“Lindsey, stop apologizing. You’ve been under extreme strain for days now. Let it out. I can handle it.”
So she did. She cried over losing Megan to JJ and his asshole crew, the stress of being chased, the stark fear of almost dying on the side of a mountain, and the constant worry about whether she’d be able to save her friend. She even cried over the shit that had gone down with Cruz, her asshole of an ex-boyfriend.
And through it all, Todd simply held her close, his rough cheek against hers, his chest rising and falling in a soothing rhythm at her back. When she finally calmed down, she was depleted but alert, acutely aware of the muscled body supporting hers, the arms holding her in their circle of protection.
“Look up,” he said softly, his breath on her ear setting loose a hummingbird in her chest.
She tilted her head back and gasped. The stars were a thousand times brighter than she’d ever seen. Out here—especially now that the moon had set—the dark was pure, unnerving.
“Incredible, isn’t it?”
“Yes,” she whispered. “There are so many layers of stars, it seems endless. Now I understand how sailors could navigate by starlight.”
“Right? It’s no wonder people were obsessed with the heavens in the old days. You could hardly ignore them.”
A satellite tracked across the sky, steady and fast, and disappeared into the trees. Several minutes later, a shooting star streaked overhead in a shower of sparks, followed by dozens more in the space of thirty or forty minutes.
Good thing, because she had plenty of wishes, all of them for the same thing.Keep Megan safe. No matter how soon they found help, nothing could save Megan from whatever was happening now.
“I’m surprised aSinzian Empirefan like you hasn’t spent more time studying the cosmos,” Todd said in a teasing tone.
“How did you— Oh, my shirt.” Her old “WELCOME TO THE SYZYGY” tee hadn’t been in great shape before the hike, but now it was covered in dirt and had a tear to the left of her belly button that let in the cold air. She’d only held on to it this long because it was silly and nerdy and reminded her of her goofy dad—a huge fan of the series. She loved it. “I think my interest in the movies lay more with the story and the characters than the space element.”
“Meaning you watched for Brandon Marlowe.”
Duh. “Who didn’t?”
“Denae Washington’s more my type.”
“Isn’t she great?” Lindsey couldn’t help but gush. “Last year, Megan and I waited in line at the LA Festival of Books for hours to meet her and the author of the original books. They were both so gracious and friendly, even though it was unseasonably warm for April, and they’d been greeting people all day who were upset that Brandon backed out at the last minute because he got strep throat or something. Meg wassobummed he wasn’t there, but we still had fun.” The memory made her smile. “She’s good about dragging me to fun things I’d never think to do on my own.”
Initially, that had been part of Cruz’s appeal too, but unlike him, Meg was okay with Lindsey’s limits.
A sob built in her throat. Would she see her again?
As if sensing her mood change, Todd gave her arm a squeeze. “Tell me more about your friend.”
Lindsey took a deep, shaky breath, her thoughts of Meg all jumbled together in her mind. “Well, she’s really smart, and super ambitious. She used to work in marketing at the same company where I started out after college, but then she began offering freelance graphic design on the side. A couple of years ago, she quit her day job to do it full time.”
“Nice.” Todd shifted slightly, renewing her awareness of every millimeter of contact between them.
“Yeah, but she didn’t stop there. She created these online courses on design, and later about how to start your own freelance business, and she’s making a killing.” Lindsey had helped Megan with her taxes this year—was, in fact, still tying up loose ends to prep for next year—and couldn’t believe anyone would pay such high prices for a course. Her friend had clearly found a niche. “This trip was supposed to be a joint celebration of our success.”
Lindsey’s throat tightened. Would they ever get to celebrate? “I also think Meg secretly wanted to get me out of LA for a few days.”
Damn. Why had she said that out loud?
“Why’s that?”
Her stomach clenched. No way could she tell him the whole humiliating story, but sharing some of it wouldn’t hurt. She’d never see the guy again after tomorrow anyway. He was a good listener, and being in the dark where he couldn’t see her face made it easier to talk. “My last boyfriend, Cruz, cheated on me, and Megan thinks I’m still in a funk over it.”
Todd’s muscles tensed. “Jesus, that sucks. I’m sorry.” He was quiet for a moment, softening his hold, as if forcing himself to relax. “Are you? Still in a funk over it, I mean.”
Another satellite blinked its way across the cosmos on an unnaturally straight path. “Probably.” Too much. “Not because I miss him or anything. We were only together for six months, and the last half wasn’t great.” She almost laughed at her grand understatement.
Cruz had started to chafe at her straight-laced, homebody ways, but she’d stuck it out because he’d made her feel so special—sexy, beautiful, desirable—in the early days, and she’d thought if she could figure out how to loosen up a little, maybe they could recapture that magic.
Looking back, the warning signs had been there from the beginning—the way he flirted with her volleyball teammates and then claimed she was overreacting when she called him on it, for instance—but she didn’t like to fail, and she’d been reluctant to return to being alone.
