"You're not Emmett."

"Nice observation. And you're Lydia, I presume."

I took in the superstar's outfit as she stood in front of me, drop dead gorgeous and only in loungewear that celebrities threw on and still managed to look impeccable in. I suddenly felt small and inadequate. Emmett chose me over that? And what was I? Nothing compared to her beauty...

"You presume correctly."

There was a silent second where I wondered if she was going to come for me but the moment passed and a blinding smile flitted onto her features. I let out a breath I definitely knew I'd been holding.

"May I come in? I left a few things here when Emmett and I were still together and I just needed to stop by and pick them up."

I moved my body out of the way, my hip resting against the doorjamb and beckoned her inside with my head, and I didn't miss the way that she looked me up and down and I immediately grew self conscious of my attire.

I had only been expecting company from my mother so I kept my face makeup free and only dressed in simple dark jeans and a white t-shirt of Emmett's that I'd stolen. The look was perfectly relaxed and I held my hair up at the top of my head in a messy bun, definitely a lazy day outfit but not something fit for a visit from one of the most famous people in the country.

Her presence filled up the space around us and my pace quickened with anxiety.

"Why couldn't Emmett just mail you your stuff back?"

The question was harmless, and I hoped my mind understood that, but my vocal cords didn't understand that when my voice came out unusually snippy, her eyebrows immediately going up almost into her hairline at my question.

"Sorry," I said off handedly but suddenly the air in the room was thick and suffocating and I wanted nothing more than for her to remember she had somewhere better to be and just leave. She did the exact opposite.

She sat down on the couch in the living room like she owned the place and tucked her feet up underneath her, abandoning her tennis shoes that probably cost a few thousand dollars.

I could hardly look at her face with how perfectly tailored her makeup was to her. It was almost like she was a magical creature and I didn't deserve to look upon her beauty.

Ugh! She was just a person...a person who had just asked me a question that I hadn't listened to.

"I'm sorry, what?"

Her bottom lip ticked at my question as a fake smile fell upon her sickeningly beautiful features.

"I said that you were right, I could have simply waited for Emmett to mail me back my things, but if I'm being honest...I was curious about you."

Now it was my turn for my eyebrows to disappear into my hair. A woman like Sofia Renault was curious about me? Why? What could she possibly have to be curious about?

"You were curious about me?" I asked her, my incredulity showing in my voice.

"Well, yes. It was obvious that Emmett was in love with you when we came to our agreement."

My eyebrows sunk back into their normal position on my face only to furrow in confusion at her statement.

"What agreement?"

"You mean he didn't tell you?"

I shrugged my shoulders as she folded herself into the couch, her arm resting along the back of the couch as she laid her face against her palm and watch me thoughtfully.

I waited for her to elaborate but when she didn't I had to finally ask, "Tell me what?"

She let out a short quip of laughter as she took in my confused appearance.

"We were never dating, me and Emmett, we just made it appear that way to the public for...reasons I'm not at liberty to disclose for myself. For Emmett, he explained that he was just trying to get over someone and was just using me as a stepping stone for that but it was clear that wasn't possible. Now I can see why."

Emmett had never really been dating Sofia. All those nights that I'd agonized over their relationship and it wasn't even real.

"So...he never had real feelings for you?"

"Not in the slightest, and I don't blame him. I wouldn't have if I was in his position knowing I had someone that looked like you to try and get over."

My cheeks heated up in a searing blush and I averted my eyes from her glance, desperate to end this conversation sooner rather than later.

"Um, well, thank you I guess?"

"I just wanted to meet the infamous Lydia at least once before he cuts me out completely. We were supposed to stay friends, you know, but the second he goes to you and its radio silence for me. Don't worry, I'm not trying to move in on him, I mean, I have Tyler Reed, but I would've still liked to be kept in the loop, you know?"

Tyler Reed? Holy shit...he was even more famous than her! She was with Emmett and Tyler Reed? I was sitting with someone in a completely different league than me...

I was about to respond when a knock sounded on the door again. It wasn't Emmett because he would have just barged on in.

"Give me one second," I told her as I left her on the couch.

"Malcolm?" I asked when I answered the door.

"Hey, I have your class notes for the day and I asked Professor Walsh if there was any photographic or video surveillance from that night and she just winked at me and handed me this file, so I was thinking we could go over this evidence and see if her client matches the description of the killer that eye witnesses gave and maybe we can prove your theory wrong."

"Umm, now's not actually a good time, Malcolm. I'll go over my notes and then I can see if you can come over later and we can watch the surveillance and I can see if Emmett will order us something to eat, and then we can prove my theory right."

"Riiiight. What are you and Emmett busy right now? You know, like..."

"Oh my god Malcolm that is so inappropriate. No, he's not actually here."

"Oh, is it your mom then?"

"What? No, it's-"

"She has company right now."

Malcolm peeked over my shoulder and noticed the superstar sitting on Emmett's couch and his eyes went wide as saucers.

"Oh shit. Wow. Okay, um, well yeah I'll just leave you with this and we can set a time to go over what's in these files."

"Great. See you later."

"Uh, yeah, see you late-"

I shut the door in his face as he was leering over my shoulder, drool practically dripping off of his chin.

"Sorry about that..."

"Friend of yours?"

"Sort of. We're working a case together and we're both up for the same internship at school."

"Right, Harvard. Very prestigious."

"Yeah..."

"This isn't awkward for you, is it? Because if it is, I can totally leave."

"No, it's fine, I'm just not used to having someone so...well known in my presence."

She laughed.

"You're with Emmett all the time."

I hadn't thought about it like that before.

"Yeah but like...he's just Emmett to me. I knew him before he blew up like this."

"I know, he told me everything...well I think he did, there could have been things that he left out I'm sure, but it felt like he told me everything."

"He did?"

"Yeah, we were friends, Lydia. Who do you think was the person who told him to stop being an idiot and finally go to you? Well, it was pretty crappy timing because the second I told him he got the call that you were sick and took off to be with you but still. You're welcome!"

I finally cracked a smile.

"Well then thank you, I guess."

"It was only a matter of time before he came back to you anyway, that boy is crazy about you."

"The feeling's mutual..."

That got a genuine smile out of her. I didn't know what her intentions had been going into this conversation but it certainly wasn't this.

"Well that was pretty much all I had. Tell Emmett to mail me my stuff back, would you? I'd really like to get together soon Lydia, it was lovely to meet you."

And with that she stood from the couch and opened the door, breezing past a dumbfounded Emmett leaving the both of us scratching our heads in confusion as she did so.