Then, of course, he made sure my relief was short-lived. “I take it that being confessy is a bad thing.”

“It could be,” I said honestly. At least one of my secrets was totally humiliating. The other would destroy this entire evening. I wasn’t up for either experience.

“What is it that you don’t want to confess to me? Do you have a deep, dark secret?”

“Doesn’t everyone?” I was aiming for lighthearted, but I was afraid I’d missed the mark.

“Do you want to know mine?” he asked, and me being me, of course I desperately wanted to know it. I didn’t know if that made me a hypocrite, keeping my secrets to myself while being way too enthusiastic about him spilling his.

“If you want to share it.”

He looked at me thoughtfully before saying, “I haven’t spoken to my parents in nine years.”

As far as I could recall, he’d never mentioned his parents in any interview. Ever. “Really? Wow. Why?”

He settled back against the seat, unbuttoning his jacket to get more comfortable. “My parents were my managers. My mother was a child actor on a sitcom and never had a substantial role after that. My dad was a radio DJ. They met at some event, fell in love, and had kids.”

Kids? My ears perked up. As far as I knew, Noah Douglas was an only child. He didn’t have any siblings. Right?

Or maybe he did and he’d been protecting that fact all these years. He was so intensely private that it was shocking he was saying anything to me now. His interviews consisted of the same set of facts over and over again—he’d starred on Late for Class, had joined the army at eighteen, came home three years later, and did some small movies here and there until he broke out with the Duel of the Fae trilogy. Now every director in Hollywood wanted to work with him, and he was doing an excellent job of choosing roles that were getting him all kinds of critical accolades.

That was it. He’d never said anything about his family.

And knowing how private he was? Why was he telling me? I could totally betray him and tell this to, like, the ENZ website, and it would be everywhere.

Because he trusts you. Even though he shouldn’t.

I was torn between guilt and selfishness. So I didn’t choose. I stayed quiet and let him talk, let him make the decision.