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“It was Bridget,” I said.
“The publicist?” Charlie said with a gasp, as theatrically as I’d expected.
I relayed everything Adalyn had told me about the fake messages and why they all thought I had been the leaker.
“Does this mean you’ll call Rhett?” Liam asked.
“No.”
There was silence. Charlie looked at her husband, then back to me. Why was it my responsibility to beg for him to forgive me? He should already be doing that when he learned I was innocent.
I shrugged. “Space is probably a good thing for both of us right now.”
“But you miss him,” Charlie said.
“Yes,” I admitted, sinking back down onto the couch. “A lot. I’m mad at myself for wanting him and wanting to talk to him and make sure he’s okay.”
“That’s what makes you a good person.”
“Not an entirely good person,” I argued. “I also want to shake him.”
“Understandable.”
I stood, stretching my arms above my head. “I’m going to sleep. I’m afraid of what I’ll do if I stay awake much longer.”
“Good night,” the Connells chorused to me.
“Good night, love birds.”
***
The following morning, I sat at the bar in Charlie’s kitchen with a bowl of Froot Loops and a tall glass of orange juice. I was sporting sloth-patterned pajama pants and no makeup, and I had hardly slept the night before. Temptation to search Instagram for evidence that Rhett had learned the truth badgered me, but I was strong and stayed off my phone.
“Want me to run by your house and pick anything up?” Charlie asked, coming into the kitchen and grabbing a banana. She pulled down the peanut butter from the cabinet and put it on the counter with a spoon before sitting on the stool beside me.
“Is it that obvious that I’m running out of stuff to wear?” She’d gone to my apartment once already for me, but I didn’t think either of us expected me to be here this long.
She smiled and took a bite of her banana. “No. You want me to do your laundry today?”
“I was considering going home, actually. I can’t avoid it forever, and I need to get back into the salon. I’m only covered through the end of the week.”
“Maybe you should stick around for another week, then. It makes me nervous thinking of you home alone with all this media attention.”
“Okay, Mom,” I said, chuckling.
“Speaking of your mom, will you see her soon?”
“She doesn’t pass through San Francisco for another few weeks, but she requested a long layover, so she’ll come up and see me then.”
“That’ll be nice for both of you.”
“Yeah, I’m looking forward to getting a hug.”
Charlie opened the peanut butter and dug out a heaping spoonful before shutting the lid and eating the peanut butter straight from the spoon.
“Is this, like, a pregnancy craving or something?”
“It’s super satisfying,” she said around a mouthful. “So, maybe.”
