When I lower my camera from what must be at least the three hundredth photo, I find Alex at my side. His curly hair is sticking up in all directions and I smooth it into place as he pushes a cold water bottle into my other hand. Alex and I are now associates on the Care and Keeping of Nolan Endsley team and I am happy.

Something inside me sparkles at having a friend and a common cause, but I force my voice to be casual when I ask, “Rough night?”

Alex shrugs. “It’s going surprisingly well. There were some popcorn issues and Wally was stealing hot dogs from an open cooler, but besides the guy that complained about Mr. Larson’s coffee, most everyone seems to be having a good time.”

“I saw your mom earlier,” I say. “She was pretty happy about only being on piano duty.”

I step forward to moderate a gaggle of young boys who want Nolan to sign their books at the same time. I take their photo, hand Nolan the rest of the water, and return to Alex.

“Rough night?” Alex asks me my own question. He hasn’t looked away from the line still stretched out in front of the signing table.

I shrug and smile. “Surprisingly well. I don’t feel comfortable leaving him, though. The crowd…” I trail off. There’s no need to explain to my many-years-senior associate.

“I hated to leave him,” Alex says. “But I hated it less, knowing you would turn up.”

There’s something odd about his tone, so I stay quiet, uncertain.

“You know,” he says, “and I mean this with all sincerity, I’m not saying it to make you stay, but you’re maybe the best thing that’s happened to Nolan in a really, really long time.”

Stay. No, no, no. I will not let the weight of my leaving crush this evening where Nolan Endsley is smiling at me and Alex is treating me like a real friend and my camera is not collecting dust but is helping me breathe again. I push away the closeness of tomorrow and make myself focus on the whales to keep the unwanted thoughts away.

I try to blow it off. “It could have been anybody. He just needed someone to see him as himself instead of as N. E.”

Alex turns his head downward to look at me. “Yes, because I’m sure he would have told any random girl about his sisters after only three days.”

My eyes leap to Nolan. The small furrow between his brows disappears completely when our eyes meet, and he smiles in my direction. I wave at him with one hand, a goofy smile covering my face before I can stop it.

Alex watches this exchange with his know-it-all smile and I want to punch him in the throat.

“It’s not like that,” I tell him. “We’re friends.”

Lies. Alex isn’t buying it.