Page 94 of A Summer of Stars

“Don’t you lie! I saw the photos!” Willow argued.

I pressed my forehead to the warm car window. “Is the car going too fast for me to jump out?”

“Answer the question!” Cecilia demanded.

“Why does it matter!”

“That was an automatic yes,” Willow noted.

“Do you… have a crush on him?” Mary whispered.

“Guys!” I covered my face. “I’m not fifteen.”

“You should kiss him again,” Willow decided.

“And then tell us about it,” Mary added.

“I am not kissing him again,” I scoffed. “And it’s not like that anyway. We’re pretending—he’s an actor, for God’s sake!”

“If he called me months ago asking about your favorite flower, then I doubt he’s pretendingnow,” Mary said to herself.

“What did you just say?” Cecilia asked, grabbing onto Mary’s knee.

Mary looked up, not expecting any response. “Kieran called me before your tennis date together—he was at the florist and wanted to know your favorite flower…”

The peonies.

“And why did he call you?” Cecilia questioned, baffled.

Mary smiled timidly. “I think he thought he was calling you, her assistant.”

“You didn’t think to share this informationtwo months ago?” Willow shouted.

“It doesn’t matter!” I cut in. “I need to focus. Madrid is next week, and then New York right after. There isn’t room for all of these… these…things.”

“Oh, gosh, you really are delusional,” Cecilia observed.

“You’re supposed to be on my side! Tennis comes first,” I reminded her.

“Yes, yes—sleep, breathe, pray, tennis. But look where that got you earlier this year. You’ve been crushing matches ever since youlet loose a bit—don’t cut me off, not done! Go out with him again tonight, have fun.”

“I let loose all the time,” I argued. Or I at leastusedto let loose all the time.

“Maybe after two brandies…” Willow commented. I tossed my purse at her.

Deidra touched my knee, catching my attention. There was a sad look in the corner of her eyes. We had never spoken about our fight after my Wimbledon loss. She had been giving me space, and it showed. Our friendship could be chaotic because of the work. But it forced us to dip and pivot together.

I needed to distance myself from the public sphere. From publicity in general. I didn’t need to know about the headlines or who was winning which match. I was tired of making myself suffer for someone else’s wins.

She was acknowledging that. And in a space that suppressed my wants, that mattered the most.

She spoke up. “Luna, you’ve never let anything, or anyoneget in the way of your relationship with tennis, except Jeremiah. But don’t let his past mistakes, or mine, make decisions for you. Go, have fun after the premiere.”

My mouth was dry. My friends were staring at me with the same look, as if they all witnessed the same crime. Empathetic lines were drawn around their worried smiles.

“Humor me.” She squeezed my hand.

“It Couple Luna Aldridge and Kieran Alexander Crash Wedding After Premiere”