Page 69 of The Last Dance

‘Henry!’ He raises his hands as if we’re all complete idiots.

I shake my head. ‘I think he might have a lot going on right now. He definitely doesn’t have time to help me out because I told my asshole boss I’d be his biggest competition.’

‘Is thatactuallywhat you said?’ Noah asks with a disbelieving laugh.

I nod, my cheeks starting to burn with embarrassment.

‘Besides, a website probably costs a lot and I’m sure Henry isn’t cheap. I’m unemployed now, remember? I can’t exactly afford hundreds of dollars or however much it costs for a website I don’t even know how to use.’

Ben cocks his head, a sly smile on his face. ‘You actually think he wouldn’t do it for you as a favor after hearing what you did for him?’

‘Ben’s right,’ Claire adds. ‘You saved him from public humiliation. I’m pretty sure he’d help you out.’

I chew on my fingernails, looking between the three of them. Would he? I didn’t do this expecting a favor and even asking seems wrong. Morally challenging, you could say.

Noah sighs as if what he’s about to say is painful. ‘It’s worth a shot. You just saved him some heartache. If it was me, I’d help.’

‘See…’ Ben says, walking across the room and throwing an arm around Noah’s neck. ‘Noah is a smart guy and even he agrees.’

‘I dunno.’ I take a bite of pizza, chewing it slowly while I think. ‘I kinda want to wait and see what happens between him and Karmen. She’s supposed to tell him today. I can’t ask him for a favor until he knows the truth.’

Ben smiles. ‘You’re a smart girl, Ambri.’

I shrug, almost in agreement with him. Isn’t it bad enough that Henry had to save my life? Now I’m supposed to ask him to help me save my career?

‘Let’s pack! It’ll get our minds off things.’ Claire grabs my hand, walking me into my room and handing me an empty box. She starts pulling things out of my closet. ‘I’m sorry I mentioned the “what Henry did” thing in front of Noah. I know you don’t like the constant reminder.’ She’s quiet when she says it, obviously trying to keep it between us.

I flop back onto my bed, staring at the ceiling. ‘We’ve been fighting about him lately. I’ll have to tell him how I’m feeling eventually.’ I sigh. ‘I ran into Henry this morning, at Starbucks.’

‘Yeah?’

‘Yeah. He’s up to something.’

‘Why do you think that?’

‘He bought us both coffee and when he handed me my cup the name written across it was YouArePerfect.’ I finally sit up, crossing my legs underneath me Indian style. ‘And his said I’mTheBiggestIdiot.’

Claire grins. ‘That’s pretty cute, Ambri.’

‘You don’t have to tell me twice.’ I start looking around the room, suddenly noticing the already sealed boxes near the door. ‘How long have you been here?’

‘An hour?’

‘You didallthis in an hour?’

‘When you grow up as a military brat, you getreallygood at packing. You called the right girl to help.’

I nod. Her moving here was her family’s last move. I can’t even tell you how thankful I am for that. I watch her digging through my closet, putting things in the box next to her.

‘Why are there boxes in here labeled with an H?’ she says from the back of my closet. ‘And since when do you collect records?’ She pulls out the only half-dozen records I own. None that I bought myself. ‘And why do you have two of this one?’ She holds up Infusion’s last album.

‘The boxes are everything that reminds me of him. And the records, well…’ I walk over, taking one from her with a sigh. ‘This one’s signed.“To Ambri, our biggest fan. Brad Winston.”’ I read the writing across the front of the album cover.

‘Everything that reminds you ofhim? As in Henry?’

I shrug.

She laughs a disbelieving laugh as she shakes her head. ‘How do I not know about this record? You’re, like,obsessedwith the guy. I’m surprised you haven’t hung this on your wall in a frame of gold.’

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