Page 79 of Rescue

Cash grimaces. “There was a crying baby right behind us. So that was awesome.”

“What else did you do?” I ask Daisy.

“We went to Sacre Coeur,” she says, rubbing her belly. “Which was gorgeous but, God, so many steps.”

“It wasn’t that many—” Cash begins but stops himself when she glares at him. “But, of course, I wasn’t carrying a baby in my belly while climbing them, as you so helpfully pointed out ten times, so I’ll just shut my mouth.”

“Smart move,” she says before turning back to me. “Then we went down to see the Moulin Rouge.”

“Which was in a really nice part of town,” Sam adds, leaning toward us with a grin on her face.

“There may have been some strip clubs,” Daisy explains.

“And sex shops,” Sam adds.

“And sex shops. And they, uh, had some colorful names.”

Sam giggles, and Daisy sends a guilty look down the table at Paige. “I think she was pretty upset about it,” Daisy whispers. “She had this idea in her head that we could walk around and take pictures. Without, you know, a place called Good Vibrations in the background.”

I snort into my water glass.

“But it was a fun day, porn shops and tiny trains included.”

“I’m glad.”

Her eyes go to Lennon on my other side. He’s talking to Levi, and I’m relieved to see he still seems happy enough.

“How’s he doing?” she asks, and something in her tone tells me she’s asking about more than our afternoon.

“He’s, uh, tired, I think.” She nods, her gaze still on his face. “But he took a nap today, and I think that helped.”

“I don’t want to put you on the spot,” she says, her voice barely discernible over the restaurant noise. “Or make you uncomfortable or…” She smiles, shaking her head. “I’m doing this badly. I just want you to be aware.”

“Of what?” The kernel of worry from earlier reappears.

“If he stops sleeping, that usually means he’s not feeling great.” She sighs, looking down. “So, just, you know. Not that you need to, like, keep an eye on it or anything. But if you notice he’s not sleeping, then…” She shakes her head again. “I feel terrible even saying this. I don’t want him to think that I don’t trust him or that I’m talking behind his back or—”

“It’s okay, Daisy,” I say, even if only to get her to stop babbling. She’s obviously very uncomfortable. “If he’s not sleeping, I’ll talk to him about it, okay?”

She nods, looking relieved. “Thank you. I’m sorry for being so…” She sighs again. “I’ll just blame pregnancy hormones making me crazy.”

“You care about him. I appreciate you letting me know what to look out for. Because, you know.” Apparently it’s my turn to be uncomfortable. “Because I care about him too.”

Her face brightens. “I can tell. I think you guys are so good together. It really makes me happy, Haylee. To see him so happy.”

“I keep forgetting how long you’ve known each other.”

“Oh, God,” she says, laughing. “You should have seen him when we met—”

“Uh uh,” Lennon says, leaning over me to face Daisy. “We’re not having the Lennon-as-a-little-boy conversation, Daisy. There are rules.”

She sticks out her tongue at him. “You’re no fun.” She winks at me. “But he was a really cute little boy.”

He sighs, taking my hand. “I think that’s enough of memory lane with the girl from next door, okay?”

After dinner we walk down the street to the concert venue. It’s much smaller than the massive theater where we’ll be performing the live show tomorrow night. In fact, it’s a lot more like the kinds of places Intrigue is used to performing. Paige says something to the bouncer and he lets us in past the line of people waiting to have their ID checked. The interior is a little grimy but painted in bright purples and reds. We immediately head downstairs into a cave-like room. It’s narrow and long, the stage at one end, the bar at the other, and it’s already mostly filled with people. Frank and Benny, Ransom’s security guys, clear a path for us, and I can’t help but feel relieved to know that they’ll keep the crowd from pressing on us too much.

“Who wants beer?” Cash calls over the sound of the crowd. When every hand goes up, he grabs Daltrey by the elbow. “Come help, kid.”