Page 107 of Movers and Shakers

“All of this. And once you know, you’ll be mad, which I deserve, but . . . before you are, know that I didn’t mean to hurt you.”

“What, did you contact Todd or something?”

“It’s not about your family.”

“Then I don’t think you can do anything to make me mad.”

“I doubt that,” she said. “You know, when I was a kid, I dreamed of being a pop star.”

I blinked at her change of tone. Her voice now sounded clearer, more lyrical.

Like Lila.

“You . . . what?”

“I did.”

“You look like a very famous one, so maybe I can see it.”

“Lila Wilde, huh?” Her smile was sad.

“I guess you’ve heard that before?”

“No, but that’s by design. No one’s supposed to look at me and see Lila Wilde. That was the point of it all. And no one has looked long enough to see her in me for a long time.”

My mind spun as my dream popped into my head: red hair fading into black. My heart kicked up in speed as I started to draw oneveryimpossible conclusion.

“You’re not about to tell me youareLila, are you?”

She looked down and reached into her bag, pulling out a black wig. “Yeah. That’s exactly what I’m telling you.”

I stared for a second. “This is a joke, right?”

“No. Unfortunately, this isveryreal.”

Chapter Twenty-Two

Rose

Iwatched Barry carefully. He stared at the wig, jaw tight.

I’d been up all night figuring out how to word this. The rehearsed speech was gone the moment I got in front of him.

Seconds stretched out. I wanted to beg him to say something, yet I was terrified of what he was thinking. I deserved whatever he had for me—that much I knew.

“You’re thesameperson,” he said slowly.

“Yes.”

“So, I first met you outside the bar, not when you came in and got hit on.”

“Yes.”

“And youdumpedme.”

“I . . . as Lila, yes.”

“What thefuck?”

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