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I grinned and hugged Carly to me. But I needed body armor. Something to cover my heart.
I stepped out in front of the cameras with Henry, holding his hand in a sweaty death grip, waiting for the insults, the onslaught of hurtful questions. Braced, steeled, pulse racing like I was entering a war zone.
The battle never came.
It was just waves of goodwill, stunning and warming me. People empathizing with me. Apologizing. It was beyond cathartic.
I can’t count the number of people who have come up to me since I got back, telling me their own stories of not being believed, of being scapegoated, pilloried on social media.
None got to the level of national shaming I did, but I also know that when it’s happening to you, it feels like the whole world is doing it. Sometimes I know I’m the only one listening.
We finally reach the chandelier-draped lobby. There are vintage posters all around. People are happy—buoyant, even, from the show.
I’m pulling forward but Henry tugs me back and spins me into a corner, hands curled around my waist. He kisses me hard. “That dress. God, need you so bad,” he says. “You’re beautiful. You’re like a firebird.”
I grin and nip his lip. I’ve let my hair go back to red, and my dress is bright orange. Fire doesn’t burn me anymore.
“Need to strip you out of it,” he grates in a voice that has me wishing that lobby-to-limo teleportation was a thing.
“Need to get you out of that wristwatch,” I say.
He pulls me in more tightly against the powerbrokery hard body that I love.
We do eventually get out of there, but not to the limo. We sneak around the dark side of the building to the cast exit and wait for Carly, which involves making out like teenagers. And then he pushes back into the bricks and fixes me with a serious stare.
“I love you,” he says, his voice full of wonder. “So much.”
I gaze up at his beautiful face and lopsided dimples that I like to kiss. “I love you, Henry.” And the stars in the night sky seem to brighten behind him.
I’m going to be honest—the stars up there still make zero intelligible pictures as far as I can see. But the picture Henry and I make together means everything to me, lines scribbling between our hearts to create an amazing new world.
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