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Within minutes, she was being tagged in a story. Several influencers were tagged as reacting to comments. Everyone wanted to know what was going on. It was sort of exciting. There were some others she was friends with online, but they had yet to collaborate.
It was a welcome distraction, putting work first again. She’d never been so thankful to be up in the air and off the ground for a moment. It was a direct flight, and she wasn’t sitting next to any of her bodyguards. She was sitting next to Max, who was also working on his phone.
“Cristina said the brand is sponsoring the extra security. Is that true?” He whispered in the seat next to her. He didn’t even look up from his phone.
“My house got broken into again. It was while we were at the premiere two weeks ago. I haven’t set foot in that house since. I’ve basically been under twenty-four seven security.” She wouldn’t tell him where she really was, not yet.
“How are things going with you and your bodyguard?” He teased.
“He’s just my bodyguard.”
“Ouch.” He turned to face her.
It felt wrong to even say that was all he was to her. It was his choice though. “We realized it’s been years. We might have been friends once, but we’re basically strangers now. He’s only here to do a job. As far as we’re both concerned, there’s nothing there.”
“You know we can talk about it, if you want.” He whispered.
She knew Max meant well. Before the divorce, she’d opened up to him about her childhood crush. It was easy to talk about the past when you didn’t like everything about your present. She was done living in the past. No regrets. All she could do was keep moving forward.
“We’re not the same people we were ten years ago, especially fifteen years ago. There’s nothing there.” It was a bit of a lie, but it was the first of many she knew she would tell herself to keep going.
“So, do we just pretend he’s not there?”
“No, you can talk with them. I don’t see them having to do much other than standing around and watching the rest of us dance around in our costumes.” She laughed. “All four of them.” She shook her head.
The brand decided to hire more security, not that it was a bad thing. It just meant that Archie really wouldn’t be like her friend anymore. She’d noticed the shift in his behavior the minute his friends were around. They were all here to do a job.
It was for the best. It wouldn’t have worked between them anyway. She continued to remind herself of her new motto, keeping moving forward. That was all she could do.
She plugged in her headphones and zoned out to a podcast as she waited for the rest of the flight to be over. It wouldn’t be long until she could distract herself with more people, people she was excited to see and knew were excited to see her too. This was good.
Two hours later, she was in a limo with the others. All their flights arrived close to one another and after shouts and hugs of a greeting, they were on their way to the house that had been rented for the long weekend.
Pictures and videos were already being taken, but they were instructed to wait to share the behind the scenes until after the official announcement later that evening from the brand. They could be discreet about it. There were several clips floating around already of their shoes walking on the same carpet or tile at the airport. A few people had guessed correctly to their teases.
“Welcome! Welcome!” They were greeted as they stepped out of the limo.
It was a mansion, definitely a step up from the first collabs they were all doing together. The high gate was already closed behind the limo. They walked inside the large double doors and stepped across the marble floors.
She didn’t know where to look first. High ceilings, huge windows letting in all the natural light. A team had set up a dining table with boxes of makeup and accessories. Bags were spread out in front of each chair with their names. So much swag, she could barely contain her excitement.
“Upstairs, you’ll find all the bedrooms. We put your names on the doors and dropped off extra goodies in them. The kitchen is stocked, dinner is being catered this evening. For now, we’ll leave you all to unwind and visit.” A lady in a navy blue blazer smiled before turning toward the obvious security and speaking more quietly. “Your rooms are labeled BG upstairs. I put one next to Ms Grimaldi’s and the others are spread out on the ends of the hall. There’s an extra office down here that has access to the security system of the house and neighborhood. You all are welcome to set up anything you need in there. If you have any questions, don’t hesitate to ask.” Her smile lingered a little too long on Archie.
Tabitha shook her mind of it, then headed to the kitchen where several of the others were already digging into one of the snack trays and pouring drinks. She grabbed a bottle of water and sat on a barstool to visit.
“Tabitha Grimaldi.” A warm voice spoke from across the counter.
She smiled. “Luke Keller.” She stood and walked over to him.
They hugged in greeting and she was surprised how much shorter he was than she expected. He was barely taller than her. Gorgeous red hair that curled a little at the top and a dusting of freckles ran across his nose and cheeks. Bright green eyes looked at her through glasses.
“Wait, is this the first time you guys are meeting?” Jill asked. She brushed a piece of her brown hair behind her ear. “As many times as you guys have duetted one another and commented, I seriously thought you knew each other.”
“We seem to keep missing each other.” Tabitha laughed.
“Until now.” Luke’s smile was warm and bright. “It’s so good to finally meet you.”
“Same.” She pulled back and moved to grab her water.
