“Yes, she’s been lonely lately,” Henry says quickly.
“I heard Ryder had some fun at her place yesterday,” Mason says, sparing me a sidelong glance.
“Who, me?” I say.
Madeleine laughs. “Yeah, the kids wouldn’t stop talking about how you climbed the tower and slayed the troll.”
My heart rate picks up speed, and I feel Henry and Luna’s stares on the side of my face. I summon the small acting ability I’ve picked up over my years in Hollywood and force a laugh, relaxing the expression on my face. “Oh, that was just some movie magic. I didn’t actually climb the tower. Just a little fun story for the kids.”
I hear the dual exhale coming from Henry and Luna and nearly let one out myself.
“Well, that’s good,” Henry comments. “Because Agatha’s got that tower full of booby traps.”
My heart drops. “Wait, really?” I ask, turning to face him.
He gives a noncommittal shrug, and a shiver runs down my spine. Was I that close to danger—twice?
Madeleine tilts her head like she wants to ask more, but I can’t risk any more information getting out, so I cut her off. “Can I get one of those oatmeal chocolate raisin cookies, too? That sounds great.”
“No problem! They’re actually Luna’s family recipe.Coconut oil adds that little extra bit of sweetness.” She puts a few in the box, closes it up, and rings me up at the cash register. I pay as quickly as I can and try to get out of there ASAP, but Henry firmly grabs my arm on the way out.
“Good to see you again, Ryder,” he says. But his eyes don’t match the sentiment. He’s looking at me carefully, as if trying to determine if I know something I shouldn’t. But I refuse to let anything out, more for Lily’s sake than my own. She doesn’t deserve to bear the brunt of his anxiety when it wasn’t her fault at all.
“You too, Henry,” I say with a grin. “Say hi to Agatha for me. We had a nice time at book club last night.”
“Will do.” He releases me, and I nearly run out of there.
Crisis averted, at least for now. Despite my fear of getting caught by Henry, I want to see Lily again.
CHAPTER 10
Lily
FRÉDÉRIC CHOPIN — ÉTUDE IN A MINOR (OP. 10, NO. 2)
The secret door inside the bookcase creaks open. “Knock, knock!” Luna’s voice calls through the doorway, drawing my attention away from my statistics homework.
“Yay!” I squeal and jump out of my seat. She wraps me in a hug, one hand occupied with a box of my cookies. Henry follows behind her, and his hug is a warm embrace from the big brother who knows nothing but security and comfort.
Henry isn’t my oldest brother, but he’s taken on the role of the most responsible, steadfast, loyal sibling. After our mom died, Henry and I were the only two left in Silver Lake City, and we got really close.
Well, as close as you can get with your sibling while hiding a relationship with the world’s most idolized actor.
“It’s good to see you, Lily,” Henry says.
“You were just here last week,” I say, stepping back. “Am I any taller?”
Henry snorts a laugh, and Luna tilts her head to the side, pretending to assess my height. “I think you’re done growing,” she finally says with a grin.
“Darn. I hoped I had another few inches to go.”
“It’s not too terrible being short,” she says.
“You’ve still got a couple of inches on me,” I say, then hold out my hands for the cookie box. Luna passes them over, and I greedily open it up, debating which cookie I should eat first. It’s a hard call, but I end up choosing a raspberry macaron. I pop it in my mouth and gesture for them to sit on my little sofa.
“You’ll never guess who we saw at Cookies & Kisses,” Henry says.
I try to say, “Who?” but my mouth is full, so it comes out like, “Oof?”
