Page 104 of Starrily

“Relax, I’ll be the one competing,” Raleigh said.

“That’s exactly my concern. You’re in Louisiana. Do you even realize how spicy things get down here?”

A corner of his mouth lifted in a suggestive smile.

“Okay, I walked right into that one,” she admitted. “I meant the food.”

“The spicier, the better.”

“Do you have a death wish?” Shanna asked.

“That’s exactly what I tell him all the time!”

“Wonderful. Now I have two women questioning my life choices,” Raleigh said in mock annoyance.

“You know he eats pufferfish? And he bit into a truffle of unknown edibility,” Callie continued.

“You were the one who wanted to go look for truffles.”

“And you’re the one who bit into it!”

Callie caught Shanna smiling—gently, lovingly, even, at Raleigh before she noticed Callie and lowered her eyes again. “I’m sorry,” she said. “It’s strange, seeing you. But you’re not you.”

“Oh,” Raleigh said. “If it’s too awkward …”

“No! I’ll be fine.” She picked at her dress. “Your smile is different.”

“Than what?”

“Than his. I don’t know how it can be, because you have his face, but … not his smile.”

“I don’t know anything about Simon, save for what I gathered from other people’s reactions,” he said. “What was he like?”

Shanna cheered up instantly; her cheeks gained more color, and her eyes more shine. “He was wonderful. So funny and smart and always so confident—he knew exactly what he wanted and how to get it. He didn’t smile as much as you, but he’d quirk his lips in a way—I can’t really describe it …”

“You must miss him a lot,” Raleigh said quietly.

Shanna nodded, squeezing her lips as if trying not to get too emotional.

“Don’t worry. We’ll get him back.”

A sting of jealousy pierced Callie. Shanna wasn’t in love with Raleigh, but he was in Simon’s body. Raleigh might not have his smile, but he was right there, and when Shanna looked at himthat way, Callie wanted to scratch at her with the ferociousness Theia usually reserved for the shiniest furniture.

It was ridiculous, but she couldn’t help it. As for Shanna’s feelings, it was clear she loved Simon very much. She came all this way to save him, and even through her jealousy, Callie understood that.

“They’re starting.” Raleigh jogged backward toward the competition. “Wish me luck, ladies!” He saluted, then turned around and ran to the table.

“He’s insane,” Shanna said in a weak voice.

“A little bit,” Callie answered. And she wouldn’t have him any other way.

After the competition and a normal meal—po’boys Callie and Shanna got from a food stall—Shanna said her goodbyes and headed back to her lodgings. Callie and Raleigh strolled around until Callie spotted a familiar tent, a gaudy purple sign in front announcing it asMadame Fortuna’s Readings.

“No way she’s still here.” Even back then, Madame Fortuna was as old as the world itself. Well, at least that’s what little Callie had thought of any person with wrinkles.

“See what I mean with your namings?” Raleigh said. “If I told someone I was about to see Madame Something at Venus Something, they’d think I was going to a brothel.”

“She’s a fortune teller.”