What had I been saying to him to make him laugh like that? I couldn’t remember.
He was already slipping away from me, and it’d been less than twelve hours since the last time I’d seen him.
I hadn’t gotten a single worthwhile thing done in that time, either.
I closed the camera app, shoving my phone back in my pocket so I wouldn’t have to look at the photo.
I’d done the right thing, right?
I’d promised Iggy it was just for fun. We’dhadfun.
And I’d promised Reggie I’d get this job done. I knew how important it was to him.
I took two steps to go and tell Reggie in person about my idea so I wouldn’t have to photograph it, and tripped again.
Right into Anna, who was carrying a cup of coffee. Which exploded on impact. Spilling all over her white dress and then falling to the ground, sending another spray of coffee up and soaking both of us.
Thankfully, it wasn’t all that hot.
At least Dante’s curse didn’t extend to getting anyoneelsehurt.
I wasn’t cursed. I couldn’t be cursed.
I just needed new shoelaces, obviously. These ones were clearly faulty.
Curses weren’treal.
Iggy’s heart wasn’t broken.
Just mine.
After a desperate apology where I promised another coffee, the dry cleaning bill, and maybe my first-born, I ran away at top speed, ducking into another room where more of Reggie’s people were working.
“What’re you looking at?” I asked as I felt eyes on me, heart pounding in my chest.
My stomachache was back, and now I was snapping at innocent people.
“Get back to work,” I snapped again, instantly hating myself for it.
I couldn’t let Reggie down. He was relying on me to get this job done to a standard that meant we got to keep the client, and I’d already spilled coffee on our company contact.
I’d just have to pull myself together.
There was no point dwelling on what I could’ve had. I’d already left it behind.
* * *
I’d been dozingon the couch when I heard my phone vibrate on the chic glass coffee table with no soul in the middle of the chic glass, marble, and white leather apartment with no soul.
LA was different, or maybe I was different. It didn’t feel cozy anymore, it felt cold.
Reggie:business meeting on the roof
Reggie:don’t fall off the fire escape on your way up
Okay, that was weird, but it wasn’tnearlythe weirdest thing Reggie had ever texted me, so I accepted it and grabbed my coat.
When I got to the roof—past a couple of big red signs that saidemergency use only—Reggie was sitting on a low bench, a plume of cigarette smoke billowing past his lips, looking out at the city lights.
