Page 79 of Once Upon a Boyband
She exhales a slow breath. “Do you have your phone on you?”
I check my pockets, and I’m surprised when I don’t find it. “I must have left it inside. What is it?”
She holds out her phone. “Sarah just sent this over.”
There’s a TikTok video pulled up on her screen, and Laney hands me an AirPod. I slide it into my ear, then push play, dread pooling in my stomach with every passing second.
The video is from someone who calls herself a celebrity cybersleuth, and what she’s managed to “sleuth” is proof that something is in the works for Midnight Rush.
The first thing she shares is a photo of me and Laney, one clearly taken this week. We’re standing next to the gazebo that’s out past the farmhouse, arms around each other.Goldie is visible in the background, which makes sense because that’s usually where we go when Goldie needs to go out.
The ring on Laney’s left hand is clearly visible, and while she’s not looking at the camera, her head is turned, providing a clear shot of her face.
Just that is bad enough. Even though Ivy warned us Kevin might try to release something else, create a trail of breadcrumbs before the concert news drops, it’s still incredibly disconcerting to see a picture like this after so many years of livingoutof the public eye.
This was a private moment—relevant to no one else—and someone stole it and shared it like it was nothing.
But it gets worse. The next thing the video shares is a screenshot of a reddit story from someone claiming she just saw Freddie Ridgefield in the drive thru line of the fast food restaurant where she works. And then, she shows the photo Freddie posted of himself at my house, holding up a beer from the local brewery.
With proof that Freddie was in Lawson Cove visiting “a dude with a beard,” according to Reddit, the sleuth used some kind of reverse image search and found a photo of Laney on the Lawson Cove Veterinary website, comparing it side by side to the photo of the two of us, in order to confirm that the person Freddie was visiting in Lawson Cove was me.
“Freddie and Deke together again after eight years?” the creator says at the end of the video. “It has to mean something. I’m crossing my fingers and toes and everything else I can cross for a reunion concert. And I’m totally going to have a cupcake today to celebrate because hello, all my Midnighter girlies, after endless radio silence, our man Deke appears to be alive and well. I’ll save the breakdown of hisengagement for another video, once I’ve done my due diligence in learning all about his bride-to-be.”
“Wow.” I pull out the AirPod and look at Laney. “That’s…”
“Some impressive detective work,” she says. “If Kevin wanted buzz, he’s got it.”
“When was this posted?”
“Yesterday morning,” Laney says. “But it picked up more steam today. Ivy just told me they’re dropping the concert news tomorrow, so this is pretty perfectly timed.”
“Who took the photo? It was, what, the first day you were here?”
“Second, I think. When we took Goldie outside after breakfast.”
“But who? The farm isn’t even open to the public right now.”
“But there are a lot of industry people coming and going every day. And the farm has dozens of employees. It could have been anyone.”
I hate the thought of it being someone who’s working on the concert, but Ivy did warn me Kevin wouldn’t be above putting someone up to it.
I study Laney’s face and try to determine how she really feels about all of this. It has to feel weird to see her name and face blasted so publicly, and I don’t love that it’s happening because of me.
I know Midnight Rush fans. Someone will show up at Laney’s office. They will wander around Lawson Cove, look for opportunities to talk to her. And she’ll hate every second of it.
“Laney, I’m really sorry about this.”
She lifts her shoulders, but her shrug isn’t remotely convincing. “I’m fine.”
“Don’t pretend to be fine,” I say. “This isn’tfine.”
“Okay. I’m not fine,” she says. “I feel…” She looks up, like she’s trying to figure out the right words. “Like I’ve got spiders crawling all over my skin. Like everyone is looking at me. Judging me.”
I tug her toward me and pull her onto my lap, wrapping my arms around her. “I’m so sorry,” I whisper into her hair. “I know that feeling. It’s not fun.”
I want to tell her it gets better. That you get used to ignoring it. But she shouldn’t have to get used to it. She isn’t here by choice. She’s here because I was an idiot who told a lie.
She’s quiet for a long moment before she sits up enough to turn and look me in the eyes. “Adam, I think I need to go to Hendersonville tomorrow.”
