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The words don’t pierce my heart—not as much as the utter horror on Zoey’s face. Her hurt. Her anger. I deserved every last ounce of it.
What’s worse…
I’d say it all a second time. A third. A fourth…
No hesitation.
I’d cause Zoey Durand visceral pain and hurt again and again to protect her. To push her away. Colt was right. If I care about her—love her—then I need to make certain she leaves this town.
She’s only safe if she’s gone.
Something stings my eyes. Emotion that I shouldn’t be feeling. I slop dough out of the bowl. “Fuck,” I mutter to myself, cleaning up the mess quickly. Before anyone notices.
“There is a zero to negative chance the FanCon tour stops in Mistpoint Harbor,” my cousin Isabella tells her younger sister Angela, both short with wild curls and olive skin. “They’re only hitting big cities.”
“Maybe one of them will realize how awesome our town is,” Angela combats, flipping a Celebrity Crush tabloid at the middle prep table. She’s deserted shucking clams, and unlike her older sister, she wears big wire-framed glasses. “God, Charlie Cobalt is so hot.”
Before Zoey Durand returned, I’ve been going through the motions. Numb. Quiet. Tracking the H.M.C. FanCon tour stops has been the only interesting thing in my life. It keeps me somewhat engaged with my cousins.
The most famous families in the world—the Hales, Meadows, and Cobalts—are currently on a bus going from city to city for meet-and-greets. At least some of them are.
We all have our favorites, and thanks to Angela waiting in an online queue for two hours, we all managed to snag tickets for the Cleveland tour stop in December, which was in driving distance. The cities are announced at the last minute. So last minute that we all couldn’t get off work and had to sell our coveted tickets.
So Angela has been watching where the bus goes next. Right now, it’s nowhere near us.
“Charlie Cobalt isn’t that hot, not compared to Maximoff Hale,” Isabella declares. He is considered the most eligible bachelor of the bunch.
Benny laughs. “You mean the guy banging his cousin?”
I narrow my eyes on him. “It’s a rumor—a lie,” I snap in defense. Jane Cobalt, Maximoff’s cousin, just so happens to be my favorite. Which Benny knows. She’s the cat lover. The nurturer. And she’s cute in her tulle skirts and mismatched sweaters. Though, yes, she’s straight.
I was most upset that I couldn’t meet her. Apparently, her autograph and photo lines haven’t been very long. She’s not the most beloved, but that only makes me want to love her more.
I think of Zoey…
And I stir the dough slower. She doesn’t follow celebrity gossip like my family does, but if she had to pick, she’s always said she’s Team Hale. Purely because that notoriously geeky family loves Star Wars.
“There’s no way Maximoff and Jane hooked up,” Angela says like it’s old news, flipping another page.
“It was all over the internet,” Benny proclaims as he sharpens his knives. “He had teeth marks on his back. From who? He’s not dating anyone. But he carried his cousin when her cats ran out of their house—and he was still in his underwear!”
Angela shoots him a look. “You’ve carried me before the same way. Are we screwing?”
Isabella cringes. “Gross.”
Benny looks sick. “Don’t even, Angela.”
My lips ache to rise, and Angela slips me a smile while tying back her hair for food prep. She’s protective of all three famous families and generally knows the most. She’s the Encyclopedia of Hales, Meadows, and Cobalt knowledge.
Since childhood, we’ve all bonded by watching the docuseries We Are Calloway together, which documents their lives. We follow them on social media, tune into old reruns of Princesses of Philly, and subscribe to the tabloids. Honestly, we turn into teenagers again whenever we’re passionately discussing and defending them like they’re our friends. But we’re all in our twenties now and still obsessed.
I suppose they’ve always been our way out of Mistpoint Harbor. What life is like beyond our cursed town and fried crullers and sleepy winters.
“It’s a good thing we all didn’t go to Cleveland,” Benny reminds us. “It was a shit show. The power went out before the Q&A portion, and Reddit said the autograph lines were way too long.”
I tune out as Angela defends the FanCon and Isabella professes her love for Maximoff Hale again. Busying myself with work for ten minutes and thinking of Zoey.
Of the lighthouse.
Of her horror-stricken face.
“OB!” Benny shouts.
I flinch, dropping a spatula. “Benito,” I growl.
“I’ve been calling your name five times.” He glares. “What’s wrong with you?”
Heart rate still accelerating, I grab the spatula off the floor and ignore his question. “What do you want?”
“The mapeen.” He points at the dishtowel behind me.
I toss it to him.
He eyes me in a long, up and down sweep, then shakes his head.
