Total pages in book: 66
Estimated words: 66431 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 332(@200wpm)___ 266(@250wpm)___ 221(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 66431 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 332(@200wpm)___ 266(@250wpm)___ 221(@300wpm)
“Yeah,” I agree with a nod. “I know. Having one myself.”
My lower lip wants to wobble, so I bite it, and Stella’s eyes narrow. She stands and reaches for my hand.
“You know what? We’re gonna go upstairs and just pull the covers over our heads.”
She leads me up to her bedroom, and with our clothes still on, we climb into her bed, pull her thick, blue comforter over our heads, and lie there, facing each other. Her gorgeous blue eyes are worried.
“Wanna talk about it?”
I shake my head. “No. I think I’m all talked out.”
“Okay.” She reaches for my hand again and holds it in hers, linking our fingers. “When you do want to, I’m here for you. Just like always. Until forever. You know that, right?”
“Yeah.” The tears come, and I can’t stop them. “Yeah, I know that.”
She pulls me to her and holds me tightly, rubbing her hand over my back in big, comforting circles as I cry into her shoulder.
“I don’t know if I can do this,” I whisper. “I don’t think I can.”
“You don’t have to do anything right now. Just breathe, babe.”
I don’t know what I would do without Stella. She’s my best friend. And, honestly, a soulmate to me. She’s my person.
And being here, safe under the covers with her, gives me the courage to let the tears come, knowing she won’t judge me. I don’t have to talk or solve anything.
I can just be.
And that’s the biggest gift of all.
“Rocky road and peppermint,” Erin says as she comes into Stella’s room, carrying tubs of ice cream and three spoons. “I don’t know what’s going on, but ice cream can’t hurt.”
“You’re the best,” Stella says, reaching out to help Erin get everything situated on the bed. She pulls the lids off the containers and tosses them right into the garbage.
There won’t be any leftovers.
We’ve been here in her room all day. We napped after my crying jag, and then we watched old Sandra Bullock movies until Erin came home, found us, and left again for these supplies.
It’s the best when your people know you so well that they know exactly what you need without any words being said.
“Do we have to kill someone?” Erin asks as she takes a bite of the rocky road. “I’m pretty sure we can make some calls. Aren’t there cousins with ties to the mafia?”
“There are,” Stella says, her eyes wide and full of interest. “Oh, my God, Liv. We could call Carmine.”
“Nah. No one has to die.” I take a bite of peppermint. “You know, when you think about it, we have a really, really weird family.”
“But it’s the best one,” Erin declares. “Who cares if it’s weird? Why are you sad?”
“I don’t know. I have to get a new phone number. The press found mine and started hounding me this morning.”
“Okay, that’s way annoying,” Erin says, rolling her eyes. “I remember hearing that Aunt Samantha had to do that a couple of times.”
“Really?” I pull the spoon out of my mouth and stare at Erin. Sam is my dad’s sister and is married to Leo Nash—the hottest rock star ever to live. “I never heard that.”
“Yeah, I remember my mom talking about it. Said that Sam was pissed because she had to change it for the third time in a year or something. But, you know, everyone loves Leo whether they’re, like, really old or our age. So, I guess that’s to be expected.”
I dip my spoon into the rocky road. “Did your mom or dad have to do that? I mean, Will is super famous, too. I would think that Meg probably had to deal with that.”
“She lays low,” Erin says. “She does the nursing thing and raised us. Mostly, Dad had to deal with the groupies on the road and outside the stadiums. But he’s good-natured about it, and Mom always knew that he was coming home to her.”
I nod, thinking it over. We have quite a few celebrities in our family, whether by blood or marriage or friendship.
“Fame isn’t something I’ve ever given much thought to,” I say slowly. “Mostly, because I don’t care if I’m famous, and we’re around celebrities all the time, but they’re just normal people, you know?”
“Yeah, but the whole world doesn’t feel that way,” Stella says. “People get weird about celebrities. Have you ever seen the press from ComiCon? It’s ridiculous.”
“They ask my dad to go every year,” I say, shaking my head. “And he always refuses. I bet that pisses his fans off.”
“Probably back in the day,” Erin agrees. “Especially when those vampire movies came out, and he was a megastar heartthrob.”
I wrinkle my nose. “He’s my dad.”
“He’s not everyone’s dad,” Erin reminds me with a smile. “Anyway, is that what this is all about? Being famous?”
“No, it’s about deciding if I can be with a guy who’s uber-famous and everything that comes with it.”