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“Don’t scare her.” Gregor chuckled. “We just want the both of you to step out onto the balcony.” He tilted his head toward the door.
“And do what?” she asked.
Kenna pursed her lips and looked away.
“Do whatever you want. Chat or say nothing. Do a dance if you’re so inclined,” Gregor encouraged. “Whatever it is you kids do.”
“I have a photographer positioned below. It’s someone we’ve worked with before and we can get some tasteful, candid shots of you two being relaxed and happy,” Kenna explained.
“Ah, yes. The staged candid. My favorite,” Zara said dryly.
“It’s the best idea to counter the stories out there right now. We verify you’re in Chicago but not in Lincoln Park, and that yes, you’re with Asa, but that it’s not necessarily romantic.” Kenna eyed Zara’s shirt. “If you’re not together, you need to change your shirt.”
Zara’s gaze darted to Asa. She’d wanted to have a conversation with him, privately, before having to make any kind of public declaration.
“Unless you’re ready to go public with a relationship,” Gregor suggested. “If that’s the case, may I recommend a snog with an ass grab.”
“Gregor!” Zara chastised.
Kenna rolled her eyes and held up a hand. “Honestly, you don’t have to do that. If being out there together makes you uncomfortable then we can just have one of you do it. Either is fine, but Devan doesn’t want Zara out there alone. We need you to be out there for at least thirty minutes so Lacie—the photographer—can get several shots from different locations.”
Zara sighed. She had to do this in Rome once. When she’d been spotted having dinner with an actor well-known for his superhero movie franchise. It hadn’t been a date. It had beenbusiness. But a picture had been taken of both of them laughing while they were leaning in towards each other. The internet fed off that for weeks.
She’d had to stand on a balcony for an hour so they could prove she was alone in Italy, not a romantic vacation. He had to be seen in a farmer’s market on another continent having cider with his costar.
That had been a weird month.
Light pressure on her lower lip had her sucking in a startled breath and her eyes snapping to Asa.
“Please stop chewing on that lip,” he said, his thumb lingering on her mouth.
Her skin caught fire where he touched her and she found herself leaning toward him. His lips tipped up on one side and his gaze softened.
He dropped his hand only to take hers and back toward the balcony door. She followed him outside; Gregor closed the door behind them. She looked back over her shoulder at her assistant who gave her a thumbs up.
For fuck’s sake.
It was weird to have Gregor and Kenna be so…encouraging with Asa. The only experience she had with them and her relationships was with Logan. And they openly hated Logan.
But that’s because they had come along later. After Logan had already transitioned into his final form. They didn’t know him when he was sixteen the way she had. They weren’t there to see him struggle through auditions and bad reviews and disappointment.
But she remembered all of it.
That’s probably the main reason she’d stuck around for so long. Because she still remembered the kid in him. She still didn’t hate that kid. But he was so far away from who he used to be, it was like he’d become a different person.
“What are you thinking about?” Asa asked.
He’d let go of her hand and they stood together, side by side, looking out over the city, elbows resting on the railing.
“I was thinking about what it means to grow up,” she answered honestly. She took a breath and focused on the clouds in the distance. “Growing up is so much more than getting older. It’s choosing to learn about yourself; learning to let go of certain ideas; learning to explore new ones. It’s scary. Sometimes the person we used to be is better. Growing up doesn’t necessarily mean positive things. We hope it does. We hope that we get to a certain point in our lives that we’re proud of.” She smiled a sad smile as a multitude of past regrets sprang to mind.
He bumped her shoulder with her own but didn’t move away. Instead their arms stayed pressed together, sharing warmth and stability.
“I punched Logan,” he said.
She nodded. “I turned Shelby over to her own consequences.”
He looked at her for a beat and then back out over the city.
