“No. I should’ve, butoh my God, even with the world I grew up in, I didn’t see that coming. She was off, but—I should’ve known. I should’ve. A few things make a lot more sense now. Did you know? Did you realize it wasn’t her?”
I don’t answer.
It’s none of her business.
“Dylan.”Mom hustles out of the house. “Oh,honey. Did you see Tavi’s TikTok?”
I look at Phoebe again. “What’ll happen to her?”
“From Gigi? No idea. She’s a loose cannon. From the world? She’ll have people who hate her and people who defend her. She’ll get endorsement offers from companies looking to cash in from the news that she eats meat and sugar and lies in public. Probably a lot of investment offers for the farm. Zero Ducks. That’s so Tavi.”
“So she—she doesn’t have to come back.”
I didn’t know it was possible to feel this level of grief with this level of pride.
Of course she’s getting investment offers.
I’vegotten investment offers based off a handful of TikToks going viral. Tavi Lightly? Imploding her brand like that and being the bold,badass lady boss that’s been hiding under all her flaky public layers for years?
She’ll never have to worry about her farm again.
“Don’t think for one minute her leaving is about you,” Phoebe says quietly. “Our lives—the way we were raised—the things we were taught—she hasn’t let me all the way in, but I promise you, she didn’t leave here as happily or as easily as she would’ve a month ago. You matter to her. Give her time. If I knowanythingabout business and publicity, she has her hands full right now.”
“Oh my,” my mom whispers.
I glance up at her, and she immediately shoves her phone in her pocket. “Nothing. It’s nothing.”
Phoebe sighs. “And speaking of publicity, here’s the bigger reason I’m here ...”
I wait, my heart in my throat.
“There’s a very high likelihood that since Tavi discovered you and helped make you semifamous, you’ll get a few more nasty comments on your social media feeds for being associated with her. Especially since someone posted a picture last night of you carrying her out of the school. It’s not like theTickled Pink Papers, where we could control how much it spreads. It was an outsider. The world’s going to put two and two together and realize that wasn’t actually Tavi, and it looks like you didn’t know.”
Fuck.
Did Tavi see that too?
I drop my head into my hands and tell myself she’s not sitting somewhere in Costa Rica thinking I could know her and love her and not realize that woman last night was a fake.
But does she know I love her?
Does she?
“I knowshewon’t take my money,” Phoebe continues, “but I’m happy to hire you an assistant for as long as you need to deal with thepotential fallout. I know someone who’s good with PR. She’d probably be willing to work for the whole town for a while.”
I glance up at her. “Like Tavi and Lola were supposed to.”
She rolls her eyes. “Don’t go there. Tavi didn’twantto be an influencer any more than Iwantto fall in Deer Drop Lake again. She’s doing what she’s supposed to do in Costa Rica. So let me do what I do best and micromanage the rest of you, mmkay?”
“I don’t care what they say about me, and if Tavi thinks for one minute that I would’ve slept with a woman who wasn’t her—”
“Dylan, we Lightlys have trust issues. She’ll know. And I highly doubt she would’ve hired someone to play her without making sure that person knew to keep her hands off Tavi’s man.”
“You.”
I look past Phoebe at the sound of Estelle’s voice. The older woman is charging up my walk, fury evident in her tight features and clipped walk. “Where is she?” Estelle demands.
“Not the way to heaven, Gigi,” Phoebe murmurs.
