"Where's Raine?"

Not today, Emily thought. While Kami wasn't someone she wanted to talk to on a regular morning, today was the worst possible day she could have chosen to ask Emily a question. Especially about Raine. She'd been cornered, though, with nowhere else to escape to in the yoga classroom.

"You'd probably know better than I would," Emily replied. She stretched her left leg out to the side and reached for her toes, bringing her nose to her knee. She hoped Kami would leave it there and go back to giggling and gossiping with the group of girls who would normally be vying for Raine's attention if he was in class.

Emily had gone to Raine's house yesterday like Shelby had insisted she do. Fighting the giant butterflies in her stomach, she had rehearsed what she planned to say. Nothing she came up with had seemed quite right, and she'd known she would have to wing it when she saw him.

She had punched in the code to his gate with shaky fingers, but she'd pulled herself together by the time she got to his front door. The problem was, he hadn't been home. Or if he had been, he hadn't answered the door. She hadn't heard from him since he'd left her apartment on Sunday night. It was now Tuesday morning, and already about ten minutes later than Raine usually arrived to class.

"Trouble in paradise?" Kami's voice dripped with phony sympathy.

Emily's heart constricted. She kept her head facing her knee. "No clue what you're talking about."

"Oh, come on," Kami snapped. "I've seen the way you look at each other, and you're always flirting before class. Both of you didn't show up yesterday, and then you walked in here this morning looking all sullen about something. He's not here for the second day in a row. I want to know if you did something to chase him away."

It had also crossed Emily's mind that Raine might be a no-show today, and that it could mean he was avoiding her. Hearing the same suspicion from Kami made her feel nauseous.

"We don't flirt before class, and I sure don't keep tabs on where he is."

"Oooh, defensive," Kami said. "Did he dump you?"

Give me strength, Emily thought. She summoned every last shred of patience she possessed and raised her head up to look at Kami. "How could he dump me? I was never dating him."

"Sure you weren't," Kami sang. "I'll find out the real story. I know people."

"You go find out the real story, then." Emily extended her other leg out and reached for her toes.

"I am curious, though."

"About?" Emily didn't care what Kami was curious about, but she knew Kami wouldn't leave her alone until she asked. It was better to get this over with.

"What you really want with Raine," Kami said. "I like him, and I don't want to see him dragged through the mud like you did with Cory Sampson."

Be the better person, Emily willed herself as she choked back a retort. Kami had to be antagonizing her on purpose, hoping to either dig up some dirt about her relationship with Raine, or to start a fight that would be sure to draw the attention of their classmates. If Emily let herself react, she knew whatever she said or did would wind up in Wally's hands or show up on another entertainment site before today's yoga class was over.

"I wouldn't believe everything you read in the tabloids or hear in a song lyric." She gave Kami a tight smile.

"Guess I'll have to ask Cory about that for myself." A smug look appeared on Kami's face. "I saw him and that Jesse guy play their song at a club this weekend, so I went up to Cory to introduce myself afterward. He looked pretty interested when I told him you were in my yoga class. We talked for a while and he asked me to have drinks with him tonight."

Emily froze. It was bad enough Cory and Jesse were co-conspirators. There was no telling what kind of damage Kami could help them inflict, or what Cory would tell Kami that she would then turn around and use to get herself in the headlines.

Part of her also wondered if she should warn Kami what she was in for. The shelf life of Cory's conquests before she'd met him and since she had stopped seeing him hadn't been more than a night or two, if the media was to be believed. Then again, Kami probably wanted to use him for her own gain, so maybe they were made for each other.

A popping noise came from the speakers in the room. Emily saw Satya sitting on the stage, tapping the microphone to signal she was ready to begin. She'd never been so happy for a teacher to start a class in all her years of practicing yoga.

"Tell Raine I miss him." Kami smirked as she got to her feet.

Right, Emily thought, turning around and scanning the classroom. Raine still wasn't there. At this rate, she wasn't sure she would even be able to tell Raine that she missed him, and she wanted to try and work things out. She was also beginning to doubt that he'd care.

* * *

The silence at her apartment had been too much for Emily to handle after getting home from yoga. She'd tried taking a nap, but images of Kami and Cory together, trading gossip, had flashed through her mind each time she closed her eyes.

