up quick!
Backstage Gossip! — Are Luke Reynolds and Kitty Clare secretly engaged?
Engaged? I stare at the photo. Kitty’s engaged? Her face beams back at me, her arm linked with the tall, dark-haired man from the clip, those catlike green eyes sparkling brightly.
Photos; Interviews; Meet the Stars!
Eagerly, I click the icon.
Come join our studio audience! We’re currently on hiatus, but shooting will recommence on March 16 …
No! I stare at the page. Not till March? That’s months away! And we’re going to be in L.A. in three weeks …
“Bathroom’s free!”
I jump as Andy throws me a clean towel. His eyes flick to the screen.
Too late, I click the webpage closed.
“Oh, no,” he says gravely. “Oh, Rosie.”
“Andy, I—”
“I bring you all the way to New York and you wanna watch TV?” He shakes his head disapprovingly.
“What? Oh! No, no, I was just … looking, that’s all.”
“You won’t mind me checking my email, then.” He grins. “Shift!”
Numbly, I surrender the laptop and lock the bathroom door behind me. I pull Kitty’s photo out of my bag and sink to the floor.
On hiatus till March. Till March , when we’ll be God knows where—Cambodia or Thailand, or … And we’re gonna be in L.A. in three weeks.
I sigh heavily, tracing Kitty’s smiling face with my fingers.
She’d felt so close …
But she could be anywhere.
New York City .
The thought thrills through me like electricity. I can’t believe I’ve never been before. All these years, it’s been just a plane, or train, or bus ride away … but now I’m finally going. I beam at my ticket—my passport to the Big Apple, the city that never sleeps, the town that’s inspired more songs than any other, from Frank Sinatra to Jay-Z, home of Carrie Bradshaw, Will and Grace, Central Perk, Broadway …
The smile splits my face.
It’s a dream come true. All my dreams are finally coming true.
My stomach flutters suddenly and, despite myself, I reach into my bag, pulling out the well-thumbed ultrasound image that lives there, carried with me always.
I trace my finger over the tiny black-and-white form, remembering how scared I’d been when I’d had the scan, how unsure …
And now …
“Sweetheart?” I hide the picture quickly and turn to look up at him, so tall and dark and impossibly handsome. The man of my dreams.
“There you are.” He smiles, my insides melting like chocolate as he kisses me. “You ready for a brand-new year?”
“Absolutely.” I beam, sliding the photo secretly into my bag and pushing it behind me as I slip my hand into his, following him outside as the minutes tick by quickly, leaving the past far behind. Somewhere high above us a rocket explodes in the sky and everything sparkles.
I smile, the bad memories fading with the fireworks, replaced by bigger, brighter, better ones every moment.
“I can’t wait.”
Chapter Nine
I pull the blanket up to my chin and shift position on the sofa for the umpteenth time as a premature firework explodes somewhere above us, the lights from passing cars chasing across the room like searchlights, dancing over the books and glinting blindingly on the picture frames. I pull the blanket over my head and close my eyes.
I can’t sleep. Kitty’s face keeps dancing in front of me, taunting, tormenting. She feels so close now, so real . All the time at home she’d seemed so far away, so distant—a dream. And now here I am in her country—and I’ve lost her! She could be anywhere, and I’m here, on some sofa in the middle of New York—doing what? I sigh heavily. I don’t even know anymore.
“Can’t sleep?” Andy rolls to face me from his sleeping bag on the floor.
I shake my head. I couldn’t be more awake.
“Me neither. It must be jet lag, or anti–jet lag or something!” He smiles. “Come on, let’s go out.”
“Now?”
“Why not?” He grins, wriggling out of his sleeping bag. “It’s the city that never sleeps,
Backstage Gossip! — Are Luke Reynolds and Kitty Clare secretly engaged?
Engaged? I stare at the photo. Kitty’s engaged? Her face beams back at me, her arm linked with the tall, dark-haired man from the clip, those catlike green eyes sparkling brightly.
Photos; Interviews; Meet the Stars!
Eagerly, I click the icon.
Come join our studio audience! We’re currently on hiatus, but shooting will recommence on March 16 …
No! I stare at the page. Not till March? That’s months away! And we’re going to be in L.A. in three weeks …
“Bathroom’s free!”
I jump as Andy throws me a clean towel. His eyes flick to the screen.
Too late, I click the webpage closed.
“Oh, no,” he says gravely. “Oh, Rosie.”
“Andy, I—”
“I bring you all the way to New York and you wanna watch TV?” He shakes his head disapprovingly.
“What? Oh! No, no, I was just … looking, that’s all.”
“You won’t mind me checking my email, then.” He grins. “Shift!”
Numbly, I surrender the laptop and lock the bathroom door behind me. I pull Kitty’s photo out of my bag and sink to the floor.
On hiatus till March. Till March , when we’ll be God knows where—Cambodia or Thailand, or … And we’re gonna be in L.A. in three weeks.
I sigh heavily, tracing Kitty’s smiling face with my fingers.
She’d felt so close …
But she could be anywhere.
New York City .
The thought thrills through me like electricity. I can’t believe I’ve never been before. All these years, it’s been just a plane, or train, or bus ride away … but now I’m finally going. I beam at my ticket—my passport to the Big Apple, the city that never sleeps, the town that’s inspired more songs than any other, from Frank Sinatra to Jay-Z, home of Carrie Bradshaw, Will and Grace, Central Perk, Broadway …
The smile splits my face.
It’s a dream come true. All my dreams are finally coming true.
My stomach flutters suddenly and, despite myself, I reach into my bag, pulling out the well-thumbed ultrasound image that lives there, carried with me always.
I trace my finger over the tiny black-and-white form, remembering how scared I’d been when I’d had the scan, how unsure …
And now …
“Sweetheart?” I hide the picture quickly and turn to look up at him, so tall and dark and impossibly handsome. The man of my dreams.
“There you are.” He smiles, my insides melting like chocolate as he kisses me. “You ready for a brand-new year?”
“Absolutely.” I beam, sliding the photo secretly into my bag and pushing it behind me as I slip my hand into his, following him outside as the minutes tick by quickly, leaving the past far behind. Somewhere high above us a rocket explodes in the sky and everything sparkles.
I smile, the bad memories fading with the fireworks, replaced by bigger, brighter, better ones every moment.
“I can’t wait.”
Chapter Nine
I pull the blanket up to my chin and shift position on the sofa for the umpteenth time as a premature firework explodes somewhere above us, the lights from passing cars chasing across the room like searchlights, dancing over the books and glinting blindingly on the picture frames. I pull the blanket over my head and close my eyes.
I can’t sleep. Kitty’s face keeps dancing in front of me, taunting, tormenting. She feels so close now, so real . All the time at home she’d seemed so far away, so distant—a dream. And now here I am in her country—and I’ve lost her! She could be anywhere, and I’m here, on some sofa in the middle of New York—doing what? I sigh heavily. I don’t even know anymore.
“Can’t sleep?” Andy rolls to face me from his sleeping bag on the floor.
I shake my head. I couldn’t be more awake.
“Me neither. It must be jet lag, or anti–jet lag or something!” He smiles. “Come on, let’s go out.”
“Now?”
“Why not?” He grins, wriggling out of his sleeping bag. “It’s the city that never sleeps,
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