Page 47 of A Summer of Stars

Mierda. It was a lot harder to hate her when she looked like that. Wouldn’t the stars just love to hear about that.

I had to move. Too much time had passed. I walked forward without second-guessing.

“Luna Aldridge’s Million-Dollar Necklace Wasn’t the Only Thing Hanging on Her Tonight”

—Rumors Unlocked

I GRIPPED THEpurse that Kelsey had handed me two seconds before I stepped onto the carpet and smiled.

“Ms. Aldridge, look here!”

“Luna! Luna!”

“Smile this way!”

I looked over my shoulder, posed, faced forward, smiled, and walked to the next set of photographers, doing it again. Cecilia waved me forward. Her face was a comforting presence in the commotion.

Cecilia kept a hand on my arm, directing me to the next mark. “How are you doing?” she asked.

She had been the first person to reach out after my divorce. She didn’t want to talk about next moves or prepared statements. She only wanted to ask how I was. Her girlfriend had broken up with her the same night I found Jeremiah cheating, so we ate cinnamon raisin bagels on the beach in matching flannel pajamas while we cried and wiped our runny noses. Watching the sun set behind theocean only made me cry more. I could hear Mom’s voice.When the birds stop calling and the sun disappears, that means it’s time to come home.

Cecilia was the only person on my team my age. It felt like having a friend from college or a close cousin who somehow understood everything you were feeling all the time.

“I’m fine.” I smiled. “Only slightly overwhelmed, but it’s okay.” She nodded, satisfied with my response.

Stop again. Pose, smile, guarantee that my necklace can be seen by the flash. The air tasted like cologne, but it was filled with bright lights bouncing off diamonds and silky hair.

For a brief moment, I felt like Past Luna.

The Luna who walked out with a smile on her face and swayed in her silk dresses for the photographers to snap a good shot for the next day’s cover. The Luna who kept her head up when a camera flashed and let her feet leave the ground on the court when she scored a point. The Luna who wasn’t filled with a thesis-length of thoughts that felt unexplainable to even the most mentally sane. Cecilia’s education in philosophy wouldn’t be enough to dissect what my stream of worries was trying to say.

I took a breath.

It was difficult not to think of Jeremiah everywhere I looked. He was attached to everything in London, like a light signal that plastered every building.

A piece of me was scared I’d see him here. There was no way, of course. He’d be on the court grinding out the bottoms of his sneakers until Wimbledon began. (He’d tell me I was an idiot for not doing the same.) But my throat still tightened.

At these events, there was usually an exception to his rules of our marriage. He’d tell me I was beautiful. Hold me close thewhole night. Walk across the red carpet, take my arm, and whisk me away into a hidden corner.

My vision was jolted by a blurred figure the height of Jeremiah walking toward me. I blinked and found Kieran moving in my direction. The acid in my stomach settled.

His gaze was on me, and there was nothing hidden about it. It didn’t help that his eyes were the same blue as the ocean outside my old bedroom window in Rhode Island. An ocean I craved to brush my fingers against. One I wanted to be consumed by. His presence did the same, pulling me in. A gray suit hugged his chest and legs, while his hair was disheveled ridiculously perfectly. Messy but intentional. Short but wavy.

It was like he constantly oozed seduction.

My hands locked up.

What was he doing?

He was supposed to be inside already—photos taken and done. If I were to see him, I was told to stayfar awaybecause it was too soon. No joint photos. We would be seen together inside, sharing drinks, and holding hands instead.

This seemed like much more than holding hands.

My heart rammed against my chest in unison with his footsteps. I didn’t even spasm like this before a tournament final. I’d actually prefer to be on a court right now. Hand me a racket and throw me in! New rule where I can’t switch out these heels? Who cares! At least I wouldn’t be here withhimlooking atmelikethat. I wasn’t even trying to look away now. There was no use. Every photographer was staring at him in awe as he took his place in front of me.

I suppressed my breath—as if that would make me disappear, leaving a plume of smoke in my wake—as he blocked the cameraflashes. His hand cupped my elbow, and he leaned in. For a split second, I thought he was going to kiss me, and my heart flipped.

His mouth brushed the shell of my ear. Goose bumps flew across the skin on my back.