She'd tried distracting herself with work, but that, too, had failed. So Emily had put her computer away, swiped on some lip gloss, and had gotten into her car. Every nerve in her body had felt like a live wire during the drive to Raine's house, as she readied herself for the conversation she had gone there for last night.

Once again, no one had answered the door. After getting back in her car, Emily had resorted to doing something she only did in emergency situations—she went to The Grove shopping center in her old neighborhood and headed straight for Sprinkles Cupcakes. Armed with a red velvet cupcake, she then made her way to the bookstore and had lost herself in an afternoon of sugar and adding to her to-read list.

Now she was home again, an embarrassing number of new books in tow. She found Shelby in the living room. The six o'clock local news blared from the television, which Shelby appeared engrossed in as she scooped macaroni into her mouth.

"Any good news out there?" Emily asked. She sat down on the sofa and pulled a chick lit novel out of her shopping bag.

"Mostly people panicking that a whole drop of rain fell from the sky somewhere in the valley this afternoon," Shelby replied. "They're acting like it's the Rainpocalypse."

"If a raindrop falls from the sky in Los Angeles and the local news doesn't dedicate half the newscast to it, did it really happen?" Emily scrunched up her nose.

"Deep question." Shelby took another bite of macaroni.

Emily opened her book and tried to tune out what was on the TV. She got as far as reading the first few sentences when she heard Raine's name. Her head jerked up just in time to catch a montage of clips for that night's episode of a late night talk show.

Don't miss Raine Kingston as he takes on the tough questions from our audience. It's an all new Awake in the City with Jackson Finch, tonight!

Awake in the City was filmed in New York City. That meant Raine was in New York, or at least would have been this afternoon when the show was taped. Maybe he'd already left for New York when she'd gone to his house yesterday, and that was why he hadn't been home.

Emily wasn't sure whether to be relieved he wasn't in town, or worried he hadn't told her he was going.

"So?" Shelby startled her out of her thoughts.

"What?" Emily shifted her eyes back to her book and pretended to be engrossed in what was on the page.

"Should we watch?" Shelby asked.

"Watch what?"

"Come on. I saw the look on your face when you heard Raine's name. I know you miss him. We should watch him on Awake in the City tonight."

"If we're both still up then," Emily said, trying to sound indifferent. Shelby's amused expression told her she had seen right through her act. Both of them knew there was no chance Emily would be sleeping when Raine was on TV tonight.

* * *

The opening monologue of Awake in the City usually entertained Emily when she remembered to watch it. Tonight, though, she barely paid attention to the political jokes and celebrity wisecracks. Shelby, meanwhile, cracked up every few seconds.

Finally, the monologue ended and the show faded out to a commercial. Emily suffered through a couple of minutes of movie trailers and morning show teasers, and then the sound of the Awake in the City band filled the air. The camera cut to the host of the show, Jackson Finch, sitting at his desk. He made a big show of introducing Raine, who walked out from behind a curtain and waved to a screaming studio audience.

Emily studied him as he greeted Jackson and sat down in a chair, not sure what she was looking for other than some indication he had been thinking about her. Was that even fair of her to wish for? One thing was for sure: If he'd lost any sleep over how they'd left things on Sunday, it would be impossible for anyone to tell. Everything about him was heart-stoppingly perfect, from his hair to his clothes, to the way he leaned back so casually in the overstuffed guest chair. He was at ease on that stage, like he was simply in someone's living room and not in front of TV cameras and all those people.

What really got her, though, was his smile. More than anything these last couple of days, she'd missed seeing him grin. She thought about rewinding back to the close-up of his face so she could see it one more time.

Shelby burst out laughing, and Emily realized she had missed something funny while she'd been distracted by staring at Raine. Jackson looked embarrassed and was hanging his head.

"Are you sure that's water?" Raine asked, peering into Jackson's mug.

"I kind of wish it wasn't, you know? At least I'd have a reason for messing the show up." Jackson clapped a hand over his mouth to cover up a cough. He paused for a second, regaining his composure. "I mean, a reason other than the amount of cold medicine I've taken today."

"I've had those days on set for sure," Raine told him. "All that over-the-counter stuff says it's non-drowsy, but good luck even operating a phone when you're hopped up on it."

"Ah, the glamorous movie-filming life of an action hero," Jackson kidded.

