Page 68 of The Lovers
That’s when I see Zoe, standing outside Homebase with one of Healer Arynne’s entourage. I rush up just in time to hear the tail end of their conversation.
“Just try to keep her phone away from her,” Zoe says. “Whatever you have to do.”
“Is everything okay?” I ask, breathless, probably looking mildly deranged. Zoe’s massive eyes grow wider, and the shorts-clad man saunters away with little more than a side glance in my direction.
“No,” she says, her face still alarmed. “But it will be.”
I internally screamfuuuucccckkkkand externally straighten my posture under the weight of Zoe’s glare.
“I walkied you and got no response. You weren’t at Homebase when I came here,” she explains, her voice more neutral than her confused expression. I try to tamp down my wild flyaways, not that I expect it to help at all. “Where were you—”
“What happened?” I ask, my mind racing with scenarios. And, yes, I’m avoiding her question with one of my own. She doesn’t miss it, and I can tell by the look on her face that she is not planning on letting it slide forever.
“Someone on TikTok claimed one of Healer Arynne’s crystals gave them a rash—”
“I can’t comprehend substantiating such a claim,” I interject.
“It doesn’t matter to someone like her,” Zoe says, no less annoyed. “The video had enough views that it sent Healer Arynneinto a frenzied spiral fearing she was about to get canceled and for some reason that meant she should barricade herself in her room making response videos to the comments.” She walks back inside Homebase.
My skin is clammy and my brain spins out at the wordbarricade.
“The rehearsal is in one hour.” I follow her inside. I now sound like the panicked one.
“And until five minutes ago, I wasn’t sure it would happen,” Zoe replies. She reaches out a hand for my walkie. When I hand it over, she shoves it into the dock to charge with a little too much force. “I kept trying to get you on the walkie, but couldn’t, and at the same time I was trying to convince her entourage to let me inside her roomandtrying to get the hotel manager to come open the door with the master key—which he didn’t want to do, by the way.”
“But he did?” I ask. She shakes her head.
“Bruno, the burly dude who just left, had a flash of awareness that if Arynne fucked herself over, he could be out of a job, so he let me in.”
“Amazing luck,” I say.
“I calmed her down and—for now—she’s agreed to abstain from replying and checking socials, but I’ve got Bruno on phone watch.” She crosses her fingers.
This could have been a massive disaster, and I would have been nowhere near the scene because I was off feeling up my former best friend.
I can’t believe I was this irresponsible. It’s not like me, buttoned-up, Julia-control-is-my-middle-name-Kelley. But at the same time, I don’t regret losing myself in the moment with Kit.
I just wish I had lost myself in the moment at a better moment.
Thank God Zoe was here.
“You handled this with grace,” I say, halfway thinking out loud. “A real pro.”
“Duh,” she says, but she’s blushing hard enough that I can see the pink in her tan cheeks.
“My hat is totally off to you.” I feign tipping a hat and she curtsies, her eyes sparking with pride.
“All part of the job.”
“Not usually, but you didn’t let that stop you from acting like it was.”
“Because it could be.” She gives me a big, confident smile, and I don’t shoot the gesture down. “See you at the rehearsal,” she says, walking to the front door of Homebase. But then she pauses, turning to add, “Boss.”
I can’t fight the grin that forms on my lips. And I don’t correct her.
Maybe Mystic Maven is right about Zoe.
Chapter Twenty-Five
