As usual, Annie is first to break the morning silence from her perch at our kitchen bar.
“So, what do you do when you realize all your dreams have come true?”
She slides a container of oatmeal raisin cookies over to me, and the sweet aroma of cinnamon speaks to my very soul.
I snort a laugh as I pop open my can of liquid ambition. “Crap, Annie. Do I owe you money?”
She giggles. “Nah. No debts to pay. It just felt appropriate after watchin’ all those videos of you and Sam on stage over and over.”
“I don’t know if I’d call it a dream—maybe a repressed bucket-list item. Editing all that video footage was probably mind-numbing. Sorry about that.”
Her eyes narrow. “Don’t you dare apologize. I never thought I’d see the day.”
“I sing all the time. I even sing in public sometimes.”
“Yeah, but not likethat.” She aims a chocolate chip cookie at me like a laser pointer. “That wasn’t just singin’.Thatwas a whole experience.”
“Thatwas a highly dramatized version of me—for Sam.” I swipe the cookie and take a bite.
“Well, it was nice to see you playin’ the part of your-freakin’-self for once.”
“Thanks.” I shrug, hoping to move on from this topic. “I tried to feed his energy without taking attention off him.”
“Honey, you never looked better.” She smirks, fanning her face as she rises from her stool. “Especially at the end. Woo,girl. Goin’ all in like that made Sam shine. More than the usual Sammy sunshine. You were like a cape, and he became…” She juts her chin to the side with hands on her hips in a stalwart hero stance.“Super Shiny.”
We dissolve into giggles, sputtering into hysterics that render us red-faced and silent from lack of oxygen.
“Oh, my goodness, it wasn’t even that funny,” I choke out, still wheezing through tears as we lean on the bar and grip each other for support.
“Pfft, please. I’m freakin’ hilarious.” She waves me off. “But for real, Lu Lu. That’s how all relationships should work. Your light doesn’t snuff out anyone else’s, but if that’s how they feel … Too dang bad. Light ’em up anyway.”
“You and Sammy should start a fortune cookie business,” I say, reaching for an oatmeal raisin cookie.
“Oooh, like aggressively positive affirmations?” Her brows perk up with interest.
“Something like that.”
My phone vibrates on the counter, sending a zing of anticipation through me. I’ve lived for Friday all week long and I’m anxious for an update on Jude’s ETA, so I open the message without looking.
But it isn’t Jude.
Chapter 34
Stressed Out
Jude said he’d text when he got on the road, so I assume it’s him when I tap the screen to return the call, then frantically hang up when I see the name on the screen.
Dad:Call Me.
“Crap, crap, crap,” I groan.
Annie’s eyebrows shoot up in concern. “What’s wrong?”
“My dad.” My lungs suddenly feel unsteady, like they’re not sure whether to breathe faster or slow down.
“Oh, no. Is he okay?” Annie’s response is normal. Healthy.
Unfortunately, my relationship with Don Brooks is not.
