Page 69 of As They Are
She hadnotpulled that off at all.
“Terrifying,” I said. “That’s what you are now.”
She did a little bow before pushing me out the door.
“Holy shit,” I muttered to myself before yelling, “Say bye to Cain and Eric for me, then!”
“You have to leave first!” she called through the door.
When I got to the square thirty minutes later, Henry was walking up to the diner, eyes forward. He looked lost in thought.
I pulled into a spot near him and honked the truck’s horn.
He jumped, looking startled for all of a second before he recognized me.
“Nice trick,” he said as I got out.
“I was afraid you’d miss me.”
“That would be impossible,” he replied.
I ignored the swoop in my stomach at his words. “That’s a good line. You should save that.”
Henry opened the door for me, the picture-perfect model of a man. Tammy was at the front, wearing a name tag that said Myrtle.
“If it isn’t Strawberry Springs’ most famous couple.”
Henry didn’t miss a beat. “Give it a few weeks. The news will die down.”
“You’re giving Kerry something to live for, though. Even if she’s mad that she lost a pretty penny.”
I bit the inside of my cheek, and Henry’s hand landed on my shoulder. It was so much easier to pretend with him. It felt natural. Like I could do it for a long time and never get tired.
“Do you mind if we get the table in the corner?” Henry asked. “We have a few things to discuss privately.”
If Tammy was shocked, she didn’t show it. “Of course. I’ll even pretend like I didn’t see you. Though, if Kerry comes in, I can only do so much.”
“Understandable.”
Tammy led us right to the corner Henry had asked for. He sat across from me, but kept his hands in his lap.
We were in friend mode now that we had a little bit of privacy.
“Have you heard from Madison yet today?” he asked.
“No,” I replied. “I doubt I will until we start filming again.”
Henry huffed out a laugh. “I can’t believe I’m saying this, but considering the public reaction, I expect you will soon.”
“Public reaction to what?”
“You haven’t seen it?”
I shook my head, dread swirling in my stomach. Henry took out his phone and passed it to me.
“Why am I seeing a video on glove sterilization?”
His cheeks went pink. “It’s just an ad,” he said. “The real thing is after.”
