“We were careful, Leah.” Emma steeled her voice, but the words rang thin, even to her own ears.
“Not careful enough, clearly,” Leah snapped. “Miranda called, by the way. Wondering why her latest star writer is running around Comic-Con with an actor instead of promoting her damn book. She’s asking whether we should push the book tour until things calm down, and honestly, it might be the smart thing to do right now.”
Shame and dread coiled inside her. Miranda had taken a bet on her—putting her name, her faith, and her resources on the line. Sending Emma here to take the next big step. To prove she could handle the spotlight.
And instead, she’d set off a full-blown media circus.
Darren’s brow furrowed. “Hey. Don’t put this on her.”
Leah turned to him. “Oh, trust me, I’m putting it on both of you. You’re functioning adults. You were both aware of the risks. And in case you’re wondering, the Netflix execs aren’t exactly thrilled about this mess either.” She cocked her head. “Not that we’ve gotten any straight answers about where you actually stand on Lucen.”
Emma flinched at her bluntness. Darren went still, eyes darkening. For a moment, he and Leah just stared each other down, the air between them turning glacial. Emma stood frozen between them. That steady quiet from after the kiss felt like a distant memory.
She cleared her throat. “Look, maybe we should just—”
“Max is looking for you, by the way,” Leah cut her off, eyes still locked on Darren. “Might wanna go find him.”
“Leah—” Emma protested.
Darren’s eyes flicked to Emma, and the flash of raw anger jolted her—there for a split second, then gone so fast she wondered if she’d imagined it.
“Right,” he said, jaw still tight. “I’ll find Max.”
“Good idea,” Leah sneered.
He reached for Emma’s hand without looking at her, squeezing it briefly before he turned and disappeared. She felt his absence like a physical thing, a carved-out, hollow space he left behind.
For a moment, she just stood there. “I didn’t think...” she started, still reeling from the shock of the photo. “We thought we were alone, Leah. I could have sworn we were.”
“Good thing you didn’t bet anything on that,” Leah said dryly. But then she shifted her weight, posture softening, if only slightly. “Your first kiss, huh?”
Emma nodded, looking down. The sympathy was worse than the chastising.
The memory of the kiss felt tainted. That fleeting moment of exhilaration, of true connection, precious and private—stolen. Laid bare for anyone to see. And the thought was maddening that there was no way to undo that, no way to take it back. Out of her hands, literally and figuratively.
“Jesus, Emma.” Leah sighed deeply. “I’m really sorry. I know how rare it is for you to let anyone close. But you can’t afford to be reckless like this.”
“It wasn’t planned, Leah,” Emma said, her voice coming out as a whisper. “But it wasn’t a mistake either. It just...happened.”
Leah ran a hand through her hair, ruffling the usually so perfect, glossy strands. “Look, I know exactly how this plays out. He walks away unscathed. You’re the one who’ll be seen as someone’s girlfriend. And Darren is...” She hesitated—which Leah never did.
Emma braced herself. “Darren is what?” she said, almost defiantly.
Leah looked at her. “I overheard Max on the phone earlier,” she finally said. “Emma, I hate to say this, but the panel thing—that wasn’t spontaneous. They planned it.”
Her insides dropped out, cold rushing in. “What do you mean, they planned it? It was last-minute.”
“Max was bragging. Said it was the smartest PR stunt he’s ever pulled,” Leah said reluctantly. “That Darren has Lucen in his pocketbefore the Netflix people even open their mouths. They must have come up with the idea as soon as I reached out to Max about the panel.”
Emma shook her head. “No. Darren’s not like that. For god’s sake, Leah, I can’t get him to talk about Lucen for five seconds. I don’t even think he wants it.”
Leah pursed her lips. “And then he shows up in an octopus T-shirt at your signing, sending everyone spiraling again? And now someone justhappensto be ready with their camera in an empty service corridor the moment you share your first kiss? That’s a lot of coincidences, Emma.”
Something inside her balked. “So maybe Max came up with the panel thing. But that doesn’t mean Darren—”
“Darren,” Leah cut in, “has a lot to gain from all this attention. Lucen or not, this is the hottest his name’s been in years. Your story, your book, the two of you in front of a live audience—he hasn’t had this kind of fresh momentum in ages.”
“You don’t know him. It’s not like that.”
