Lovers Like Us (Like Us #2)(38)

“Izzy, this is all the sightseeing he needs,” Sana says and then turns to me. “You should look into the FanCon. Tickets will sell out soon.”

Izzy nods. “I heard they’ll go within the hour.”

Maximoff smiles a more heartfelt one. He’s dedicated most of his time to raise money for charity, and knowing this tour helps other people means everything to him.

I rub my thumb over my lip piercing. “What would you do if you saw one of them?”

“The five?” Sana asks, hand to her heart. “I live for any photographs of them together. Can you imagine the camaraderie? The friendship? The loyalty?”

I can do better than imagine. I’ve seen the friendship and loyalty with all of them but two. Charlie and Maximoff created a fissure within “the five” that’s palpable. They haven’t even spoken one word to each other since we started driving.

I chew my gum slower and lean into the counter. “Not a photo. If you met them in real life.”

“Like at the FanCon?” Sana asks.

I’m worried she may faint if Maximoff turns around. It wouldn’t be the first time. The most memorable was in Philly at Lucky’s Diner. A boy passed out on a plate of pancakes when Maximoff waved to him. Someone shouted for a doctor, and no one stood, so I assessed the kid.

He suffered only from embarrassment.

“Who’s your favorite?” Izzy suddenly asks me.

I tilt my head. “Favorite…?”

“Favorite Hale, Meadows, or Cobalt.” She pushes up her glasses. “Mine is Lily Calloway. She’s…” Izzy just smiles.

I know. Lily is endearing. I miss how she’d text me random shit about tortilla-shaped blankets and superhero memes. But she hasn’t messaged me since I broke her trust.

“Mine is Ryke Meadows,” Sana chimes in. “He’s such a DILF.”

Maximoff barely flinches, used to people fawning over his parents and uncles and aunts.

I restrain a laugh. “That’s great—”

“And I love all the Cobalts,” Sana adds, “except for Jane Cobalt.”

This took a bad turn. I tap the counter, tentative, and I’m about to interject. But she speaks quickly.

“She’s always seemed pretentious and just unmotivated. Everyone in her family has done something extraordinary, and she’s just…blah. If I was a Cobalt, I wouldn’t be wasting my potential like her.”

Shit.

Maximoff mouths, I can’t.

He can’t reveal himself now. He’d crush this girl.

I hold onto the key cards. I can’t let him go to a room without me.

Here’s some unspoken history catalogued only by security (not public): two men tried to jump Maximoff in a hotel hallway when he was fifteen. Unprovoked. His old bodyguard escorted him to safety, but that shit is why he’s stuck with me 24/7.

Izzy asks me again, “So who’s your favorite?”

“Maximoff Hale,” I say without pause.

His chest lifts in an aroused breath.

My smile is killing me. I rub my mouth a couple times.

“I love him,” Sana swoons.

Same.

“Well, I used to,” she sighs. “I don’t know. That article about him and Jane Cobalt made me feel…weird.”

Izzy nudges Sana’s arm. “It’s fake. Celebrity Crush already issued an apology, and so did three other tabloids who ran with the fake story. I think one of them is even getting sued.”

That’s the work of the Hale and Cobalt lawyers.

“It’s been entertaining,” I say casually, “but we need to grab our bags—”

“Thatcher to Farrow.” A strict voice blares through my earpiece that hangs on my shoulder. Audible to Maximoff and both girls. “Farrow, are you in the hotel with Maximoff—” I quickly decrease the radio volume, but not fast enough.

Shit.

“Oh…my God.” Sana has her hands to her mouth. Both girls stare intently at Maximoff’s back. “Is that…?” Tears flood her big eyes, upset. Because she knows he heard every negative thing she said. “I didn’t…I…”

I hang back, already knowing what he’ll do.

Maximoff hurriedly spins around, drops his hood, and raises a hand. “Hey, it’s alright, don’t cry, don’t cry.”

Sana bursts into a sob. “I didn’t mean…” Her knees buckle while she cries, and Izzy catches her co-worker’s elbows. Maximoff sprints around the counter, and I follow close behind.

I fit my earpiece in, but I don’t worry about the volume yet. Instead, I take out my phone and tap into an electronic contract.

Maximoff crouches to Sana. “I know you didn’t mean it.”

She mumbles something about hurting Maximoff Hale and how Jane Cobalt is his best friend.

He shakes his head. “No, you didn’t hurt me. I’m okay. I’m okay. You don’t need to cry.” She’s still sobbing, and that’s affecting him.

He glances briefly at me, his chest constricted.

I squat next to him. “Sana, he’s smiling. He’s not upset.”

Izzy wipes her friend’s tears with her blazer sleeve. “He doesn’t look mad at all, Sana.”

She sniffs, but she stares at the carpet. “I’m sorry…I didn’t mean…”