But I can’t stop thinking about the last words Reid said to me. I want you. Like, Reid meant my opinion, right? Obviously. He did not lower his voice. Did not chew on his lip. It’s just the suit. Everyone looks better in a suit. It’s a fact. Tomorrow Reid will be normal Reid and I will be normal Natalie and our relationship will be us on a truce until Melted is over.

That’s all this is. Just a truce.

Except I can’t shake the image of us dancing and laughing, of how close we were. Of how close we’ve been. Working on music until the middle of the night. Sharing a piano bench. I don’t know if we can just wipe that away when the time expires—or if I even want to.

Reid has always been in my space, but for the first time in our entire lives, I don’t think I want him to go away.

CHAPTER TWENTY

Delia, Hannah, and Henry beat me to the leftover cupcakes the next morning. They beat Fitz, too, technically—but that’s less of a surprise, as she’s still snoring on the air mattress in my room. Henry and Fitz both slept over last night, coming back to the Jacobson residence for what was a truly wild after-party. By which I mean we drank a bottle of Manischewitz left over from the Kiddush and watched Netflix romcoms until Henry fell asleep on the couch and Fitz and I relocated to my room, per house sleepover rules. For the first time in a month, we didn’t mention Melted or Danica or Henry’s impending college decisions—we were just us.

I enter the kitchen as Delia and Hannah explain how Animal Crossing works to Henry.

“Turnips are a scam but we love a good con,” Hannah explains.

Henry frowns. “And you need turnips because…?”

“For the bells, Henry!” Delia exclaims. “To pay off our housing loan! Keep up.”

I need to get up to speed with the sisters—better to focus on their drama, or sudden lack thereof, than my own.

“Hey, Natalie,” Hannah says. “I need all the details.”

I reach for a glass of water. “Details?”

“On Reid’s acting debut!” Delia says.

Henry is confused. “Wait. Callahan is now an actor?”

Oh. Right. Post-apology, we explicitly did not talk about Melted. “Yeah. There isn’t really another choice. We’ve been blacklisted. Toby told everyone I’m a nightmare to work with. We are hemorrhaging the talent we already had.”

“What the hell? Don’t they know what’s at stake?” Fitz asks.

“They don’t care,” I say. “We don’t need a big ensemble—but we do need a Moritz.”

“Reid wants to do it?” Henry asks, his mouth full of cupcake.

“Wants to is an overstatement,” Hannah says.

“But he will,” I say.

Henry considers this. “I guess his voice isn’t shit.”