anything that

clothes onto the bed with disdain. "Zara, Zara, H&M... G

the doorframe. She felt a knot of anxiety tightening in her sto

as old, from her life before, but the silk was real. "We

lipstick. Katherine took it. The

from the living room. "The

ing blasted, smelling of fake pine. Kylie sat

on?" Beth asked, leaning forward.

yes still glued to h

herine asked. The knot in

ylie said vaguely. "You guys w

ow. "Is this the mystery m

just... talking. But h

anta Monica Boulevard blurred past. Los Angeles was

a chaotic swarm of flashing lights. Papar

on her hip, chin tilted. A few cameras flashed, but the photogr

, tossing her hair. "Ug

nt was a lush, open-air garden, teeming with beautiful people. The

ker," Kylie to

ace. Katherine sat down, trying to make herself small. S

er," Kylie announced, not loo

A cocktail cost as much as her

ce lit up. She stood up, waving h

e turned

left h

man in a black t-shirt and dark jeans. He didn't look at the cameras. He didn't look at

was

His face had lost the last traces of boyishness, replaced by ha

outh. She wanted to slide unde

was t

om. They swept over the c

landed on

anded

d imperceptibly. The boredom vanished, replaced by a

e wall came down. His exp

as he approached. She wrapped her arm

there, stiff, his hands in his poc

Rougher. It sent a shiver down Katherine

d, clinging to his arm like a tro

her, the man she had spent four years hiding from, w