Page 109 of How to Kiss a Movie Star
“Hannah, wait!” She turns, and I run down the stairs, stopping in the grass a few feet away. “Is he home?”
She smiles. “He’s home.”
He’s home.
And I need to see himright now.
Chapter Thirty-One
Flint
NorthCarolinahasneverfelt more like home.
Maybe because Audrey is here. Maybe because the summer heat is finally yielding to something cooler. Maybe because the last week in Los Angeles has been so long.
Turns out Audrey was right, and Simon really did just act impulsively when he leaked the story. He claimed stress and mounting financial obligations made him irrational. I’m not sure what he meant by that, and I don’t really want to know. All I care about is it only took one conversation to make it clear that if he kept talking about me, I would be forced to let people know why Ireallyfired him. It’s generous that I don’t let people knowanyway.I can only hope he’ll learn from the situation and do better with future clients.
Either way, I have never been so happy to leave Los Angeles behind. My own house, in the mountains I love, is just the balm I need.
Well, that’s not entirely true. Audrey is the balm I need. But I still don’t know where we stand.
It’s just after eight when I get a text from Nate.
Nate:Your brothers are at the gate. You want me to let them in?
My brothers. All of them?
I send Nate a quick thumbs up.
Five minutes later, I swing my front door open to see them standing there in a cluster, Brody, Lennox, Perry, and Tyler, my brother-in-law.
“Expecting someone else?” Lennox says dryly.
“Nah, I knew it was you. Nate texted and asked if I wanted to let you in.”
“Wait, you could have said no?” Brody asks. “Rude.”
“Brilliant,” Perry says. “I’d love to be able to screen people before they make it to my porch.”
“But then you’d just say no toeveryone,” Lennox says.
Perry smiles. “Exactly.”
“What are you guys doing here?” I step back from the door, making room for them to file inside.
“We thought you might be hungry,” Brody says. “Lennox has food from the restaurant.”
Lennox holds up a bag as he heads toward the kitchen.
“We also have beverages,” Perry says, holding up a case of beer as he follows Lennox.
Brody claps me on the back. “And also Mom is worried about you.”
There it is.The real reason they’re here. But whatever. I’ll take it. I need all the distractions I can get right now.
We eat around the kitchen island, then take the beer outside. The night air is cool, the cicadas’ song rolling through the trees like the rise and fall of a wave.
“Okay,” Perry says, cracking open a beer and handing it to me. “What’s the update? Where do things stand with Audrey?”
