How Zoe Made Her Dreams (Mostly) Come Tr - By Sarah Strohmeyer Page 0,67

for free ice cream. Sage stepped to the first cart, and Gary, a troll on duty, reminded him to remove the scarf.

“But then my head will fall off,” Sage quipped.

I should have told him that trolls were not exactly famous for their humor. “You’ll be a guy strung up by his neck if you don’t give me that scarf,” the troll said.

Sage gave him a salute and unwrapped the scarf.

I’d forgotten how scary that ride was, especially with all the flashing lights and sudden drops. My stomach, already in turmoil from my run-ins with Dash and RJ, didn’t appreciate the upside-down parts, either. But when I looked over to Sage, I found him with his chin in his chest, asleep. He woke only at the end, when the train surfaced to arrive at Snow White’s Cottage.

“My. That was thrilling.” He yawned.

I said, “You’re pretty tired, aren’t you?”

“After performing in twenty cities in as many days, you’d be, too.”

I guess I hadn’t thought that being famous would be grueling. It seemed like so much fun. All the attention, the photographers, the clothes, and the parties. But here was Sage practically sleepwalking, and I was half tempted to tell him to forget the tour and just go back to the hotel room.

Michelle was waiting on the platform, still on her phone. “It’s a matter of the right branding,” she barked. “The question is: Do we want Sage associated with a theme park that has seen better days?”

Yowza!

“I think this is a fine little theme park,” Sage said, by way of apology. “I wish I could live here.”

His condescending tone rubbed me so wrong that, despite my current lack of Wow!™ spirit, I ruffled in defense. “Actually it’s a pretty cool place.”

Sage smiled thinly. “I’m sure it is, if you say so.”

A couple of witches jumped out at us from trees, and Sage duly pretended to be scared. We passed Hansel and Gretel’s Candy Cottage, where we broke off candy from the fence and watched Red Riding Hood and the Wolf.

“I don’t get why the Wolf is carrying a purse,” Sage said.

“Because he’s a grandmother.”

“Yeah, but he’s in a nightgown. And how come he’s in heels?”

I started to laugh, but Michelle poked my back. “Not so close,” she hissed. “My client needs his space.”

I could see Sage roll his eyes beneath his aviators. I took a couple of steps to the right just to be polite, but Sage whispered, “Don’t listen to her. I call the shots.”

I snuck a glance at Michelle, all puffed up over being a big shot in the entertainment world, and felt vague disgust for the way she was exploiting her son. Before Sage’s American Idol success, Michelle had probably been one of those stage moms dragging him from audition to audition, and now that he’d won some success she was determined to cash in on every last bit of his fame.

Just then Ian galloped across the green and leaped from his horse to come to Red Riding Hood’s rescue. Seeing me with Sage, he cocked his head in curiosity and then recited his standard line: “Is there a problem, good maidens?”

“Who is that?” Sage asked.

“Ian Davidson,” I said levelly. “He’s one of the Prince Charmings.”

“No kidding.” Sage waited a beat. “I can tell he’s charmed you.”

My cheeks went hot, and I reminded myself to be professional. “We’re friends.”

“If I were Prince Charming, I’d be your friend, too,” he said, loud enough for his mother to hear. He slid an arm around me and winked.

I knew he just wanted to piss off Michelle, which was why I didn’t shrug him off, though I wished I had, because at that moment he pushed it too far, planting his lips firmly on mine . . .

. . . right in front of Ian.

It all happened so fast, yet in slow motion, too. There was Sage with his arm around me, moving in for a kiss, and then there was Ian gaping at us in disbelief.

I pushed Sage away. “Not funny.”

Michelle got off her phone. “How dare you!”

“It was nothing,” said Sage, though I couldn’t tell if he was referring to his kiss or my push.

Ian glared at Sage. For all Ian knew, Sage was an old boyfriend, and that’s why I was in civilian clothes. He had no idea that Sage was a celebrity VIP and that I was just doing my job.

Completely stepping out of character, Ian left the Red Riding Hood set, dismounted his horse, and strode toward us.