Page 48 of The Money Shot

“Don’t look so shocked, sweetie,” she said, pinching my arm. “I think it’s cute. But seriously, you should get in on it too. You’d make a killing.”

Before I could muster any kind of reply, she winked at me, patted my arm like I was some kid playing dress-up, and headed toward the Dimitri’s security desk like nothing had happened.

I stayed frozen in place, the elevator doors dinging closed behind me. For the second time that day, I felt like the ground had been ripped out from under me, but this time it was because Nessa knew.

And, apparently, she thought I should be in the videos too. Should I tell her I’m going to be in them? Or should I wait for the world premier of my first video?

I bolted out of the building, Nessa’s voice echoing in my head like a bad sitcom laugh track. The second the cold air hit my face, I broke into a run. My sneakers pounded the pavement, the familiar rhythm of my strides anchoring me, keeping me from completely losing it.

Running was my go-to. It always had been. When my mom died, I ran. When I got a B on an exam instead of an A and feltlike the world was ending, I ran. Something about the movement—the sound of my breath, the burn in my legs—had a way of dulling the edges of whatever was clawing at me.

But today, it wasn’t working.

No amount of sweat or sore muscles was going to fix this.

I pushed harder, my feet slamming the sidewalk as if I could outrun my thoughts. But they kept pace, relentless. For years, Liam and I had been best friends. And I’d always kept my feelings buried, shoved deep down where they couldn’t mess with what we had.

Because I’d seen it happen before.

In college, I’d watched couples jump headfirst into something they swore would last forever. They’d get three months of bliss, maybe four if they were lucky, followed by weeks of misery as everything fell apart. Then they’d stop speaking and act like strangers in the same room.

I couldn’t lose Liam like that.

So why the hell had I agreed to make that video with him?

I stopped abruptly, doubling over and gasping for air. Sweat dripped down my forehead, stinging my eyes as I wiped it away with the sleeve of my hoodie.

And there it was—the truth I’d been dodging since I said yes to him.

I’d done it because I wanted to be with him. To make him happy.

I couldn’t stop being there for him, no matter how much it scared me. Because that’s what I did—what I’d always done. And now, here we were, teetering on this edge, and I didn’t know how to keep us from falling.

If this was going to work, it couldn’t just... happen.

We needed rules.

I’d always been good at rules. They gave me structure, a way to navigate through chaos. And right now, things between Liamand me felt like the eye of a hurricane—calm on the surface but ready to spin out of control.

I started running again, slower this time, letting my thoughts organize themselves.

First rule: I couldn’t let myself get caught up in how drop-dead gorgeous Liam was. Because he was. Objectively, he looked like he belonged on a billboard in Times Square. But I wasn’t about to tell him that. No freaking way. That would give him the wrong idea.

We were just best friends helping each other out. And really, what choice did I have? If I didn’t help him, how was he going to pay rent? I didn’t want to lose this apartment—the first proper home we’d had on our own. The idea of giving it up because of circumstances beyond our control felt like failing.

A gust of wind whipped off the river, cutting through my hoodie and making me shiver. My breath came out in short clouds as I slowed to a jog, then stopped completely.

It was time to go back.

I had to face Liam. Like a man.

And I had to establish boundaries. Rules that would keep us from losing what mattered most—each other.

As I turned back toward the apartment, the city lights stretched out ahead of me. I walked for a moment before picking up the pace.

I wasn’t sure exactly what I was going to say to him. But I knew one thing for certain.

This time, I wasn’t running away.