Page 2 of A Summer of Stars

It was like a rope was thrown over my diaphragm and pulledtight, like twine on a gift. Except the gift was also being crushed in a vise.

“Why?That makes no sense. All they wanted before was for me to wear a few rings at events. There isn’t anything else I can do to keep them on as a sponsor?”

“They know they’re the only sponsor you have left.”

Shit. “Leverage,” I huffed.

“This was the only agreement we could come to in order to keep them on.”

“A relationship, Dee? Really?”

She sighed. “They’re a jewelry company whose main message is ‘Love, It Sparkles.’ How did you think they were going to react to the situation?”

I perched my elbows on the table, dropping my chin onto my clasped hands. “No, I get it,” I breathed.

If this was what needed to happen to hold on to my last sponsor, then I’d get it done. “How does this work? Do we have a PowerPoint presentation to go through menPrincess Diaries–style?”

The women—Serena, Cecilia, Willow, Mary—on my team (who were also my friends outside this room) snickered. Deidra glared at them and nodded her head. They funneled out like herded sheep.

Once everyone was out, she crossed her arms, building her chest up with confidence. Then she spoke. “You’re going to date Kieran Alexander.”

Her words echoed in my ears as if I had been the victim of a nearby explosion.

Kieran Alexander.

I’d never heard the wordsdateandKieranin the same sentence, but now I knew I was allergic to them. Suddenly, I was going into anaphylaxis. My skin was hot, my stomach tumbled with nausea, my airways were closing up, and my mind was reeling.

The physical letters that formed the nameKieranpissed me off. They should all be banned and discarded from the alphabet, never to be used again. I’d lose half the letters in my name and sign off on being called Lu in order to support this law. I’d make that sacrifice for the good of the world.

The anxious muscles in my legs pushed me out of my chair, feeling the need to move—think, strategize, calculate a plan that wasn’t this. I bit my tongue, shaking my head. If I spoke, it wasn’t going to be professional.

Deidra watched me pace, waiting for my response.

“There must be someone else. I will dateanyone else,” I said firmly.

“It needs to be him,” she responded decisively.

Her coldness caught me off guard. This was her job, I knew that. But not caring wasn’t like her.

Unless—“You picked him, didn’t you?”

“I chose him because I know it will work.”

This wasn’t fair. But after the last eight months, I was beginning to learn that nothing about life was fair.

“Youknowwhat happened,” I urged, reminding her, but more so myself. This scandal was some twisted lie. She knew that. She was part of our tight circle who knew the truth.

But she shook her head. “It doesn’t matter that I know what actually happened. What matters is what peoplethinkhappened. Perception matters more than truth in these scenarios—you should know that more than anyone by now—and we need a solution tochange their perception of you before you get back on that court. Mr. Alexander is our solution.”

The doorknob turned. In walked Amir Kumar, my friend and nutritionist. “Luna, you’llneverbelieve who was working at Guac My World today—”

I shook my head as a warning, widening my eyes to saynot the time. Amir shut his mouth, mirroring my reaction with twice the horror.

“Leave the smoothie, Kumar,” Deidra stated.

He nodded his head and put the smoothie down on the table, then spun around on one foot and walked back out.

When the door shut, I spoke up. “You’re not telling mewhyit has to be him, though.”