She pauses at the door. “You make him happy. I haven’t seen him like this in years. I’m not going to let them take that away without a fight.”
Then she’s gone, and I’m standing alone in Louis’s loft with a new weight on my shoulders.
After a deep breath and another glance around, I leave. I pull thedoor shut behind me, then hurry down the long hallway. Internally, after Delphine’s warning, I’m freaking out. So, I do what I always do when this happens … I call Kendall.
She answers on the fourth ring, and I can barely hear her over the noise.
“Addy? Hold on. I’m waiting for the subway. Let me—” A screech of brakes drowns out the rest of her sentence. “Okay, sorry. What’s up? I was literally about to call you. I had this weird feeling about you.”
“Oh, now look at who’s using their best-friend Spidey senses.” I laugh, instantly feeling comfortable, chatting with her.
“How are you?” she asks.
I think about all that’s gone down. “Surviving.”
“Um … hate to bring this up, but have you seen the blind item? What the hell is going on there? #FreedomForLouis is trending, and Patterson is concerned. Everyone here is. Are the rumors true? Is he being forced to marry one of those women?”
The subway rattles, and someone yells in the background about a backpack.
I walk faster, sucking in the cool, fresh air as the moonlight makes the short path to the cottage glow. “It’s true.”
“No,” she whispers. “What the fuck? Are you living in an episode ofBridgerton?”
“To be honest, it feels like it.”
“Oh, which season?” she asks. “Honestly,Queen Charlotte, the spin-off was my favor?—”
“That’s not the point. I really need to talk to you. You’re the only voice of reason I have.” I hesitate, walking faster.
The background noise shifts, and I imagine her pressing the phone harder against her ear, cupping her hand around the speaker to block out the chaos.
“I’m here for you. Spill it.”
“Okay.” I pause. “Actually, I don’t know where to start. Everything is bleeding together.”
“Don’t make me get on a plane tonight. If you’re in trouble in any way, I’ll be?—”
“Hold on,” I tell her, unlocking the cottage door, then walking inside, knowing it’s more private. “Sorry, I just walked in.”
“What time is it there?”
I look at the clock on the microwave. “Ten forty-five p.m. Oh shit, you’re traveling in rush hour. I’m sorry.”
“It’s fine. I’m not in a hurry to be anywhere.”
As I imagine what she’ll say, I lower my voice to a whisper. “Louis and I have been seeing one another while this is going on.”
Silence stretches between us, filled only by the muffled rumble of the train.
“Wait, what?” she asks like she didn’t hear me. “What does that mean? Like … you’re having hot royal sex?”
“We’ve fooled around,” I admit. “But we haven’t …”
“I don’t even know what to say. I’m so happy for you! Oh goodness,” she says like she realizes what this means.
There’s more subway noise, a garbled announcement about the next stop.
“I think I’m falling in love with him, Keke,” I whisper. “I don’t know what to do. I’m so scared this is going to end in tragedy and …”
