My Online Crush Swore He Wasn't the Idol, Then His Song Sang My Secrets novel · Chapter 6 of 24

Chapter 6: The Manager

"That's me," I said.

I pulled my earbuds out.

His voice was still singing in one of them, tiny and tinny, until I pressed pause.

The man got out of the SUV.

He was wearing a navy blazer at five in the morning, with loafers that had never touched gravel before.

He looked at our sign with the falling-down S and smiled wider.

"Charming," he said. "Hal Brewer."

He held out his hand.

I didn't know what else to do, so I shook it.

His palm was soft and cool.

"I manage Northline," he said. "You may have heard of them."

Mom set down the crate she was holding.

"Everybody's heard of them," she said. "What do you want with my daughter?"

"Just a conversation. And some peaches." He picked one up and sniffed it at the stem, the way I'd taught Jay to. "Somebody's been giving lessons."

My face went hot.

"How do you know my name, Mr. Brewer?"

"Hal. Please." He set the peach down. "I checked into your little inn last night. The young lady at the front desk was very chatty."

Brynn.

"She showed me a photo from your theatre's Facebook page. A blurry fellow in a cap. And a caption about a girl who choked." He tilted his head at me. "That's you."

"That's me."

"And she told me you drove out to the lake on Route 9 the other night. With a crate just like this one."

Mom looked at me.

I didn't look back.

Hal took his money clip out of his pocket. It was gold and heavy and full.

"Here's the thing, Lena. The man at that cabin works for me. He's under a contract. A very specific one."

"He told me."

"Did he?" Something flickered across Hal's face and was gone. "Then you know he's supposed to be invisible this summer."

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