’t even live in Vegas. He flies in most weekends to see me. This is mine, and he’s covering everything! So, I figured, once I have it all in order, we should throw a huge party!”

Stacia jumped up and down with excitement, and Trihn turned up the music she was streaming from the LV State radio station. Like lunatics, the girls danced around the room to the song that was playing. The DJ’s voice filtered through the station at the end.

“God, I love his voice,” Trihn breathed. “I’m a sucker for an English accent. It was the best part about modeling in the UK.”

“Totally,” Stacia agreed.

“I’m happy to announce the international debut of America’s sweetheart’s first single,” the DJ said, his thick English accent making every word delectable. “This is ‘Homesick’ by Chloe Avana.”

Bryna’s jaw dropped. “Chloe Avana?”

“I loved her in Broken Road,” Stacia swooned.

Bryna rolled her eyes. Yes, Chloe was her ex-boyfriend Gates’s costar in the smash hit Broken Road. And Chloe was the girl he had slept with after Bryna had broken up with him over the phone. When he had come back, he had pretended like they hadn’t broken up, and he’d forgotten to mention that he’d slept with Chloe. Bryna could have fed him to People magazine, but she had done enough damage in his life.

Chloe’s career had exploded over the past year. She had starred in another movie last year, and she’d be starring in two more blockbusters scheduled for this year. Now, apparently, she had dropped a record, too.

Jesus!

“I officially love this song,” Trihn said. She swayed her hips in time with the catchy techno backbeat. Growing up, she had danced most of her life, so when she got going, she was a sight to witness.