“Damn, you all take the BYOB to the next level. I like it,” I teased, angling my head to the pool area. “There’s a fridge out there, and wet bar.”

“Please tell me she’s here,” Julia said, bypassing me to look around the living room.

“She’s not,” I told her as I ushered them outside and tried my hardest to muster up a grin. “But you’re all welcome to hang out as long as you want.”

Julia balked at that. “You’re hanging out with us too, right?” It’s not like I’d been planning to hide out in my bedroom until Alba made an appearance, but it was nice to be invited. I’d never been very social, but I’d liked having Alba’s friends here. Most of all, I’d been looking forward to spending time with her when we weren’t both exhausted from a full day of filming. But when she wasn’t busy with the show, she had her makeovers.

I knew she had duties and responsibilities very different from my own. Successfully carrying the empire my father had built was no small feat, but Alba was making her own path from scratch. I just wished she didn’t feel like she couldn’t ever stop.

“I’m calling her,” Julia said, frustration clear in her voice. They’d been friends long enough that she had far more experience than I did dealing with this particular issue. But almost as if Alba could sense Julia was about to get on her case, my phone rang. My body stiffened like it recognized the vibrations when she called.

“Your friends are here, Alba Maximiliana. Are you on your way?” I asked, even though from the chatter in the background I assumed my roommate was nowhere near done working.

“Shit! They’re already there?” I didn’t answer because I could see Julia tapping hard on the screen of her phone, and from the frown and pursed mouth I assumed she’d gotten the update I was about to receive. “I am so sorry.” She sounded contrite—just not enough to actually come home. “I thought the guys painting this room would be done faster. But only one of them came and I really need to get at least this part done today.”

“So are you coming?” I sounded annoyed, and I was. But it wasn’t because she was late, it was because I wanted her to be here. Which wasn’t fair, because like she’d told me a hundred times, I was the one who’d pushed myself into what she was trying to accomplish here. I just couldn’t stand seeing Alba drive herself so fucking hard all the time. But guilting her wasn’t it either.