Anna sighed as she sat at the table across from Kyrie. “You’re probably right.”
“We can talk about hiring security for you like Eden has, but in the meantime, I’m happy to be your escort,” Kyrie said. “I’m always here at the hotel when you are, anyway.”
“That would be great,” Anna said. “Speaking of Eden ...” She felt a step behind since Eden’s staff already knew about their relationship. Anna and Kyrie were friends, which made the omission feel even worse, especially now that Kyrie had obviously seen that Anna hadn’t slept in her own room last night. “We’re seeing each other.”
Kyrie grinned. “Well, I didn’t want to be presumptuous, but I had a feeling that was the case when you headed to Vermont with her last week. That’s great, Anna. I’m thrilled for you.”
“Thanks.” Anna blew out a breath. “It’s amazing.She’samazing, but ...”
“But?” Kyrie cocked her head to the side.
“It’s just a lot while we’re on tour. There’s no breathing room, and she ... she was my idol, you know? It’s a lot of pressure to put on a new relationship.”
“You do have a habit of falling for your mentors.” Kyrie sounded thoughtful. “Are you worried about the parallels with Camille?”
Anna slumped against the table. “That’s exactly what I’m afraid of.”
“Eden is nothing like Camille,” Kyrie said. “I haven’t seen you two together as a couple, but Eden has always seemed like she wants to see you succeed, where Camille looked for any opportunity to yank the rug out from under you. She wanted you to be dependent on her, thinking you weren’t worthy of anything better.”
“You’re right,” Anna said, blowing out a breath. “But if you see me starting to put my relationship blinders on again like I did with Camille, please tell me, okay?”
“I will.” Kyrie fiddled with her tablet, and when she looked up at Anna, her cheeks were unmistakably pink. “I actually met someone during the break too.”
“Oh my God, you did?” Anna practically bounced in her seat. “I need details.”
“Their name is Tate.” Kyrie’s cheeks got even pinker. “We’d been chatting online for a few weeks, and we met for drinks while I was home last week. It went really well.”
“This is the best news.” Anna scooted around the table so she could give Kyrie a hug. She knew Kyrie had been hesitant about dating since she transitioned, so this was a big deal. “Tate uses they/them pronouns?”
Kyrie nodded. “They’re a camera operator for that new legal show on HBO. We just really seemed to click once we met in person, you know?”
Anna thought of Eden. “Yeah, I do know, and I’m so happy that you’ve found someone you click with too. How did you and Tate leave things after your date?”
“We’re going to keep calling and texting until I’m back in LA after the tour. I think ...” Kyrie looked down at her hands. “I think being long distance might be good for us while we get our bearings. I’m going to need to take things slow, so this works for me.”
“I’m so glad.” Anna had wished for a way to slow things down with Eden, but at the same time, she couldn’t bear the thought of being away from her. “Here’s to new beginnings for both of us.”
The next few weeks were some of the best weeks of Eden’s life. She felt relaxed and comfortable with herself in a way she hadn’t before. She was energized. She was happy. She was—quite simply—a woman in love.
As the tour made its way down the East Coast, she and Anna fell into a new kind of routine, one where Anna often spent more time in Eden’s room than her own. They watched TV together in the afternoons, and Anna almost always spent the night in Eden’s bed.
Maybe Eden had expected her first relationship with a woman to take some getting used to, but what was that saying? When you knew, you justknew. And Eden knew. She was all in with Anna. But as she sat in her hotel room in Atlanta on this July afternoon, she faced her first real challenge to the happy bubble she’d been living in since Vermont.
Anna had wanted to tell her parents and Zoe about their relationship, which Eden had readily agreed to, but she’d decided to use that as a catalyst to tell her own parents, too, and it had ... not gone well. Eden had stopped seeking their approval a long time ago, so she surprised herself when she hung up the phone and burst into tears.
Her dad’s words rang in her ears. “This will be the end of your career as you know it, once people find out. Honestly, Eden, what are you thinking?”
Of course, he’d been more concerned about what people would think than whether she was happy. Why couldn’t he see her as a person—hisdaughter—and not a product to be marketed, just this once?
Now, she had another potentially upsetting phone call to make. She dabbed her eyes and took a cleansing breath, and then she dialed.
Zach answered on the second ring. “Eden, this is a surprise. How are you?”
“Good. I’m good. And you? How are you ... and ... and Hallie?” For a horrifying moment, she’d forgotten his new girlfriend’s name.
“We’re really happy. I didn’t expect to fall in love again so quickly, but here we are.”
She smiled. His words would have hurt a few months ago, when she was alone and miserable, but now she felt nothing but genuine happiness for him. “I’m glad.”