Secrets Collide (Bluegrass Brothers)

CHAPTER ONE
     
    Gemma Perry gagged as she mistakenly breathed in through her nose. Her muscles were cramping and the smell coming from the dumpster in the small back alley she was hiding in was strong enough to knock out a water buffalo. How did she get herself into this mess? Gemma found herself asking that question a lot recently. Unfortunately, she knew the answer all too well: She hadn’t been serious like her older sister, Gia.
    Nope, she had been bitten with the party bug instead. When Gia made her appearance into the world a full ninety seconds before Gemma, she looked around at the doctor and nurses and decided she had a world to make better. When Gemma came out, she looked around the room and went straight for a drink at the bar. Their time at the University of California at Los Angeles School of Journalism was very much the same.
    Her identical twin sister ate only organic food, went running every morning, and never ever used sugar or drank caffeine. Gia had never once stayed out past curfew, gone to a frat party, or called in sick to work. As a result, at the age of thirty, her sister had the body of an eighteen-year-old and a very impressive job as an investigative reporter for International Press. On the other hand, Gemma, with her more sultry curves, was sitting behind a dumpster in her size ten jeans with a very sugary coffee concoction waiting to get a picture of Hollywood heartthrob Tatum Evans and his married-not-to-him costar, Ginger Coach.
    Gemma had finished school on the party program and gotten the perfect job at Inside Peek magazine while Gia went to Africa to cover an outbreak of a virus in the jungle. They were night and day, but they loved each other and spoke almost daily. The only time Gemma didn’t talk to her sister was when Gia was investigating a big story and didn’t have access to a phone or the privacy to talk.
    Lately Gemma had been taking stock of her life and felt it was time for a change. She used to tease her sister about being so serious, but Gemma was starting to realize life was more than hiding behind dumpsters. While being an investigative journalist for Hollywood’s hottest gossip rag was perfect when she was twenty-one, she felt she had finally outgrown it.
    Her job was to hang out at the hot clubs and talk and listen to everyone there. She hit the jackpot when she could work her way into the VIP rooms to hear the industry gossip and investigate it. When she was younger, it was exciting and she was flirty enough to pull it off. But as the years passed, the job was just making her feel old. Hollywood fought age as if it were a disease and Gemma was tired of trying to be an ageless, no wrinkles, size zero knockout in order to flirt her way into the VIP section of that week’s hot new club. She was especially tired of hiding in bathrooms and behind dumpsters.
    Two weeks ago, she had tried to talk to Gia about a more serious job, but Gia was distracted by a story she was investigating. Gia had only made encouraging noises like hmm and uh-huh . With no guidance from her sister, Gemma decided to try Gia’s way of life and to see how it felt. As a result, her quads where killing her from running, she was suffering from caffeine withdrawal, and there was a very high probability of her hijacking a donut truck.
    Gemma took another deep breath through her mouth and gave her large canvas bag a rub. Fred, her small white Maltese, nuzzled her hand in response from the safety of his travel bag. At least her dog was spared the stench of the dumpster. She would give it a couple more minutes and then try to bribe one of the waiters at the restaurant to sneak her in to catch a glimpse of Tatum and Ginger.
    One of her informants had called and told her the hunky playboy actor was with his squeaky clean, never-in-the-tabloids costar eating at Oak Hill, the newest, swankiest restaurant in Los Angeles. She’d make a fortune on this photo and storyline if she got it. Her story would be on the front page of Inside Peek and she’d get a huge bonus—enough to let her quit and find a better job.
    Gemma froze as she heard the back door open slowly. She waited until she heard heels clicking on the pavement before she leaned around the dumpster. Bingo! Tatum and Ginger were locked in a passionate kiss as a black SUV with dark tinted windows approached. She hid her excitement as she snapped pictures of Tatum squeezing Ginger’s perfect butt and opening the door of her SUV for her. She