Page 92 of My Beautiful Sin

“I don’t know,” I admit. “It might have just been random. There wasn’t a license plate, so maybe it was a stolen car and I was in the wrong place at the wrong time.”

Anna crosses her arms over her chest. “You don’t honestly believe that.”

“No,” I admit. “But nothing else happened since. It might not have been directed at me at all. Or it might be tied to an article I’m writing. Maybe someone doesn’t like me poking around.”

“Occupational hazard, I guess,” Anna says, then shakes her head with a sigh. “I don’t know how you do it. I’d be looking over my shoulder every minute of every day. And now you’re having to deal with all the social media, too.”

“It’s not that bad,” I say, though I hate being in the public eye like that.

“Ellie avoids all the social media sites,” Brandy chimes in, “but I’ve been paying attention. There were a lot of pictures right after the Range Rover thing, but that was a few days ago. It’s mostly calmed down.” She shrugs. “Considering you’re dating Devlin, and he’s both rich and very easy on the eyes, there’ve been fewer posts than I would have thought.”

“Which is good,” I say. “Because I really don’t feel the need for my face to be plastered on everyone’s phones.” That’s not a lie. But I’m mostly relieved that we’re not the trending topic since any man with a secret identity should avoid too much scrutiny.

When I meet Anna’s eyes, I have a feeling she’s thinking the same thing. But, of course, we can’t say anything because we’re with Tracy, who doesn’t know who Devlin used to be.

“How about you?” Anna directs the question to Brandy. “You want your fortune read?”

She shakes her head. “I want to get Christopher something.” She points at Anna and then Tracy. “Do not tell him. It’s a surprise.”

“What is?” Tracy asks.

“Not sure yet. That’s why I want to look around.” She catches my eye. “Keep me company?”

I agree, and we wave the other two off, then start to meander through the booths again. “So what are we looking for? Anything in mind?”

“Maybe. I’ve already started on part of the present. I texted Tamra this morning.”

“Tamra?”

Brandy nods, clearly pleased with herself. “The Laguna Leader is going to run an article about the thriller author doing research in our town, but since it’s a surprise, I don’t want them interviewing Christopher. So she’s going to throw together some background research on him and his career they can use.”

“That’s a great idea. But if it’s all in place, what are you looking for at the festival?”

“Maybe an engraved wooden fountain pen. I saw a booth a few blocks down. That seems authorial, right?”

“Very. But what’s the occasion? Birthday?”

Her eyes light up as she shakes her head. “Nope. I just want him to know I appreciate him.”

I pause, forcing the crowd to go around us as I tug her to a stop beside me. “You had the talk.”

Her smile blooms. “This morning. We talked about the rape and giving the baby up for adoption. Everything. He was great about it. I mean, really great.”

“I’m so glad,” I say as we start moving again. “So the gift is a thanks for being great present?”

“Pretty much.”

I press my hand to her shoulder. “And you? You’re okay?”

“Yeah.” She hesitates, then nods. “Yeah, totally.”

I pull her to a stop, this time sidling up against the side of a booth selling honey and beeswax candles. “Why am I hearing a but? Did he get weird?”

“No, no. Christopher was great…” She trails off, the corner of her mouth turning down.

“Brandy?”

“Okay, okay. I know it’s only my imagination, but after I told him, I thought I saw the guy.”