Page 80 of So in Love
She gave him a side-eye.“Seriously?I don’t buy that for a second.You just want to get me alone.”
His mouth curved into a sexy smile.“Well, yes.But I also need to talk to you.”
“Hey, Crystal!”Kelsey yelled and then gestured for her to come over.
Crystal gave Jamie an apologetic glance.“Sorry, give me a sec.”She went to Kelsey and gave her a quick hug.“Congratulations.You look fabulous.”
Kelsey’s long, dark hair was pulled back, and she wore a gorgeous formfitting knit dress in dark red with a chunky necklace.“So do you!The reporter here wanted to talk to you since you were so instrumental in helping with the research for the exhibit.”
“Just a little bit of it,” Crystal demurred.
The reporter smiled at her.“Hi, I’m Jenny St.John from KPTV.We’re recording some bits for the eleven o’clock and weekend news.I wanted to talk to you about your role in all this.”
“I don’t know that I had a role,” Crystal said, her neck suddenly pricking.
“I understand you’ve written a screenplay about the history of the town, and it includes a rather dark chapter involving the Ku Klux Klan.What can you tell us about that?”
Fuuuuuck.
Crystal glanced at Kelsey, who completely blanched.Clearly she hadn’t known they were going to ask about this.
What the hell was she supposed to say?Crystal blanked for a moment, tried to summon a smile, but ultimately just stood there staring at the reporter.Finally, she managed, “I can’t really comment on that right now.”
“Looks like it’s already getting a lot of buzz,” the reporter said with a sparkly grin, seeming oblivious to Crystal’s discomfort.“I read that it has a strong female lead.Will your boss Alaina Pierce be starring?”
She “read”?Crystal narrowed her eyes at the reporter.“How did you hear about this?”
“I saw it online on our way here.”
Son of a bitch.Kim had said the buzz was out there.So fast?
Of course, silly, this is the Internet Age, everything happens at lightning speed.
How many times had she had to troubleshoot stories gone rogue about Alaina?One such event was what had led Alaina to hide out in Ribbon Ridge.In a sense, everything had come back around again.Crystal suddenly felt detached from herself, as if she were watching a movie about someone else.
The hum of conversation seemed to dim as Angie Westcott made her way toward Crystal and the reporter.Jamie intercepted her, and Crystal heard Angie say, “I thought you were going to talk to her.”
Then the reporter turned her head toward the stairs.“Oh, there’s Alaina Pierce.Let’s get her take on this.”She and her cameraman pivoted.
Alaina’s gaze landed on Crystal.She looked pissed—it was subtle and no one else could probably tell but Crystal knew her friend.Alaina’s mouth was set in a particularly tight way, and her eyes held that fake shimmer when she was putting on a performance for the red carpet or the paparazzi.
As the reporter made her way toward Alaina, Angie came forward.“How could you ruin this event with this screenplay nonsense?”
Crystal blinked at her.“I didn’t.”She shook her head.“I had no idea.”
Angie scoffed as she looked to Jamie.“This is exactly what I was trying to avoid.”
The library had gone practically silent.The only thing Crystal could hear was the reporter loudly asking Alaina what she thought of the screenplay and would she be starring in it.
Crystal’s lungs squeezed, and she fought to take a breath.She looked from Alaina’s expression of distaste to Angie’s look of condemnation to Jamie.He stared at her, his eyes blank.
She ran from the library as fast as she could.
Jamie was frozenas he watched Crystal run out.He started after her, but his mother grabbed his arm.“Where are you going?”she asked.
He pressed his lips together and pulled his arm free.“To find Crystal.”
“Yes, you go do that.Tell her what a mistake she’s made.Why didn’t she listen to you?”
