“Yeah, and Harriet Vane is so good. Like she’s so smart and so capable, even when she’s accused of murder. And the two of them—her and Wimsey—their chemistry, they’re one of those great ships. You have to wait for four more books. But it’s worth it. I think.”

Rinn sighed. At least he was talking about something romantic. “I need your help.”

“With what?” AJ tilted his head.

“This is so embarrassing, but—” Rinn smiled, even though it hurt to look at AJ; he was so handsome. “Filming content?”

AJ didn’t smile, but the sides of his eyes crinkled. “That’s not embarrassing. Aren’t you like a content master?”

Rinn nodded. “Something like that.”

“All right, I’m game. What do you need?”

“A copy of When We Were Us and a steady hand,” said Rinn with a nod. She could be authoritative. She could be commanding. She would not be embarrassed about the fact that she made money on the internet. She would not be embarrassed about filming in front of her crush. Even if she was used to filming most of her videos in the privacy of her own bedroom. Even if she was melting inside. That didn’t mean that she had to show it. That didn’t mean she had to believe it.

AJ left for a moment, but he was back in a flash with a copy of the book that Rinn had requested. “And what happens when Jo finds us?”

“She won’t. I think I saw her just head outside. We’ve got a good ten minutes while the coast is clear.”

For her posts, Rinn filmed higher-production stuff—the kind she used props and costumes and makeup and a whole editorial suite on her computer to get into good shape. The kind she actually got paid to do now, by publishing houses and book boxes and even the occasional lifestyle brand. But her followers also liked the daily updates on her stories, the rougher, less-pretty short videos as well.

What they saw as the authentic stuff.

Of course, Rinn still produced those as well, just to a different degree.

She handed AJ her phone. “Okay, I need you to film me as I talk about this book, and I need you to hold up a three-second warning with your fingers before my fifteen seconds are up. I’ll nod when I’m ready for you to start filming.”

This time AJ did crack a full smile. “I can handle that.”

“Good.”

Then she closed her eyes and took a deep breath. Because she didn’t normally film with an audience. But this was for Wild Nights. She had to. Rinn opened her eyes. She looked directly at the phone—she had to pretend AJ was practically an inanimate object or a piece of furniture or anything other than an actual live human to get this done—and nodded.