"Hey there gorgeous!"

"Oh my God I love you!" I squeal as Trace dangles a Starbucks cup in front of me. I have no idea what's even in it but I love him for getting me caffeine. Today has been crazily busy and I barely have time to even get up and get water, never mind make coffee which requires time and water boiling.

"Hope you don't mind a plain latte, we couldn't get through on the phone to ask you." Rachael has taken the liberty of stepping behind my desk to give me a hello hug, but I'm happy for her to do so. She's quite the opposite of most of my friends - she's not very girly - but she's very easy to chat to so we've been getting on well. She's not Lily, but as far as substitutes go I could find far worse.

"Hey, how come she doesn't get a snotty 'respect the desk,' what's that about?" Trace says through chuckles.

"Because she's prettier than you." I take Rachael's wide grin and second hug as a seal of approval. "But what are you guys doing here?"

"We came to see if you wanted to join us for dinner later?"

It strikes me as odd to come over personally to do that, but then I remember that they couldn't get through on the phone. Then I add that thought to the Starbucks and wonder whether this dinner invitation idea came before or after they decided to stop by. Generally speaking you don't turn up with coffee in hand just to ask somebody to dinner. That is no way a complaint, however, because if this latte isn't a life saver it is definitely a sanity saver. I am really fed up of people leaving their expenses until the last minute before the deadline and then expecting me to get them checked in time along with the other twenty people who did the same as well as my usual work. I finally decided to prioritise in favour of those who are in lower paid jobs and as such will have more fiscal issues if they're late paying their credit card bills. It may or may not be coincidence that they tend to have shorter expense claims.

"I can't, Steve's arriving later."

I can't wait - firstly because Steve is awesome, and secondly because I have three beautiful days off to spend with him. I can't wait. There's going to be a lot to cram in because he wants to see as much of the place as possible, but then hanging with Steve is usually a whirlwind of madness and zany capers anyway. So it'll be nothing new.

"Bring him too. Well, so long as he ain't likely to go all weird because of Justin."

At first I wonder why Rachael would bring that up, I don't see why the ex thing should be a problem for Steve and can't even remember telling her Steve was the one after Justin anyway. Then I remember that the ex in question is famous and a lot of people go weird around him as a matter of course, whether they've slept with me or not.

"Okay…" I grab my mouse and click into my e-mail so I can check my calendar. I also have a traditional date book, but my date book doesn't handily give me fifteen and five minute reminders. "Well, his flight's due in at seven, but by the time he's done passport control and baggage claim we're not getting out of there until at least eight, I reckon."

"We'll make it eight thirty then. I'll give you a text when we know where," Rachael tells me decisively. I still have no idea where half the places they describe are, but thankfully I now know enough of the roads in LA that I have a vague idea of what roads Rachael is talking about when she gives me directions. As a brand new driver it doesn't help being in an unfamiliar city, but Trace and Justin have both offered to go out with me one day on a sort of driver orientation thing. Given how insanely busy Justin is right now I'm putting my stock in Trace for that one.

"Mr Ayala, what a pleasant surprise." Alex has appeared out of nowhere and is shaking Trace's hand. A neutral expression has passed over Trace's face and it's a pretty convincing one, but since I know that he and Justin generally refer to Alex as Dickwad I can just tell what he's really thinking. I don't know how many dealings Rachael's had with him but even so I'll bet Justin and Trace have put her off the guy.

"Nice to see you again."

"Did you have an appointment or…?"

"No, we just stopped by to see Addy."

Damn it, nobody really knew that I have any personal relations with any of the William Rast crew, and I can see the gears in Alex's head whirring round. "That's great. Did you get my expenses off, Addy?"

Actually his are at the bottom of the pile because he dropped me in it with that lunch and also I know how insanely well he's paid. Don't get me wrong, Alex is cool, but sometimes his sense of entitlement grows a little larger than is genuinely warranted. He's a smart guy who works hard, everything he's got he's earned, but sometimes he forgets that once upon a time he was as overworked and underpaid as his underlings now are. I'm not stupid enough to do anything petty to him or take it upon myself to teach him a lesson or some ridiculous crap, that's really unprofessional and really not my place, but I don't feel too guilty about him being on the bottom of the pile. He always does this and I've already unfairly prioritised him on more than one occasion.

"Sorry Alex but there were a lot of late submissions and yours were the last ones handed into me." That's only slightly untrue, they were the second to last ones handed in but the last ones were David's and unlike Alex he was extremely apologetic and brought me a conciliatory cookie. Plus since David's usually bang on time with his it's easily forgiven. "I'll try but I can't promise."

