Page 54 of Smoke and Fire
Which is exactly where I found myself an hour later when the door opened to the Frolicking Moose.
Startled by the early customer—normally our morning rush went through the drive-through on their way up the canyon—my heart instantly fell into my stomach.
Presumed-Katrina, which Inner Me called her until I confirmed her identity, strolled inside. Days had passed since I'd last seen her. My constant perusal of the groups showed no sign of her yet.
She’d pulled her dreadlocks away from her face in a big bun and a bright smile crossed her lips. A short skirt, long boots, and silky top adorned her today. Several moments passed before I realized what she’d done.
Words burst out of me.
“You’re Lolo.”
The woman beamed. “You noticed!”
My mouth dropped open, startled by the similarities. Lolo was a character out of Jess’s fourth novel,Lust is a Darkening Hellscape. Lolo was a quirky, fun girl that meets the love of her life on top of a mountain right before she goes bungee jumping. Heartbreak, near-death drama, and hijinks ensue. Everything about this girl looked like Lolo, as if Bastian had met presumed-Katrina in real life and slapped her on the page.
But . . . wasn't book four the book that presumed-Katrina hated? Confusion swamped me. What was going on here?
“Yes,” I managed to stutter out. “Yes, I . . . finished a few days ago. It’s . . . this is uncanny. Did you do it on purpose?”
“No!” she cried, laughing. “Isn’t it weird? I read the book and thought Jess had written me into itintentionally.”
Her face tightened a bit, making the smile seem a bit contrived. Was there something lurking behind that statement? I couldn’t help but feel a dark vibe. It quickly disappeared as she rushed happily into her order.
“Can we replay what I bought last time? I’d love another strawberry frap with a cake pop, please.”
“Of course.”
Frap and a cake pop at six in the morning? Definitely the sort of sugary, spontaneous kind of thing that Lolo would do. Had done, now that I thought about it. The frap and the cake pop werein the book.
“I’m just going to park myself in the corner for a while, if that’s okay,” she continued, glancing around. The empty shop soon lost her interest. “I just finished my fourth read-through of book twenty in anticipation of the launch! My friends are flying in today to prep for our party. I'm excited to see other people after days of just filming by myself.”
My blood turned cold.
Um, what?
“Filming?” My voice lifted in question. “What are you filming?”
“Oh, just a few things.” She waved an errant hand. “You know, the mountain views and some documentary-like stuff.”
Inner Me squeaked,confirmed! This woman must be Katrina!
I silenced her with a short,that could be a coincidence. We must confirm it first.I forced a bright smile. “Documentaries? Sounds so fun.”
“Hope so,” she chirped.
“Well, help yourself to the shop. WiFi password is on the board. Should be a quiet day. What name should I put on the order?”
"Kat is fine."
"With a K?" I managed to ask without choking.
"Perfect."
My mind tumbled over all she'd just revealed. Kat was close enough to Katrina that I dropped thepresumedand mentally thought of her as Katrina. If that hadn’t been enough,filmmakinganddocumentaryall but confirmed it. Katrina settled into a chair near the wall that gave her a sweeping view of the entire shop as well as outside.
By sheer willpower, I managed to avoid looking at her every other second, but it wasn't easy.Park myself in the corner for nowturned into an hour.
Then two.
