Page 130 of The Beekeeper

“What’s it like?” the first one—the braver one blurted out.

Come on, Nox. How long did it take you to pee?

“What’s what like?” I asked, more bubbles on the sheet popping.

“To have Blaze Stevens be obsessed with you.”

Obsessed.

I laughed. At first, it was a quick burst, the sound of something inconceivable leaving my chest. And then it kept bubbling out, heartbreak bleeding into humor. Blaze. Obsessed with me? More like over me.

“Obsessed?” I pressed a hand to my chest, feeling the unsteady tremor of my heart underneath. “I’m sorry. I think you have me confused…” with another Harper Hamilton? “I think you might be confused.”

“Come on, Kate.” The quieter one swatted her friend’s arm. “He’s in love with her. Not just obsessed.”

I wanted to vomit. “I’m sorry, but you really shouldn’t believe everything you read in the tabloids⁠—”

“Oh, trust me, we didn’t believe the whole coffee date story they kept trying to push,” Kate assured me like we were the best of friends and she would never think that about Blaze. “There was nothing in those photos. I mean, nothing that the Blazers couldn’t see through. Especially when they’d already shared photos of the two of you.”

My head lowered, tears suddenly threatening. I didn’t want to think about that—think about him here.

“I’m sorry,” I started again. “But I really need to get back to work⁠—”

“I understand, we’re so sorry for interrupting. We just saw the interview with Blaze and the photos, and we couldn’t believe you were here.”

Wait.

“What…what interview?”

“The interview he did with Rob McAllister on Star Pads.”

Star Pads?! That was the podcast where Rob McAllister interviewed Hollywood A-listers while getting a tour of their homes. It was the Gen Z version of MTV’s Cribs.

No. This wasn’t right.

Blaze never gave interviews, not since after he became a father. Not since he had Paisley with him. He didn’t want to answer any questions about her or them or Paisley’s mother, and he definitely wouldn’t do an interview in his home—a place he fought so hard to keep private.

“Excuse me,” Nox’s smooth voice boomed, only now, he was too late for me to be relieved. My curiosity was piqued and I needed to know what these women were talking about. “Can I help you?”

They took a noticeable moment to openly appreciate my brother.

“Nox, it’s fine⁠—”

“We just wanted to meet the famous Harper Hamilton.”

“Famous?” Nox looked from them to me, but I was still waiting on an explanation for that, too.

“Yeah, I mean, what else do you call the woman who finally snagged Blaze Stevens?” The other one chuckled.

Instantly, my brother went into protector mode that was usually reserved for Max, as the eldest, but without him here, Nox stepped in…or was about to and with a decidedly less-gentlemanly approach.

“I’m sorry.” I stepped in front of my brother—and his growls. “Can I see the interview you’re talking about?”

They looked to one another again. “You…haven’t seen it?”

My mouth opened and shut. “I’ve been here, with my brother, all weekend,” I clarified. The last thing I needed was for someone to not realize that Nox and I were related.

“Here.” Kate handed me her phone, on the screen, the podcast headline dominated: