Now That I've Found You - Kristina Forest Page 0,57
me as a joke, something we could rewatch and laugh about later. But the next morning, she sent it to media outlets. And then I was fired, and she was hired in my place. And now she’s the face of Beautiful You. I almost had that campaign.”
“That’s so fucked up,” Milo says, his voice low. “Damn, Evie. I’m sorry.”
I look away, because the last thing I want is for him to feel sorry for me. “It’s partially my fault too. I should have seen it coming.”
He blinks and shakes his head. “Why would anyone expect a friend to turn on them like that?”
I laugh bitterly. “You are going to be in for a rude awakening once your band makes it big. You guys have something really special. You need to stick together and watch out for people who try to break into your circle.”
“Don’t you have any childhood friends you can trust like that?”
“No. I never had any close friends before Simone.” I place my hands flat on the table and stare at my fingers. Talking about this is embarrassing. “I used to travel a lot with my parents while they filmed their documentaries, so I was never in one place long enough to make friendships that lasted. I guess Gigi has always been my real best friend.”
I glance up, expecting pity. Instead, he smiles. “Yeah, she feels like a best friend to me too.”
For the first time, Milo talking about his closeness to Gigi doesn’t annoy me. Maybe it’s because he says this with such genuine affection. Still, I can’t return his bright smile. Gigi is my best friend, and for the first time ever, she doesn’t want to talk to me. She doesn’t even want to see me. What if she never speaks to me again?
Our food arrives, and once our server walks away, Milo asks, “What’s next for you as far as projects go? I mean, only if you’re willing to talk about them.”
I take a long slurp of my milkshake before I answer. “Nothing right now.” I’m definitely not telling him about the possible Every Time We Meet remake. “I guess you could say that my current project is getting everyone to stop hating me.”
“I don’t think everyone hates you,” he says, taking a big bite of his burger.
“Have you seen what people have said about me online? You saw the way the paparazzi chased me. They can’t wait to print my picture and write a caption about how I’m a horrible person who has no respect for Paul Christopher or for real cinema.”
Milo shrugs. “I don’t know. I think that’s a stretch. I didn’t even know who Simone was until you told me just now. All that stuff happened months ago. I bet a lot of people have moved on and would be happy to see you in something else.”
“Really?” I say, surprised. Suddenly, I do have the urge to tell him about the remake, just to see what he might think. But I know better than to do that.
He nods. “Sure. If ‘the legendary’ Paul Christopher made the decision to cast you in one of his movies, it’s obvious that you can act. You’ve already got the beauty part down.”
He says it so easily I’m not sure if he’s flirting or speaking matter-of-factly. Our kiss has changed things.
“Thank you,” I say either way. There goes the lava over my cheeks again.
Our eyes lock across the table for longer than necessary. I’m the first to look away.
“Enough about me,” I say. “You’re the one who’s so famous. Show me this YouTube video everyone keeps talking about.”
He shakes his head, smiling. “Right, because you still haven’t seen it.”
He pulls out his phone and cues up the video. It begins with the camera focusing on Raf, standing in crowded Times Square. He’s wearing a bright-red T-shirt and shiny black leather pants. They look ridiculous and tight. In the next shot, Milo appears beside him, strumming on his guitar, wearing the same leather pants, and my stomach flutters at the sight of him. I’m not the only one who’s affected this way, obviously. In the background, a bunch of tourists are staring at Milo specifically. The next shot has Ben with his drum set, and then Vinny runs in, playing his saxophone. And yes, both are wearing leather pants. They perform a little dance routine each time they sing the chorus, and they encourage tourists to dance with them. The video ends as the police run up, ready