“Afterward, at the Dairy Queen, Logan ordered a milkshake, and I ordered a Sprite. But when he went to say hi to friends, I switched my order to water and pretended it was a soda.”
“Sounds boring.”
“Or crazy. All my life Mom regimented my diet. When modeling jobs started rolling in, she doubled down. Especially after we met Jinx and she talked of bringing me into Icon. Want another little secret? I’d never even had a milkshake until after, well, everything.”
“Never? Not even as a kid? Or at a party?”
“Not that I recall. I started modeling around Atlanta when I was seven. Until two years ago, I’d never tasted Halloween candy or Christmas cookies, ice cream or pizza. In a blind taste test, I couldn’t have told you a Hayes Cookie from an Oreo. I honestly believed if I had anything forbidden, I’d balloon up overnight. And Mom would know the moment I walked through the door. Anne Hayes is one of the original Jedis, you know. She kept a close tab on me. But I didn’t mind, really. My modeling career made her happy, and Ilovedmaking her happy.”
“Sheesh, H. But to never have had a milkshake ... I mean ... How could you stand being so controlled?”
“I thought we were talking about first kisses.”
“So we were. All right, you rode off likeEasy Riderwith Logan, man of great hair. Did he kiss you good night?”
“He did.” Her cheeks warmed at the memory. “We lingered at the door, and as much as I wanted him to kiss me, I was terrified. Then he put his arm around me and looked into my eyes. I’ll never forget how his lips felt—cool and soft.”
“Like a chocolate shake.”
She laughed. “Maybe. I was puckered with goose bumps. A real ‘Dear Diary’ moment. I floated inside, ready to tell my parents everything, but they were in Dad’s study, talking, and Mom was crying.” Her mother’s tears were Harlow’s kryptonite. “She’d seen me arrive home on the back of the bike. It terrified her. She was saying things like ‘I’m losing her’ and accused Dad of undermining her plans for my career. Then Dad said, ‘Isn’t it more your career, Anne? You’re still mad at me about everything.’ I never even knew Mom had a career. She met Dad in college. They married after he graduated. I crept upstairs and put Carole King on the recordplayer. Two months later, she said Jinx wanted me in New York and whisked me away.”
“Why did youloveto make your mother happy?”
“Back to first kisses.” Harlow gulped the last of her water. “I never kissed Logan again. Apparently you never kissed Patti again.”
“Nope.”
Their laughter mingled. “Oh, tonotbe sixteen again,” Harlow said.
“I’d be sixteen again if it meant I could meet you. Keep you from Xander Cole.”
“You met me two weeks before Xander.” She peered at him through the dappled light breaking through the leaves. “I don’t regret Xander, Matt. I loved him more than anything. He loved me, or so he said. But Davina had a hold on him he couldn’t break. She broke his heart. Broken things want to be mended. If Xander came waltzing into Sea Blue Beach and said, ‘I love you and want you back,’ I’m not sure what I’d do.”
Matt squeezed her hand. “Promise you’ll call me if he does.”
“They’ve gone public with their wedding. I won’t be hearing from him.”
“Remember when we went out to dinner? The first week of filming?”
“Of course I remember. You were charming.”
“As were you.”
“We laughed a lot, drank too much wine.”
“Talked over each other half the night because we liked all the same things.”
“You held my hand across the table.”
“You kicked me under said table when I didn’t see a hovering fan.” Matt feigned a wince.
Harlow laughed. “Oh, that’s right. She was all of sixteen. So cute and sweet.”
“She asked for my autograph . . . for her grandpa.”
Harlow hadn’t laughed this easily in two years.
“I’m sorry we lost touch, H,” Matt said.
