“We have plans already.”
He waited.
“We’re celebrating my divorce.”
“Sounds like an oxymoron.”
“You’rea moron.”
“That’s not… never mind. Sorry about your divorce.”
“Why? I’m not.”
His face displayed curiosity. So she explained. She told him the high highs and the low lows; she didn’t spare a detail on her marriage. He listened, confusion softening into empathy.
“I get it. You definitely need a release.”
“Thank you,” Anna said primly.
“Come to LA instead,” he proposed.
“And third wheel? I’ll pass.”
“Lenny, Ky, and my mum are coming, too. And it’s one of the biggest charity events of the year. Everyone goes. You’re a businesswoman—think about the networking.”
Anna pretended to contemplate his invitation, but Daisy knew. “I’ll think about it.”
The following weekend, they were airborne.
A private jet.
Company plane, split among the guys, now their main shuttle city to city.
“Pretty cool, right?” Jameson asked Amelia as they taxied.
“This is awesome!”
“Beats the smelly tour bus,” Daisy said.
“It’s all right,” Anna added, turning from the seat in front. “I’ve seen better.”
Lenny, Margot, Kyler, and his girlfriend, Riley, all stared. Anna turned back to her book like she hadn’t just heckled a jet.
“Sorry,” Daisy mouthed. Jameson shrugged.
All week it’d been like this: Anna jabbed; Jameson brushed it off; Anna got madder. Daisy realized Anna didn’t actually hate him. She wanted him alert, aware of his past and protective of Daisy’s future.
After they landed in LA, they all went their separate ways—Kyler and Riley to Calabasas and Lenny to Santa Monica. Lenny offered Anna a room, which she declined with unnecessary flair.
“Anna, he was just being nice,” Daisy whispered as they drove toward Jameson’s place in Malibu.
“Iamnice. I’m just not sleeping at some guy’s house I barely know, even if he’s famous and sort of hot.”
“The invite wasn’t nefarious. He didn’t want you to feel crowded at Jameson’s place.”
“Oh please, his house is huge. We will be fine.”
“And how do you know that?”
