“I’m actually thinking I might leave,” I whispered, leaning in close as Rebecca dashed past me in a pink tutu. “I don’t feel so great.”

Frowning, Bee studied my face. “You can’t leave in the middle of the pageant.”

With a light laugh, I shrugged. “Why not? You can stay, obviously. To be honest, I’d much rather watch you win from the audience.”

Bee reached out, her fingers closing around my elbow. “No,” she said firmly. “You can’t leave.”

I stared up at her, surprised. “Bee, I know you wanted us to do this together, but it’s not really my thing, and I need to talk to David—”

Her fingers squeezed tighter. “I thought y’all broke up.”

Shaking off her hand, I stepped back. “We did. Kind of, but that’s not—Bee, are you honestly mad at me because I don’t want to finish the pageant?”

The lights backstage outlined her in soft blue light, her dress twinkling and shimmering in the gloom. And then I realized she was trembling.

“Bee?” I asked, and then it hit me.

Pop Rocks exploded in my stomach, racing through my veins, my whole chest tightening.

Gasping, I leaned forward, one arm banded around my waist. “I have to go,” I said, panicked. “David—”

But Bee only grabbed my elbow again, and now she wasn’t so much trembling as shaking. “No,” she said, her voice wavering. “You have to stay.”

I tried to shake out of her grip again, but she was holding on too tight, and my Paladin powers were no help against hers. “Something is wrong with David,” I told her, reaching out to pry her hand from my arm. “That’s a lot more important than a freaking pageant, Bee.”

Looking up, our gazes met, and just like that, I understood. Bee wasn’t holding me so that I wouldn’t leave the pageant. That wasn’t what this was about.

Tears pooled in her big dark eyes. “I’m sorry, Harper,” she said. “But I can’t let you go.”

Chapter 32

Chapter 32

I FROZE. If it had been anyone else, I wouldn’t have hesitated. But this was Bee. I couldn’t just start swinging fists.

But apparently Bee didn’t have any reservations on that front. Placing her hands firmly on my shoulders, she shoved, hard.

It was enough to send me stumbling backward, and I heard a delighted gasp from behind me. “I told you what pageants were like,” someone said, but I was already regaining my footing and taking off after Bee.

I stumbled over cables in the dim light, barely able to make out the blue sequins on her dress flashing as she dodged behind one of the curtains.

One of the stage managers gave a startled cry as she pushed past him, and he may have used a four-letter word when I did the same.