reading again. We were having a nice moment. And I’d promised myself I’d enjoy whatever he was willing to give me. Even if it was less than what I wanted.
Holden’s old agent called the next morning. Evidently, he’d gotten an avalanche of interview requests overnight, and he was wondering whether Holden’s sudden, apparent willingness to be photographed also meant he might be willing to talk to the press again, and get back into the business.
“You can’t do one thing without it becoming a big scene,” Holden griped over breakfast, passing his phone to Hadley so she could see the requests his agent had forwarded him. “One photo op, and suddenly I’m gunning to be the next James Bond.”
“You’d be a great James Bond,” Hadley said absently, patting his arm. She looked up after a moment. “You know, if you really wanted to ensure people were distracted from Gus—”
“I swear to God, if you mention the reunion—”
“I’m just saying, it’s what everyone’s asking about. If you said you’d participate, it’s all anyone would talk about for the next month. And you could finally have a chance to tell your side of the story.”
“There is no ‘my side of the story,’” Holden said, his voice rising. “And I’m not talking about it.”
“Okay, okay.” Hadley held her hands up defensively. “You’re right. I’m sorry.” She peered at him. “You look tense, Holden. Like, extra tense. I have a tincture upstairs with ashwagandha, oats, and skullcap that I love, and I could—”
“I’m fine,” he snapped, in a tone that didn’t seem fine at all.
“You sure you’re gonna be okay?” Holden asked as they got ready for another trip to Birch Bay later that day. They were going to be out for longer today—window-shopping around town and then lunch somewhere public.
Hadley was wearing a long, shapeless sack of a cloak that she’d knit herself and a chunky scarf with blue and purple feathers trailing off it. She’d topped it off with a crushed red velvet top hat. I would have taken a picture of her even if she weren’t famous, so I had little doubt they’d be able to attract all the attention they wanted today.
“Positive,” I said. “Are you?”
“As long as you promise to stay here again,” Holden began, but I cut him off.
“Not about me, silly, about you. You look a little…” I paused, trying to figure out the best word. “Hunted.”
Holden gave me a weak imitation of a smile. “I’ll be fine. I’ve just never liked this kind of stuff. Courting the paparazzi. It’s so transactional.”
“You don’t have to do it, you know. I feel like I’m getting closer to figuring out what happened to me. Those scraps of memory are coming more and more often.”
“I know. But if it’ll help keep you safe until you do figure it out, it’s worth it.”
Another forehead kiss.
Another afternoon alone.
I felt at loose ends, once I had the house to myself. It was a gorgeous day, cold but sunny, and Daisy was out by the gatehouse, doing a series of exercises that looked like she was preparing to remove people’s heads from their bodies with the sole force of her feet. I hadn’t seen Frog since four in the morning, when I’d had to stop him from crushing my chest as I slept again.
I wandered down to the library, thinking I might get back to work. More bookshelves had arrived, and there was plenty to put on them. But I couldn’t seem to focus.
Holden had left his laptop on the coffee table overnight, and I eyed it speculatively. Maybe I just needed to take a brain break, play a mindless game of solitaire or something before getting back to work.
I flipped the screen up and saw that it was still open to some of the gossip sites he’d been checking last night. Probably not the healthiest thing for him to stew over every day, so I started x-ing them out, one by one. Most of them looked the same as they had the night before, but one seemed to have updated, and the headline stopped me cold.
Eric Amundsen’s Mystery Woman Actually a Mystery Man?
I felt like I was teetering at the edge of the cliff, and reading the article would mean falling off. I didn’t want to, but I couldn’t stop myself.
Readers, you know I love you guys. And you know I love celebrity gossip. And you know I love love. You know all these things, which is why you need to know that I