He gives me that 'just remember I'm senior to you' look and then says goodbye to Trace and Rachael. He's barely turned the corner before Trace rolls his eyes and says "dickwad."

"Hey, be nice." Even if he can be a bit of a wanker on occasion, Alex is generally alright. I do think Justin and Trace are a tad unfair to him - he's not really any cockier than Justin, though he lacks the charisma to mask it as well.

"Anyway, we gotta jet but eight thirty?"

I nod. "Yep. Can't wait."

"I suppose it's pointless if I say Lily's welcome too?"

I give a shrug and a sheepish smile, but he's just struck a nerve. Lily is still playing the invisible woman and whenever I do see her there are humungous purple circles under her eyes. I'd say she was burning the candle at both ends, but that doesn't sufficiently cover it. If she ever sleeps at all, it's certainly not in our apartment. After the hundredth futile attempt to check in with her I've stopped even bothering to go down to the workshop to talk to her. Clearly whatever she's doing she doesn't want me involved so she can have it her way; I'm not her mother, she's a big girl who can make her own bed and lie in it.

"See you later."

***

"Fucking bloody hell," Steve breathes out as soon as we're alone at the table. I'm not sure, but he may have been holding his breath ever since we got here and he realised who Justin was. He knew Justin was the guy before him, but as much as I probably should have prepared him in the car I just couldn't really find the right way to tell him. Besides, he was chatting nineteen to the dozen in his usual Steve way, it would have been hard to get a word in edgeways. "Yous might have said."

"It's not a big deal." I shrug.

"I'm just fucking glad you didn't tell me you'd shagged Justin Timberlake before we got it together, like, I might have had performance anxiety."

That makes me bust out laughing - firstly because Steve is just funny when he comes out with things like that, and secondly because I can't imagine him ever having performance anxiety. Apart from being a horny little git, he's so confident bricks would probably bounce off him. He's not cocky in the way that Justin or Alex is; he's got nothing to prove even to himself let alone anyone else, he's just very quietly self assured. Whereas Justin I think has things to prove to himself and Alex has them to prove to everyone else. It is definitely funny how even similarities can come from such very different places in a person's head.

Steve, to give him credit, has been pretty calm. The only real giveaway that he was at all ruffled was the uncharacteristic reserve. He's still been companionable and has chatted away happily to everyone else at the table, but he's not his usual larger than life self. Normally he's one of those people who can dominate a conversation without even trying, purely because he's so enthusiastic, but tonight he's toned it down a lot. Thankfully he and Justin seem to like each other well enough - not instant buddies but perfectly pleasant and friendly. Sometimes I wish I had Steve's ability to be so sociable.

He even took it well when Trace said he had the most incomprehensible accent 'in the history of ever.' I, on the other hand, gave him a swift kicking in the table for that.

"God, this place is right upmarket. You're not in Cassio's now are yous?"

Cassio's is the incongruously named fish and chip shop on Playa Del Sol. The very Adoran owner quickly worked out that British tourists often scorn local cuisine in favour of eating just like they would at home (which strikes me as a waste of money, if you want to act and eat like you're in Britain you might as well have stayed there), so he opened up a very English fish and chip shop and makes an absolute fortune out of it. That said, since the fish is fresh caught it's still a step up from your usual local grease pit back home. Since it's right next to the resort where Steve used to work, we ate there a lot. The owner (Pedro, not Cassio), liked us since he quickly worked out we spoke la lengua and that we often opted for the Adoran options on the menu too. It's amazing how much nicer the locals were to people who even attempted to speak Spanish - not that they were rude to the rest, but English people are appalling for just assuming everywhere speaks English. I once watched Pedro patiently wait for a tourist to rifle through her phrase book and then murder the phrase 'one cod and chips please,' only to very nicely in English congratulate her on her pronunciation even though it was terrible. He was a sweetie.

This place - I forget its name - is a world away from the white tiles and greasy smell of Cassio's. The seats are covered in artfully distressed brown leather, the walls are a warm cream colour with expensive looking paintings strategically placed around the room, and the lights are kept low. The closest Pedro got to decoration was a community notice board which was usually covered in flyers for various bar promotions. The food seems more decorative than anything else, coming in small but expensive portions. Steve's eyes bugged out of his head when he saw the menu, until Justin announced that it was all on him because he finally beat the record company down and he breathed a sigh of relief. I haven't had a chance to ask him about what yet, but I know Steve's grateful whatever it was because the most he'd have been able to afford would be a small starter salad. Though given that I ordered salad as a main and it's pretty small, I dread to think what starter size would look like.

