“I only had them for an afternoon, so I wouldn’t know. But I can’t imagine it’s easy raising them on your own.”
She blows a strand of her auburn hair out of her face. “I chose this,” she says with a smile that doesn’t quite reach her eyes.
It sounds like a phrase she uses often. I can imagine she needs the reminder sometimes, that she chose to parent on her own when she chose IVF.
“Doesn’t mean you don’t get to be tired,” I say with a squeeze to her arm.
She sighs, then pastes on another smile. “Addie has been telling me I should read your new column.”
I write the column anonymously, though my three best friends know, and since Addie and her older sister are close, I’m not surprised she knows too.
“Oh, her new column is fire.” Sienna appears in the doorway, followed quickly by her husband Noah.
I met him when I did a piece introducing our readers to Sienna shortly after she came on asJolie’s creative director. The man is insanely hot. Black glasses that make him look just a touch nerdy, yet with the build ofa former hockey player and the kindest blue eyes.
He snakes an arm around his wife and pulls her into his side. “Oh yeah? Is it one I should read?”
She pops up on her toes and presses the quickest of kisses to his cheek. “Yes. It’s hysterical.” Flat-footed again, she beams at me. “Savannah is doing a column on what not to do when dating. She’s even going out with guys and testing out these don’ts on them.”
Winnie laughs. “No wonder Addie says I need to read it. She’s always on me about dating.” Her expression sobers a little. “Like I have time for that.”
I give her a half smile. “It’s not working exactly as I thought it would, to be honest.”
“No?” Noah asks.
Sienna giggles. “She’s done the most ridiculous things, and still, she can’t get this one guy to dump her. She even sent him a link to her ovulation calendar, and he’s still sticking around!”
“Shut up!” Winnie wheezes.
Cheeks heating, I wince. “It’s not real,” I say to Noah. The last thing I want is for anyone to think I’m trying to baby trap a man.
He offers me a tight smile. “So it’s just for the story?”
Something about his tone and the way he frames the question makes me uneasy. Or maybe it’s because while this thing with Camden may have started that way, it’s certainly more than that now. “No, Ireally like the guy.” I shrug. “But the ovulation thing was just for the story, yeah.”
Sienna slaps a hand to her husband’s chest, still laughing. “And he still didn’t dump her.”
“Guess Addie was right,” Winnie says. “I’ll definitely need to read the column.”
“Me too,” Noah says, still wearing that brittle smile. “Alright, baby,” he says to his wife, “I’m going to find the girls. Don’t forget, we promised them we’d go see Christmas lights before we head home.”
Sienna nods. “Yes, that’s my cue. Have a merry Christmas, Savannah. I’ll see you next week. Win, I’ll see you tomorrow at Aiden’s?”
Sienna leans in and gives us both kisses on the cheeks before she and her husband wander away. As they’re swallowed up by the crowd, Noah glances back. And I can’t help but think that he had more to say about my story.
I exhale a relieved breath. At least he’s leaving now. Because while no one but my closest friends knows that Mr. Won’t Break Up with me is Camden Snow, our worlds might be too small to keep that secret for long.
TWENTY-NINE
CAMDEN
Noah: Remember when I said she had to be messing with you…?
I scowl downat the text as I step into Beckett’s house. Huh?
Another text appears immediately after, this one a link toJoliemagazine’s website. I tap it and am redirected to Calliope’s blog.
I chuckle. It’s been years since I’ve read one of these, but I really don’t have time to check it out right now. I’m far later than I planned to be, and all I want is to find my girl. The holidays are rough for Mom, and today has been an exceptionally bad day. My sister couldn’t calm her down and eventually had to call in a nurse to give her a sedative. It’s brutal, and we both suffer with a lot of guilt when it has to be done, so I stayed on the phone with Cora for a while after, shooting the shit and trying to take her mind off it all.
