Page 70 of A Summer of Stars

“I miss you. And I know you miss me. We need each other. You need me,” he said softly.

Did I need him? He said it like he could see inside me, behind the fear clouding my eyes and the blood in my cheeks and the charade I’d been playing the past year.

“Luna,” he said quietly.

Luna, Luna, Luna.

Your needs matter too.

Whatwas I thinking?

“I don’tneedyou, Jeremiah. You’ll see that when I’m holding the Venus Rosewater Dish in my hands tomorrow.”

“10 Reasons Why We Think Kieran Alexander Chose to Go Brunette, and Why He Did It Before Wimbledon”

—Éclat

“ALEXANDER, WHAT DIDyou do?”

Which thing was he referring to? The PR relationship, the dark hair, or the cast-iron skillet I ruined and hid under the sink last Christmas?

“Is this about the pan?” I asked over the phone, following the man in front of me, who was trying to shoo photographers away before we reached the entrance of Wimbledon. We were surrounded by hundreds of people, half of them dressed in linen, heels, and sunglasses. The other half were wearing lanyards or carrying cameras.

“What pan?” my father asked, dumbfounded, pulled from his train of thought.

“Nothing,” I said, waving to some of the cameras per Nari’s request.

“When did you plan on telling me about thisrelationship?”

Mierda. “Who told you?”

“It doesn’t matter who told me, it’s the fact that you didn’t want me to know because youknewit was a ridiculous idea,” he pointed out.

“Padre, none of this was my idea. I had no choice.” I didn’t bother explaining that this was brought forward by the film’s PR team to help promote the movie. He didn’t care. Honestly, it would only irk him more.

“You always have a choice. Youchosethis,” he reminded me. The hairs on my arms rose. “Now you’ve roped your mother and me into this as usual. Did you know the neighbors are asking about your new relationship? You expect us to lie to our neighbors?” God forbid he lied to the neighbors.

I could picture him at home, walking around the kitchen with his hand on his hip, staring at the overgrown plants in the window. Soon, he’d begin rearranging the mugs in the cabinets when no solution presented itself. His son choosing a frivolous career in acting instead of taking over the family restaurant was a disappointment that never surrendered. Never had a solution.

“I’m sorry. I didn’t anticipate you having to lie to the neighbors—”

“Now I have Ana next door stopping by every morning with her wet omelet as a gateway to come in and talk Abuela’s ear off about yourrelationship. And Sophia at the bakery won’t stop calling your mother for the inside scoop—whatever that means!”

I put a fist over my mouth to stifle a laugh as we entered the arena. Reporters attempted to wave me over. I continued walking forward until I was directed to an elevator to the second floor. It emptied out onto a view of the main court from above.Wow, this made the Charleston court look small. Thousands of people were looking down at the grass, waiting for the match to start. I made my way to my seat, finding a wide-eyed Franny wearing a striped dress shirt, staring in awe at the several recognizable faces from music, film, and politics around him. He looked relieved as I sat.

“And Rose won’t tip now unless—are you listening?”

“Yes, of course,” I assured him.

“And the hair,Alexander? What part of that idea felt smart to you?”

My laughter hit the back of my throat and died at the bottom of my stomach. I had been hoping he wouldn’t care. Maybe he would have forgotten about those stupid promises altogether. It had been so long since we spoke about it. But it bothered him so much that he wanted to rub my face in it.

“I think it’s been long enough. No one’s going to think anything of it,” I responded.

He sighed. “You have no idea how you’re affecting this family. Why do you try to make my life harder?”

Makehis lifeharder? It had been ten years since I entered this industry, and he still couldn’t look at it as a career.