Raine chuckled. "Did you invite an action hero to the show? I've never been one of those. Or did my agent tell you something I haven't heard yet?"

"Movie star, dammit. I meant movie star." Jackson hung his head again. "I know you haven't done action films. How many years have I known you?"

Raine patted him on the back. "One-hundred, at least. You're just nailing this interview thing tonight."

"I know, I know. It's like someone filled my mouth with marbles. I need a stand-in." Jackson looked out at the audience. "Hey, you guys don't want to come to my rescue, do you? Maybe take over asking this guy a few questions?"

The audience cheered. She watched Raine laugh his genuine, good-natured laugh—he was game. Jackson got up from his desk and walked over to the audience, looking for his first substitute interviewer. He handed the microphone over to a red-haired woman with bright pink lipstick who looked to be in her mid-thirties.

"Are you dating anyone right now?"

Jackson took the microphone. "Nothing like an impersonal question," he joked, turning around to look at Raine. "You should see your face right now, dude. I think that answers the question. Who is she?" He looked back at the woman who'd asked the question. "You realize you just helped us scoop every entertainment news outlet out there. Can we hire you?"

She wondered if Raine would backpedal somehow. When the camera cut to him, though, she knew it wasn't going to happen. The answer really was written all over his face.

Raine cleared his throat. "Yes, I'm seeing someone." The audience went crazy and he ducked his head.

Jackson gave him a stern look. "This is news to me, bro. I thought we told each other things."

"We do, but I think I need to wait until you sober up from the cold medicine. You're a mess."

"Anyone I know?" Jackson returned to his desk and sat down.

Emily gripped the arm of the sofa, holding her breath.

"I don't know who you know and who you don't know, man," Raine replied.

"Yes you do. You're my kid's godfather. You know who I know."

"Let me rephrase that," Raine said. He picked up a mug that was on the table in front of him and took a drink, then set it back down. Finally, he shook his head. "Okay, I don't have a good answer. Anyone else have a question?" He looked out at the audience, and the camera panned over to somewhere in the crowd. A few people stood up and waved their arms, and Emily heard a couple of yells but didn't catch what was asked. The shot returned to Raine and Jackson.

"Don't think you're getting off that easily, my friend." Jackson wagged his finger at Raine. "There's a reason I haven't heard about this and you're making me pry it out of you. Has she been on this show?"

Raine shrugged, plastering his best innocent-little-boy expression across his face.

"I'll get this out of you during the commercial break," Jackson warned him.

"You're going to be passed out behind your desk during the commercial break."

"You could be right. Let's keep talking while I'm still conscious."

"Sounds good, man, sounds good. Keep going while you can still form sentences."

Jackson tried to keep a straight face, and failed. "Give me a second," he told the audience.

Beside him, Raine mimed someone drinking. The audience tittered and he stopped, but not before Jackson saw him.

"Dude, I'm sick. Take it easy on me."

"This is taking it easy on you," Raine shot back.

"Yeah, you're probably right." Jackson drummed his hands on the desk. "So, what else have you been up to lately?"

"Terribly interesting things, of course. You just made me into an action hero at the start of this interview, after all."

"Well, you are still doing all that yoga, aren't you?" Jackson asked.

Raine nodded.

"Maybe you're a yoga action hero," Jackson continued. "Did you meet your girlfriend at yoga?"

"You're going to keep going back to this, aren't you?" Raine said, laughing again. "Obsessed. You're all obsessed with love. Am I right?" He held his arms out to the audience, who cheered. "That's fantastic. There's this new movie coming out soon that you should check out if you're obsessed with love, which it sounds like you all are. It's called After it All, and it's completely possible that I'm in it, but don't let that stop you from seeing it. Who wants to see a clip?"

The audience applauded, and a scene from Raine's movie filled the television screen.

Emily checked the time on her phone. It was after midnight in her time zone, which meant it was after 3 a.m. in New York. Raine was probably asleep for the night and wouldn't see any texts she sent him.

She sent one anyway.

Saw you on Awake in the City tonight. Didn't know you were in NYC.

A reply popped up on her screen a few minutes later. Here for a press junket. Back on Friday. Talk when I get home.

Emily hesitated, and then typed another message. I miss you. She hit send.

There was no reply.