No muscles move on his face. “I hear an ask is coming,” he says.

“After you finish reading and you get to know the real me, you’ll tell me his name.”

“That’s if I believe you.”

“I’m convinced you will.”

“And if I don’t?”

“I’ll be out of your life and never bother you or your friend again.”

I stretch out my hand. “Deal?”

He hesitates. Then he shakes my hand. “Deal.”

Sixty-One

“What now?” he asks. “What does this temporary truce entail? Are we going to be civil while I read your book, or what’s the plan?”

“Civil would be nice,” I say. “A truce is a truce.”

He smirks. “The Maya in my book is far less feisty. And stubborn,” he says.

“The Maya in your book is a fictional character. As much as you based her on me, she’s not me. I’m me. And there are a lot more unpleasant surprises where that came from.”

“That sounded like a threat.”

“Just the truth. The real me… this is it. And yes, stubbornness is part of the package.”

“Can you stand walking with me? Not sure on what hate level we’re at,” he says.

I scoff. “Are you always this dramatic?”

“No. Only with you.”

“Lucky me!”

We walk side by side on Scenic Road and after a while, when we take a break from picking on each other, and start talking like normal people, it’s actually quite enjoyable.

I can’t help but feel like for the first time since I came back here, I’m where I’m meant to be. In my quest to find Max, in my inner quest to find myself. My relationship with Ethan has gone in a week through more ups and downs than I’ve ever experienced in any relationship, even the ones that lasted years. I’ve hated him, I’ve liked him, I’ve admired him, envied him, despised him, I’ve felt confused by him, I was amused by him, I was for a brief moment—or two—swept off my feet by him. And now, we’re suddenly friendly, walking together and exchanging small jokes about the guy wearing tight sweats and the tourist snapping selfies in front of trees.

“What about Celine?” I ask as we’re getting close to Café Azure.

“I told her the truth,” he says. “Just now, before I came looking for you.”

“The truth?”

“That it was a publicity thing for Cameron. I suggest we leave it at that.”

“How did she react?”

“She was worried about you and how you took it. I said you agreed to it, to help me.”

“Don’t you feel bad about lying to her?”

“I don’t want to mix her up in this. She has enough on her mind. If she thinks we’re friends and this was a friendly favor, she’ll sleep better at night.”

I nod. “What about Max? Are you sure he didn’t see the paper and he doesn’t know about this?”

He smiles. “Don’t worry.”