Page 158 of Happily Never After

“Sure,” Luke said, tightening his grip on Claire. “Breathe,” he whispered in her ear. She smiled for the camera and leaned in to him. She hadn’t anticipated that anyone would recognize them, let alone want to put them in their publication. She should have triple-checked her teeth for spinach.

“Miss Hartley,” a woman with curly red hair and a matching blazer called as soon as the picture had been snapped. “How did you manage to escape the West Haven Widowmaker?”

Ah, shit. The blood ran cold in her veins. They must have Googled her.

Luke turned to step in front of her, but Claire stopped him. He had plugged her in his brief moment in the spotlight. The least she could do was return the favor.

“Well, if you want an answer to that question, you’ll have to watch the new Lucas Islestorm documentary,The Widowmaker, coming to Streamster this summer. Thanks,” Claire said, turning on her heel before anyone else could chime in.

“You handled that really well,” Luke said.

“Hopefully people will stop asking after the documentary airs.” She shook her head and took his arm. They set off down the red carpet. They were nearly to the end, and then they could skip to the fun part—celebrating Brianna’s triumph and shoving the female empowerment in ESA’s face.

“Can we wait for Bri? Just to make sure she gets here,” she said as they stepped off the red carpet and paused before the golden double doors.

“Sure.” Luke pulled off to the side with her. Charlie joined them a second later, frowning at her phone. Once inside, she’d have to secure it in a locked bag to prevent any details about the premier leaking, and Claire knew she was taking one last opportunity to check her email.

“Unbelievable.” She shook her head. “Big Z’s in trouble again. He roofied a girl at a club last night. I’m not going to be able to squash this one. I already called in too many favors this week.”

“What an asshole.” Claire shuddered. As soon as she was back in West Haven, she was going to have a stern talk with Mindy about her musical preferences.

She glanced down at her phone. Bri hadn’t texted her back in a couple hours. Surely she was just busy getting ready and doing whatever pre-premiere ritual she had adopted over the years. But she couldn’t ignore the anxiety that had settled in her stomach like a ten-pound kettlebell.

“I’m going to call her assistant and see where they’re at.”

“Famous people are always running late.” Luke reached over to rub her arm. “I’m sure she’s trapped in that nightmare of limos.” He gestured to the road, where a dozen town cars and limousines were waiting to drop off passengers.

Claire shook her head. Dread was threatening to overwhelm her, growing inside her like a black hole. Something didn’t feel right. She pulled out her phone and scrolled to Brianna’s assistant, Natalie. She held her breath as she dialed.

“Natalie Stevenson,” a cheerful voice answered.

“Hey, it’s Claire. Brianna’s sister. I was just calling to check on Bri. Are you guys almost here?”

There was a pause on the other end.

“Aren’t you with her?” Natalie asked.

The bottom fell out of Claire’s stomach.

“What’s wrong?” Luke asked. His phone rang, and he took a step away to answer it.

“No, she told us she was going to be with you all day,” Claire said.

Charlie threw her phone in her purse and stood next to Claire. She was much paler than she had been in the limo. Claire put Natalie on speaker phone.

“Well, she was, but then she said she wanted to catch the limo with you guys. She headed to your house about an hour ago.”

“Oh my god,” Claire said. “I have to go.”

“Wait, are you saying she’s?—”

Claire ended the call and frantically clicked on Bri’s contact. Her hands shook as they clutched the phone. No answer. She dialed again. No answer. She sent a text. No answer.

“Luke,” she called out. Her whole body was trembling. Something was terribly wrong. Where the hell was she?

“Thanks.” Luke ended the call he was on and turned back to Claire with an unreadable expression.

“I can’t get in touch with Bri. I think something happened to her.” The words tumbled out over numb lips.

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