"Definitely not," I agree as Steve slings his arm around the back of my chair.

"God, it's weird thinking of yous in this place. Nothing like Adora."

"You get used to it." I give him a shrug.

It's true actually; I'm still kind of stressed out, but I'm getting to a point where I've got a better balance going on. Justin has been very helpful with that actually. I really ought to get him something as a token of appreciation, he's insanely busy with promotion right now but he's still been taking time to show me round a few places. Sadly that means I have now appeared in more than one magazine as Justin's 'mystery lady' (paparazzi are evil sons of bitches) but he's already been on Ellen and told her that I'm merely a friend and the magazines are full of shit, so they've eased off a bit.

"Shame Lil couldn't make it out, she on the razz tonight?"

"And every night." I tried to make a joke of it but I sounded bitter and I know it.

"Without you?" He asks perceptively.

"Yep. Fine though, she's entitled to her own life."

Before Steve can dig any further Justin is back from the bathroom. Flashing me a broad grin, he starts digging back into his pasta.

"I was just saying to Addy like that it's a far cry from Cassio's," Steve says conversationally. I'm grateful that he's sensitive enough to realise that I don't want a big discussion about Lily. Apart from the fact that I'm still kind of sore about the whole thing, I don't like broadcasting my issues at what's supposed to be a fun dinner.

"Cassio's?" Justin asks.

"You never took him to Cassio's?" Steve asks me in mock horror. "How could you deprive him?"

"Yes, because taking a pop star into one of the busiest tourist spots on the island would be such a good plan." I haven't mentioned to Steve that I didn't know who Justin was to begin with and I don't plan to. I wish I could forget it myself - sometimes I catch myself questioning even little things he says to me, even though I know I'm only being paranoid.

"True. Those people get excitable enough over the water park, show 'em a celebrity and there'd be a stampede."

"Yeah, those aren't fun. Trust me."

"Yeah, bet you been in a few, like. Still, bet you've shagged some nice birds out of it, I wouldn't say no to that Cameron Diaz."

"Steve!" I elbow him hard in the ribs, horrified.

Justin smiles and nods, but I can tell that he's heard this before and it didn't amuse him then, either. "A gentleman never tells."

"Sorry, you'll 'ave to excuse me and me big gob, shit comes out before I remember I shouldn't. Me mam always told me that I needed to be seen and not heard."

Thankfully Justin cracks a slight more genuine smile at that, though I still mouth another 'sorry' at him. I love Steve but sometimes he really doesn't work the brakes on his big fat mouth like he should. At least to his credit he usually realises that he shouldn't have in order to apologise in timely fashion.

"I know that feeling. Hey, at least you ain't dumb enough to do it in front of a reporter."

"Only by default because they're not interested."

Steve rubs my shoulder and I grab at his fingers, holding his hand. I catch Justin eyeing up this interaction with a thoughtful expression on his face, but when I catch his eye he only winks at me. Sometimes I really can't work out what goes on in his head; I just know that he's more intelligent than he usually gets given credit for and it gives me some cause for worry when I can't work out what he might or might not be thinking.

"Oh but you can bet if they were you would," I tell him while pushing my fork around my plate. I haven't been especially hungry lately; even the salad seems like too much.

"Yep, it's a talent. Remember the time on the roof when I accidentally let slip to your Dad that we'd been at it up there?"

Now Justin's narrowed his eyes at me and I can just tell that his meaning is 'but that was our spot.' I knew that getting two ex boyfriends together in the same place was a bad plan. Why did I do this again?

"You mean the way you just let it slip to a guy you only just met?" I say after letting go of his hand and folding my arms in annoyance.

"Oh God, sorry!" Steve smacks his hand against his forehead and looks apologetically at me and then Justin. Clearly Justin's presence still makes him nervous, because even he and his big mouth aren't usually this bad. I dread to think what clanger he's going to drop next.

"Don't worry. I can always use more blackmail material." Justin's blue eyes glitter evilly at me and I visibly cringe. I'm really starting to wish I'd taken Steve straight home and ordered Chinese.

"Just remember that I have pictures, buddy," I say as I dig back into my salad with far more interest than I had a minute ago. If I'm looking at my fork I don't have to look at Justin.