Birdie nearly threw herself around her sister and wept.
Birdie followed the sound of the slot machines and soon found herself on the casino floor. She walked up and down the aisles looking for Elliot, her pulse accelerating with each passing moment. She’d had a full six-hour drive to figure out what to say to him when he confessed that he’d written the letter or letters, but she still wasn’t quite sure how to speak her truth. She was getting there, but vulnerability was much more accessible when it was scripted, when she was emotionally availing herself on camera. What did Carter used to say? That she was too busy living out someone else’s story. Well, duh. That was all so much easier than this.
A few casino patrons did double takes, but mostly they were much more invested in the machines or tables in front of them, so Birdie was able to wander relatively unselfconsciously. Her posture sunk just slightly, and she shoved her hands into the pockets of the joggers she’d borrowed from Andie, but she likedit here, in the world of normals. She’d always been striving for validation with her career, since she’d been eighteen and fleeing Barton, so she’d never much paused to ask herself why she couldn’t just be content with what was. What she had. Who she had. When Kai pickedherof all people to fall in love with, if she’d considered that she was deserving of more than his half promises, maybe the rest of her personal life could have been more fulfilling, could have been entirely different.
She stopped in the middle of the blackjack tables and tried to get her bearings. Mona had texted that Elliot and Simon had a dinner reservation, then would be at the casino, but neither of them was anywhere to be found. Something bubbled up from years back, early in their relationship, when Kai was set to spend a weekend lost in the haze of Vegas.
“They wine you and dine you at the high rollers’ tables, Birdie,” he’d said. “It’s like they’re made for our type.”Our type.It had both revolted and titillated Birdie at the time. Now it just revolted. He’d wanted her to join him for the trip but she’d had a photo shoot in LA the next day for a cover. It was one of the few times she’d turned any of Kai’s requests down.
She tapped the arm of a waitress passing by.
“The high rollers?” she asked.
The waitress offered a smile. She’d recognized Birdie, Birdie could tell right away.Please don’t say something please don’t say something please don’t say something, Birdie thought. She just wanted to be anonymous for one more moment, out here searching for a boy like any other heartsick girl in the world.
The waitress nudged her chin toward the corner. “That way.”
“Thank you,” Birdie said and reached for her wallet to tip her.
“No, stop.” The waitress waved her away. “It’s just my job. And besides, I think he may be waiting for you.” She smiled again,wider. “You deserve a happy ending, Ms. Robinson. Like your movies. I knew you were just telling that dick off, the director—he’s been here with his brother, likes to grab onto things that aren’t his, like my ass. A lot of us appreciated what you did, even if no one says that online.” She nodded at Birdie, and then pushed her way through the crowd to deliver her drinks.
Odd, Birdie thought. That the waitress would know that Elliot was here, waiting for her. But maybe coincidences weren’t just found in the final pages of her scripts. Maybe, for once, some of that romantic good fortune was going to shine on Birdie Maxwell too.
43
ELLIOT
Elliot and Simonand Kai had retreated to the bar tucked away behind the high rollers’ tables so that Elliot could record the interview without all the competing noise. He needed to be sure that he got Kai Carol on the record crisply and cleanly, so that Francesca could pull the exact quotes and leave no room for doubt with readers. And no doubt with her: his job would be secure, his ass no longer on the line.
“So, you and I have a friend in common,” Elliot said to Kai. They’d each ordered bourbon, like they were trying to outmacho each other. Elliot had never liked bourbon, but he wasn’t about to wilt in front of Kai Carol, world’s biggest movie star.
Kai’s eyes crinkled in something like delight. He knew why Elliot was here.
“Ms. Robinson,” he said.
“You’ve followed the articles?” If Elliot were wired differently, he’d have been flattered.
“Of course.”
“And... we can acknowledge that you and Birdie were... involved off and on for several years?”
Kai pursed his lips, inhaled, then smiled. “Well, I guess the cat’s out of the bag,” he said. “Bravo to you for being the first reporter to nail us down. Before, it was all just smoke and mirrors.”
Elliot didn’t like the way he saiduslike they were still a living, breathing entity, like they were still connected.
“So you know what I’m here to ask you about, then,” Elliot pressed on.
“Before you do ask, what did she say about me?” Kai said.
“Birdie?”
“I assume she sent you here? You’re here on her behalf?” Kai’s smile faltered. “I do owe her a call, after the thing with my brother.”
It would have pleased Elliot greatly to tell Kai Carol that Birdie hadn’t said a goddamned thing about him.
“No, not from Birdie. I did a deep dive on Reddit.” Elliot shrugged. “You were caught once on camera outside her gate. Someone had the photo, even if it never made its way into the press.”
“Ah,” Kai said. “Reddit. I admit that is one of the far-flung corners of the internet where my team strictly prohibits me from going.”
