Page 40 of Business or Pleasure

“Guess we have a lot of Team Sofia fans in here today!” Ethan says with a chuckle.

A muscle twitches in Finn’s jaw. He doesn’t like Ethan; that much is clear.

The same can’t be said about the crowd. In the front row, one girl has started crying.

“Uh—” I fumble with my sheet of paper before remembering we’d moved on to audience questions.

Ethan already has it covered, pointing at the next person approaching the mic, a woman wearing an Oakhurst University sweatshirt.

“Yes, hi, um, wow,” she stammers. “I can’t believe you’re here!”

“Was there a question somewhere in there?” Ethan asks, and though this gets a few laughs, something in it grates at me. Something like arrogance.

“Right, sorry!” The woman takes a few deep breaths. “This is actually a two-part question. The first is, I know some of you originally auditioned for different roles. If you had to play someone else, who do you think you’d have wanted to play? And then the second part is, who do you think would have been best suited to play you?”

Finn opens his mouth to speak, but it’s Ethan who answers first. “For me, it was Caleb or bust. They had me read for Hux, but he didn’t really feel like me, you know?” He turns to Finn. “But you read for Caleb too, right?” he asks, and Finn nods.

“It wasn’t the right fit,” he says. “I related much more to Hux.”

“What do you guys think?” Ethan cups a hand over his ear. “You think we could have swapped roles? Would that have been a hit show?”

Uproarious laughter as scarlet creeps onto Finn’s cheeks.

Ethan takes the remainder of questions from the audience, and I’m too intimidated to cut him off. It’s not until a volunteer appears in front of the stage that Ethan says, “It seems we’re being played off. Thanks for letting me crash your panel, and we hope everyone tunes in in December!”

I can still hear the crowd roaring even once we’re safely backstage.

“Do you want to grab dinner and talk more about your post-Nocturnals roles?” I ask Finn after checking with the airline for an update on my suitcase. There isn’t one. “Or if your mind is still on werewolves, we could just talk about that.”

Finn’s face falls. “Oh—I have plans with Bree and Zach. And Ethan, I guess.”

“That’s okay, maybe it’ll be good for me to see you in your element. I could probably learn a lot from hearing you talk with them.”

Then he gives me this odd, pained look.

“I’m not invited, am I.” I don’t even bother phrasing it as a question.

“It’s Ethan, really. He’s been burned by the press before.”

“Right. Okay. Totally fine!” I say this with too much enthusiasm, and after we exchange goodbyes, I let him get absorbed by the mass of fans once again.

I’ve only spent a week with him—it’s not as though he owes me anything. Definitely not a dinner invitation with his coworkers. It was ridiculous of me to think I’d automatically go.

I’m unsure how to explain the ache in my chest as I watch him leave, or maybe it’s just misdirected stress over my missing suitcase. So I pull out my phone.

Tonight? After your dinner? I text him.

Maybe he won’t be in the mood, or he’ll be too tired. And that would be okay—we made those rules for a reason.

Still, I watch his face as he pauses halfway down the hall and reads the message, a soft flicker of understanding passing over his eyes. A little thrill sparks up my spine as his reply appears on my screen.

Tonight.

chapter

eleven

ST. PAUL, MN

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