Page 63

He shrugs. “Sure. Why not?”
He says it like it’s the most normal thing in the world, like we do this all the time.
My stomach chooses that moment to growl.
Holden chuckles. “Huxley will be so happy to hear you’re hungry. He’s been driving me nuts all morning asking for you.”
“He has?”
“That old man loves to take care of people, so I’ll let him know you’re up. And you can come to the movie room when you’re ready.”
The desire to pinch my arm to check if I’m dreaming is strong, but I decide against it. It takes too much energy.
Wasn’t there something I needed all of my energy for?
I gasp. “The gala tonight.”
Holden shakes his head. “Phoenix canceled your attendance. The media has been going wild, and the phone hasn’t stopped ringing. It’ll be good to give everyone a breakover the next week to calm down before you guys go out again.”
Phoenix canceled today. Was it really because of the media? The little voice in the back of my head thinks differently.
He did this foryou.
No, no, no.
Retreat right now. This path is full of land mines, and we will never reach the other side in one piece. It’s impossible.
Holden rubs his hands together. “Okay, Princess. I’ll tell Huxley to make you breakfast. Ten minutes? Twenty? How long do you need?”
Knowing that overthinking in my state would only lead to a headache, I decide to just roll with this new development. “Twenty?”
That should give me enough time to use the bathroom, brush my teeth, get changed, and message Ruby and Mason before they call in the cavalry.
“Twenty it is.” He salutes me, and then he’s gone.
I take care of business and make sure I look decent enough to be around anyone before I finally get to my friends’ messages.
Ruby
I admit, I expected to see the first one at some point. The second one, I didn’t see coming.
Mason
Is there something you aren’t telling us? We need to see you.
Underneath are two screenshots from some gossip pages.The first is a photo of Phoenix and me posing for the photographer. The second one is a candid of us kissing.
I can’t stop staring.
Experiencing it was one thing, but seeing it captured for eternity like this is something else.
No one is going to think our engagement is fake. Or not so much fake, but rather, arranged. If I didn’t know better, I wouldn’t believe it myself.
Three little dots dance across the bottom of the page.
Ruby
Don’t you dare leave us on read. Meet us at the café in two hours?