“You’re a good friend, Seth,” I said as the kids started to take their own plates back to the counter, Spike grabbing mine and Seth’s with a smile.
He was a good kid. I was glad he was headed for Broadway, they’d eat him alive in Hollywood. He’d have to put away the best and kindest parts of himself that I could see shining out from him, and that would have been tragic.
I wondered, just for a second, if someone looking at seventeen-year-old me would have thought the same. But then I’d always been a screwup.
“Oh hey, we cracked three hundred thousand views on that footage of you with the squirrel,” Seth said, turning his phone to me so I could look at what turned out to be a TikTok video of last night’s squirrel incident. “Donations for the roof are pouring in because of it.”
“Yeah?” I asked. “How much do you need now?”
“As of this morning? We’re… you know, I’ll just text you the link to the tracker. We’re not done yet, but if you’ve got any rich Hollywood friends…”
“I’ll see what I can do,” I promised, and I meant it.
“You’re already doing a lot, I’m not kidding about the video. There’s also a reigning general opinion that Ward’s hot.”
“Well he is.” I shrugged. “Clearly your audience has excellent taste.”
“Well they follow me, so that’s self-evident,” Seth said.
“Never change, Seth.” I laughed, watching the video loop through one more time. A sigh escaped me as I watched Ward being so impossibly gentle with that tiny squirrel. The look in my eyes, caught on film, said everything.
“Go,” Seth said, giving me another nudge. “Go back to him. He’ll be waiting for you.”
He was. He promised he would be.
And I wanted to go back to him more than I’d ever wanted anything in my life right now.
“Let me buy the kids breakfast,” I said, passing Seth a handful of bills. “Tell them I’ll see them tomorrow.”
“Give Ward my love,” Seth said, beaming at me. “Tell him the internet thinks he’s hot.”
“Will do,” I said, grabbing my coat and throwing it on as I headed for the parking lot.
The air was crisp, but the sun was warm on my face and the leaves were still putting on a spectacular show, crunching under my feet as I walked.
This was happiness. I felt like I had everything right now—the boy, the hometown, and even a little taste of purpose. I hadn’t felt this good in as long as I could remember, not since the shine had worn off Tinsel Town.
My phone buzzed in my pocket just as I climbed into the driver’s seat of Ward’s truck, which he hadn’t hesitated to let me borrow.
“Astrid,” I answered. “Good morning.”
“Oh sweetie, itisa good morning,” she said. “Are you sitting down? Because have I got news for you.”
18
Ward
The soundof my truck pulling up did outside the cabin did something to my stomach that felt less like butterflies, more like an entire escaped zoo running around it as though it was a hamster wheel.
I wanted to see him, I’d missed him the entire time he was gone, but I felt like he’d been snatched away from me this morning and there was so much more we had to say to each other.
Did I want to wait in the kitchen, pretending I was wiping down the counters or whatever kind of thing normal people did while their maybe-boyfriend was out? Or did I want to pretend I’d been lounging on the couch, maybe grab a book real quick, like I hadn’t just been pacing and fidgeting and waiting for him to come back all morning?
While I hovered between the two, hopelessly undecided, Ryder came through the front door. Using the key I’d given him last night.
There were those escaped zoo animals, running on the hamster wheel again.
“Umm. Hi,” I said, trying for casual. Failing, based on the look Ryder gave me, but at least I’d tried.
