Gwen fixes me with a glare but doesn’t deny it. “Maybe you’d know if you ever came to visit.”
“Excuse me for being busy with my job.”
“Sure you are. You’ve been off for a year, and instead of coming home, you stay with Peter Stone.” She shakes her head at me, but then her eyes soften. “Is it weird being back?”
I tip my head from side to side. “A little. It’s technically the only home I’ve really known, but it’s sosmall. I haven’t missed everyone being in my business.”
Gwen snorts a laugh. “I guess. But it’s nice to have people who care.”
I shrug a shoulder. I don’t say this to her, but I don’t really need people who care. My parents taught me at a young age that people might say they care, but they’ll choose themselves in the end.
My parents divorced when I was three and began an eternal battle of who could make the more selfish decisions. Dad immediately remarried a woman with three children, ages ten and up, and whenever I was with him, it was like I didn’t exist. Mom wasn’t any better, though. She’d take me for weekends inVegas, leaving me alone in the hotel room while she gambled away what little savings she managed to gain.
When I was eight years old, Gwen’s family took me in. It’s a long sob story of being found home alone at Mom’s apartment, taken in as a ward of the state, then a short stint in foster care before my aunt and uncle offered to care for me. I don’t need to go into the details. Regardless, I’m eternally grateful to the Darlings for taking me in and giving me a functional home.
Gwen was eleven when I moved in with her, an only child who always wanted a little sibling that her parents were unable to provide, and she immediately took me under her wing. The woman is a natural caretaker, which explains her current job as a nanny to two little boys, John and Michael. Her parents would love to train her in their business, which is basically the business of being rich. But Gwen has her own secret desires—ones she’s included me in on.
“What about Peter?” she asks, her words timid. “Why didn’t you want to stay in the Maldives with him? I’m sure your time there was fun.”
Peter Stone, my best friend, has been traveling the world for the last five years, working on his travel app called Tinkerbell. After my last movie, I headed out to the Maldives to hang out with him, and I was there for almost a year.
Peter and I met when I moved to Brookhaven with Gwen and her family. His aunt Agatha lives here, and she’s the token crazy lady. Peter and his siblings would visit her every summer, and even though Peter is a couple years older than me, closer to Gwen’s age, he and I would get into all sorts of trouble together. We’d terrorize the farmer’s market on our skateboards, then pull Gwen’s hair and tease Peter’s baby sister, Lily. Typical boy stuff.
I tilt my head at her. “Don’t beat around the bush,Wendi.”
“Ugh, don’t use that nickname.”
“But Peter called you that,” I tease. Her full name is Gwendolyn, and while everyone has always called her Gwen, Peter thought Wendi was a more fun nickname.
She narrows her eyes at me, and I know better than to keep going. Despite all the teasing, Gwen has always had a mad crush on Peter.
“I’m not interested in living the frat-boy ‘bro’ life with Peter and his buddies,” I say. “It got old after a while.”
“He sure makes it look pretty appealing online,” Gwen says, and I hear the twinge of jealousy in her voice.
“I don’t know,” I reply. “He’s got zero sense of responsibility. They play all day and work on their app for a couple hours at the pool. I need something more.” And it’s true. Peter’s a great guy, but I could sense how much I needed grounding, at least before returning to Hollywood and being around the people who smile in your face and stab your back as soon as you turn away.
She nods, that answer apparently satisfying her for now. I don’t want to tell her about the actresses dressed like mermaids who were hanging all over him when I visited him on my way here. No need to incite a jealous act of violence.
And there’s the other piece of the puzzle, where I ran out of all my money and didn’t want Peter to keep paying for me. Hence the reason why I’m staying here until I have to work again in a few weeks.
I glance around the apartment. “Where’s my room?”
“This way.” She steps in front of me and leads me down the hall to her guest bedroom. It’s small, but it’ll do for now. “Sorry you don’t have your own bathroom.”
“It’s not a problem. I’m grateful you had an extra room for me.” I heft one suitcase onto the bed and unzip it, pulling out a book and handing it to her. “This is for you. As a thank you.”
She furrows her brow and takes the book from me, then hermouth drops open. “A Little Princess? Is this…” She flips open the cover gingerly, taking care not to ruin the delicate book. “Is this a first edition?” Then she gasps at the signature on the title page. “Andsigned?”
The corner of my mouth lifts in a half-grin. “Maybe.”
“How did you… Where did you…” Her eyes snap up to meet mine. “Wait. Please tell me you didn’t steal this.”
I turn back to my suitcase, busying myself with rearranging my clothes. “I mean…definestealing.”
“Ryder!”
I turn around and put my hands up. “I’m kidding! Of course I didn’t steal it. I’m just borrowing it. Indefinitely.”
