Page 14 of Don't Forget Me
“What story?”
He jerked his head to the door and shooed everyone else away to let Molly sleep. Leading the kids out, he stopped and turned to her. “Did you hear about Nick Jacobs?”
She nodded. “He got into a car accident.”
“He’s here.”
“What?”
“I can’t tell you more, but everyone is trying to get into the ICU to find out what’s going on.”
That was why the reporters and cops were there.
Nick Jacobs… she’d heard somewhere he was filming nearby. Gulf City was no stranger to celebrities, but he was something else entirely.
Elizabeth’s breaths came in short gasps as she tried to keep the panic at bay. The Nick Jacobs was in the hospital where she worked. The doctors and nurses she saw every day were taking care of him.
Was this real life?
“You okay, Mama?” Owen glanced up at her.
“Yeah, baby.” Mommy was just hyperventilating a bit. She’d loved Nick Jacobs since she’d seen him as the rookie cop in the first Boys in Blue movie almost fifteen years ago. And he was like a fine wine, only getting better with age.
“Can we get cake pops now?” Evelyn tugged on her hand.
“Tell you what, kiddo.” Booker slipped a pen into his pocket. “I’m due for a break. It’s my treat.”
Evelyn squealed in excitement and started talking his ear off as Elizabeth trailed them with Owen.
The cafe was crowded with reporters, so Elizabeth took the last table as Booker grabbed their drinks and snacks.
He set a cappuccino in front of her. “For the lady.”
“Thanks.” She smiled the way cancer taught her too. Brightly and with no hint of anything fake. It was the way to get people to stop looking too deep, to stop trying to find out if she was lying when she used the word fine.
Most of the time, she was.
Voices floated from the next table over where two reporters had their heads together.
Elizabeth couldn’t make out much, but the words “coma” and “drinking” were clear. It brought back what she’d heard on the news. He hit a family of four.
Nick Jacobs, Hollywood’s favorite actor, was in a coma after drinking and getting behind the wheel.
Something squeezed inside Elizabeth, and she didn’t want to hear any more, so she focused on her kids, listening to their excited chatter.
Booker leaned in close. “Have I said happy birthday to you yet today?”
“Please don’t.”
“Can’t help myself.” He smiled, pressing a kiss to the side of her head. “Happy birthday, Liz. I hope it’s everything you dream of.”
There was something in his voice, some kind of meaning she didn’t want to consider. Booker was her best friend for a reason. He cared about her. She cared about him too, but she feared it was different.
Returning his smile, she knew she had to get out of there, get some space.
She needed something new.
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