“He’s left voice messages.”
“Oh?”
“Yeah.”
“You listened to them?”
She nods. “I couldn’t help it. But yeah. He said he broke up with Megan and that he’s really sorry—”
“And that he wants you back,” I finish for her.
She turns the stove off and shifts to look at me, her eyes holding mine. “Yeah. He said he wants me back. But I swear, Karl, I won’t break our agreement. I wouldn’t get back together with him, not while we’re still pretending to be in a relationship.”
I see red. Not while we’re in a contract, but what about after? My stomach clenches when I think for a moment that she is considering getting back together with him. “You want to be with him again when we’re done with our agreement? Because you don’t have to wait, Lola. We can end it now if that’s what you want.”
“No, Karl.” She hesitates, trying to find her words. “That’s not what I meant. I don’t want him back, not even after.”
My eyes narrow as I consider her. “You sure? Don’t do me any favors.”
“Ethan is my past. We were good together at first. But we grew into different people, and we’re no longer compatible. I want him to stay in my past. At least as far as anything romantic is concerned.”
Her words are reassuring, and my body relaxes. I may not be good enough for Lola, but Ethan sure as hell isn’t either.
23
LOLA
Karl and I are on our way to a fundraiser. Sofia’s best friend, Carolina, has teamed up with our local church to raise funds to cover cancer treatment for one of the hospital’s patients.
Roger, of course, jumped at the idea for positive band press, and both Bren and Karl volunteered to sign autographed headshots and pose for selfies with fans.
Adrian and Fritz are on their way to Mexico for another short trip. I secretly tasked Adrian with spying on Fritz to find out who wins the bet, though I’m sure none of them do because I’m right.
We get to the community college gymnasium hosting the event, and I’m impressed at what Carolina managed on such short notice. I’ve met her briefly through Sofia, but her reputation as a beloved local physician precedes her. She’ll do anything for her patients—even if that anything is begging Sofia to offer up her husband and his band to endure grueling hours of fan interaction—with zero compensation.
The gymnasium is full of carnival-style games and a few food stands, including Paco’s Tacos, and I wave at him, but he’s so busy, he doesn’t see me. It seems the entire neighborhood showed up despite the frigid cold.
“So, why are we doing this again?” Karl asks me as we maneuver to find where we’re supposed to be.
I volunteered to sell the selfie tickets and direct fans toward a line to meet the band. “Cancer treatment for a young mom.”
“But why isn’t her treatment just covered?”
“She’s not eligible for health insurance,” I say simply.
“Why not?”
“She’s undocumented, so she can’t pay for treatment. Her options are to pay out of pocket or return to her home country for treatment, but her kids were born here, and she refuses to take them out of school and relocate them. At least, that’s as far as Ileana explained the situation to me. I don’t really know the full details.”
“Oh, is Ileana going to be here? I want to meet her.”
“No, she stayed home with Addy and Isael so that Sofia and Bren could be here.”
As we get to work, it doesn’t escape me how much longer the line is or how different the demographics are in Karl’s line compared to Bren’s. Karl’s fans are a bit younger, primarily female, and wait in line as they check their pocket mirrors and adjust necklines lower on their cleavage.
Hoes.
Okay, that wasn’t very nice, but could they get a little self-respect?