Lauren was hit with so many emotions that she wasn’t sure what to do with them. She’d avoided allowing herself to look up Carly on social media, and she certainly wasn’t permitted to watch any of Carly’s movies. This was the first time she’d laid eyes on Carly since that day in her office just a few weeks back.

“She looks happy,” Lauren said to Rocky, who’d moved back to his mission of garnering some of that chicken for himself. He stood beneath the stove, snuffling. As for Lauren, seeing Carly’s face brought up a myriad of emotions she wasn’t quite sure how to process. She felt joyful seeing her face, heartsick knowing where they stood with each other, and sad because she missed Carly a lot.

Lauren dished out the chicken for herself, and a little for Rocky, as she ruminated on the state of her life. She’d fled LA for one main reason—she was flat-out terrified. The jobs that she’d booked had to all be mistakes, and it was only a matter of time before the world understood that. Carly was clearly unhappy and resenting the hell out of Lauren and the clock was ticking on how long it would be before she realized she could do better for herself.

Lauren had taken off before either of those things could happen.

For the first time since she’d been home, she admitted one thing to herself. Carly wasn’t the only one with issues to work through. Lauren had come to the table with her own basket of neuroses, which surely hadn’t helped things.

Maybe I’m not as innocent as I thought in all of this, she typed to Trip.

Later that night, she allowed herself to watch the episode of Pyramid one more time on her laptop before bed. She gently touched Carly’s smiling face on the screen, remembering their time together onstage and off, and wondering if there was a chance for more memories ahead.

What if…?

It was a powerful sentiment.

* * *

“So, here’s the thing,” Alika said.

Carly held the phone to her ear and grinned from her window seat at a quaint little café just off Franklin. She had a chicken avocado salad that was knocking her socks off and a window seat that let her watch the world go by. Her new neighborhood was shaping up to be a true gem. “I’m listening.”

“You’re now the game show queen.”

Carly laughed and paused with a forkful of chicken. “That’s me. Still awaiting that crown, but the title will do for now. How many is it now?”

“You’ve had seven appearances air, with three more coming up.”

She shook her head, still not quite believing the trajectory of things lately, but truly enjoying the ride. “I’m feeling myself, Alika. Is that crazy?”

“You want to know the really crazy part?”

“Tell me.”