Annie heard voices inside and tried to look over Lizzy’s shoulder. She saw everyone except Bristol. “I’ll just text her again.”

Lizzy pulled a phone out of her pocket. “I have her phone. She won’t look at it until after the concert.”

Annie let her shoulders slump. “Okay. I’ll just see her later, I guess.” She turned but stopped when she heard Bristol’s voice.

“Let her in.”

Lizzy said something low to Bristol but stepped aside when Bristol nodded.

“Thank you. I wanted to talk to you.” Annie looked at all the people buzzing about. “Alone, if at all possible.”

Bristol stared at her and showed no emotion. She wasn’t even smiling. “Can we please have the room for five minutes?”

Annie stepped aside as stylists and assistants immediately stopped and left the room.

“Five minutes,” Lizzy said and shut the door behind her.

“I’m not going to pretend that you didn’t see the photos of me and Sterling, but I wanted to explain what you saw.” Annie knew the smile pasted on Bristol’s lips wasn’t genuine. She had seen and felt a pure Bristol Baines smile, and this wasn’t it.

“You don’t have to explain yourself. What you do on your time is your business,” Bristol said. She continued towel-drying her hair as though Annie was another assistant ready to help her with her wardrobe or makeup. There was distance in the way she looked at her. The warmth was gone.

“I want you to know that those pictures weren’t a depiction of what happened. She kissed me without my consent, and I told her that wasn’t cool.” Annie balled her hands in frustration. When Bristol stopped combing her damn hair and stared at her, Annie knew she finally had her attention. “We went out to talk about the company, and she hit on me, and I turned her down. I was caught off guard in both those pictures. I didn’t want her to touch me or kiss me. I’m not a willing participant in either photo.”

Bristol’s demeanor cracked. “Are you okay?” She reached out but pulled her hand back before she touched Annie.

Annie took a step closer. “I’m fine. It wasn’t a big deal, and I made sure she understood that I wasn’t interested. Because I’m not.”

“Good, because she’s not a good person,” Bristol said.

“I know you used to date a long time ago and she probably broke your heart, because she seems like the type.”