Page 156 of Booked on You
“Shit,” I whisper, my voice coming out hoarse as I look around, noticing we have an audience.
Ezra laughs and wipes tears from my cheeks with his thumbs. “Let’s get out of here.”
He leads me away from the crowd until we mix in with other tourists. I’m in shock as I glance down at the ring.
“We should call people before everyone finds out from social media,” I say, knowing how many people would want us to tell them first.
“Good idea. Who first?”
“Hallie. Millie. My parents.”
We find a bench and sit. I pull up Hallie’s contact and video call her. She answers on the first ring, and her face fills my screen. Her eyes are bloodshot and swollen. Mascara is smudged in dark streaks down her cheeks, and her nose is red. She looks like she’s been crying for hours.
“Hey,” she says, and I can hear the sadness in her tone.
My smile fades. “Wait, what’s wrong? Why are you crying?”
“Nothing,” she says, shaking her head. “Have you been crying, too? Is everything?—”
“Something’s really, really right,” I tell her.
“What do you mean—” She stops midsentence and her eyes go wide. “Oh my goodness. Did Ezr?—”
“Proposed!” I hold up my left hand to the camera so she can see the ring.
She screams so loud that I have to turn the volume down because people on the sidewalk are turning to look at us. “SCARLETT! YOU’RE ENGAGED! YOU’RE GOING TO GET MARRIED!”
I’m laughing and crying at the same time, and Ezra moves into the frame.
“I’m so happy for you two. This is the best news I’ve heard today. Let me see the ring! Move the camera closer!”
I adjust the angle, and she gasps. “That’s gorgeous. And soyou!” Her voice breaks, and fresh tears spill down her cheeks, but these look different. Then a second later, she’s full-on sobbing.
“Hal, talk to me. Tell me what happened.”
“No, you’re having the best day of your life. We can chat about this later. Enjoy your engagement!”
“Hallie…”
“This is your moment!”
I narrow my eyes at the screen. “Hallie Rose, I’m not celebrating until you tell me what the hell is going on.”
She breaks completely. “It’s Landon.”
“What did he do this time?”
“He’s trying to get me fired.” Her voice sounds broken. “He told the publisher he refuses to do the book tour with me. Said I’m unprofessional and impossible to work with, and he won’t participate unless they replace me.”
“He can’t do that!”
“He already did. Dennis called me an hour ago, and he’s not happy.” She wipes her nose with some tissues. “If he backsout, the entire tour falls apart. He’s furious with me. Like it’s somehow my fault he’s being a vindictive asshole.”
“When do you have to leave?”
“Next month.” Her laugh is bitter. “I don’t know how I’m going to survive an entire month stuck in a car with him. If I even still have a job by then.”
“Hallie, you have to talk to him. You have to smooth this over.”
