“Which brother?” he asked, curious.
The lounge was a greenhouse of velvet booths and hydroponic mint. A massive 8K screen played VideoRED 2024 live—hosts in neon suits asking brutally polite questions to a child star who’d just come out of rehab. The audience murmured like a contented hive.
“Ruined beautifully,” he replied. “Same thing.”
Q’s jaw unclenched. Then she laughed—a real, guttural sound that made the table of influencers next to them glance over. “Okay,” she said. “Okay. So we’re both monsters.”
“Public tea time,” she whispered. “I kissed your brother last Christmas.”
“Date night saved?” she asked.
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