“What happens if one of the photographers makes an appointment?” Ry asked, looking at the windows.

Avery swore under his breath. They would do it, too.

“We’ll cross that bridge when we come to it,” Luke tucked the clipboard under his arm. “The most important thing is to keep everything as normal and boring as possible. If there’s anything the paparazzi hate, it’s boring.”

I couldn’t agree more. So we all broke apart like it was nothing but an ordinary day, and I hoped it would go quickly. Not even an hour and I was already missing my Omega.

Chapter 24

CHAPTER TWENTY-FOUR

________

ESME

Eva picked up on the third ring. “Nice to hear from my wayward sister.”

I laughed. “I know. I should have called before. I’ve been exhausted.”

“I bet you have.” There was laughter in her voice. “Are you okay? With the news breaking?”

“I’m fine. I mean, I wish it hadn’t, but there’s nothing I can do about it. Mom, however, woke me up this morning by literally screaming my name through the phone.”

“Ouch.”

“Yeah. Any chance you’re free for lunch? I’m going to need massive back-up.”

“I am actually. Getting ready to leave, so I’m not doing much.”

“On location? Did I know about that?”

She laughed. “I’m pretty sure I told you. Like four times.”

“Fuck me.” I’d completely forgotten.

“From the sounds of things that happened a lot.”

“Ha ha. I just forgot about it.”

Running water filtered through the phone, and a clatter like Eva was rinsing dishes. “Well, now you remember. Is lunch at Aurelia’s?”

“Yeah, but I have another thing to ask. I’ve been instructed not to leave the house without Wes or one of the other guys. And I think it’s pretty clear this is going to be… visible for a while. Do you mind if I borrow Wes and Henry for the time being? I can pay for replacements.”

Eva snorted. “I don’t need you to pay for replacements. It’s actually perfect timing. Since I’ll be on location, I’ll need less of my own security. I’ll send them over now and see you in a bit!”

She hung up before I could say anything else, but that was fine. Neither of us loved the phone. We used it when we had to, but especially being twins, in person was always better.

Now I just had to wait for my expensive bullet-proof chariot.

Instead of going anywhere else, I sat on the stairs, arms around my knees, and just breathed. Kade struck a nerve this morning, just like he had last night. I was alone at this moment, but I wasn’t alone. They would be back tonight, and so would I.

There was excitement lurking in my gut, but right now it felt more like relief than anything else. Just to have people to come back to.