Chapter 82

Sarah POV

I had liked Lainey Wilson at the center after just our brief meeting, and after she exclaimed in delight over the tea and took a photo of the lavish but dainty display for her pups at home, I liked her even more.

It was a good thing too because once we got down to business, the first thing she wanted to discuss was the latest online photo of me that had gone viral. She held it up on her tablet, and I saw myself at the perfume display at Au Bon Marche.

“I thought those girls took photos of Grace and Chloe,” I said. Then I frowned. “Well, I guess I prefer it’s a photo of me and not them, but still.”

“Still what?” Lainey asked.

“It’s such an embarrassing moment. I mean, I had no idea those were werewolf perfumes.”

“So what?”

“So, I look ridiculous.”

Lainey took a pointed sip of her tea. Everyone else was busy eating and listening.

“There are many different ways to be famous,” she said. “There are actors, who put on masks and can hide their real lives behind tinted car windows and gated homes. There are athletes, who for the most part live rather dull lives of practice and working out when they’re not showing off their skill in competition.

“There are one-day wonders who catch the media’s attention and then are forgotten in the next news cycle. There are social media influencers who put on their own sort of masks and can have privacy just by putting the camera down. There are rock stars who ‘live the life’ and seek fame like a fix and mourn when they lose it, something that can happen overnight.

“You, Sarah, you have one of the worst types of fame. You can never walk off stage, never stop taking selfies, never stop doing anything to lose your fame because you are famous for being you. People want to know everything about you, and if you’re not careful, they’ll stomp over any boundary you set up and take everything they can from you.”

I’m sure I looked horrified because she softened. “Fortunately, Alpha Zane has more than enough resources to give your life privacy when you want it, but when you step outside the bubble, and you have to or you can’t live the life you want, you will have to deal with being famous.”

She smiled. “Now, you’ve already done the smartest thing you could do right now. You’ve hired yourself a publicist. I’ll be working with Agent Travis and Tony Whitfield and whoever else I need to to ensure your life is what you want it to be.”

“I appreciate that,” I said. I sipped my tea, which to Travis and Emelia’s credit was delicious.

“When you saw that photo of yourself just now, what was your first instinct?” she asked.

I looked over at Zane. “To apologize.”

She nodded. “I thought so. And you must never, ever do that. Not publically.”

I frowned at her and nibbled on a cucumber sandwich. “OK, I don’t get it.”

“All those types of fame I mentioned? One thing they all have in common is that fame warps everything. The first to go is the distinction between what is secret and what is simply private.”

She looked over at Chloe, who was frowning in concentration. I knew I’d have to explain a lot of the conversation to her later.

“Chloe, do you go to the bathroom?”

Chloe rolled her eyes. “Duh.”

“Sometimes when you’re using the toilet, does it get a little stinky in there?”

She scowled. “So what?”

Lainey nodded. “Exactly. Going to the toilet is something everyone does. There’s obviously nothing wrong with it. But tell me, would you like to do it in front of other people?”

“No, I would not!”

“Well, that’s good.” Lainey smiled. “Same with blowing your nose or scratching your bottom or snoring when you sleep and a hundred other things.” She looked at me.

“When you get caught on camera doing something completely normal and natural, however embarrassing you find it, never apologize. Never let them make you feel you’ve done something wrong. They’ll imply it just to read ratings and clicks. You can’t let it get into your head.”

She held up the tablet again. “Now, pretend you’re looking at someone else. Someone famous that you don’t know. What do you see?”

“A human woman standing there smelling wolf perfumes.”

“Is that a crime?”

“No, just socially awkward.”

Blue eyes narrowed at me. “Really? Was there a sign saying the perfumes were for werewolves?”

I thought about it. “No.”

“Whose job was it to warn you those were wolf perfumes?”

“Oh, the saleslady, I suppose.”

“Can you say that with a bit more confidence? If it were wrong of you to smell wolf scents, who should have enforced that rule?”

“The saleslady.”

“Now, we’re just about done with my little lecture,” she said with a sly smile. “What do you suppose male werewolves think when they see this photo of a lovely human female enjoying herself with wolf perfumes?”

I didn’t mean to, but my eyes shot to Zane, who was studying his teacup intently. Travis met my gaze, and then he shrugged. “I never said I wasn’t a man.”

Zane shot him a look.

Lainey laughed. “Exactly.” She waved a hand and put the table down. “Now, I’m going to have a scone with some of that delicious-looking jam, and if someone takes a picture of me talking with food in my mouth or spilling jam on my shirt, I’ll be embarrassed, and then I’ll get over it.”

To answer her, I reached for a scone as well.

The meeting relaxed after that, and I realized I really could put the perfume photo from my mind. There would be many more and more after that. I couldn’t live my life from one viral crisis to the next.

By the time we were all eating fruit tarts, we were talking about Tuesday’s talk show appearance. At the children’s insistence, I did indeed model my outfit for Lainey, who claimed she thoroughly approved. I told her about Madam Grace and Lady Chloe and offered to let her borrow them when she needed.

“I’ll remember that,” she said graciously, and I smiled at the thought that this perfectly turned-out she-wolf would need to ask anyone about her clothes.

“So tell me,” Lainey said as she was gathering her things. “What’s your most desired goal for this talk show?”

I thought about it. “That I do well enough, I’m entertaining enough that they won’t feel the need to pursue Chloe and Grace. Their childhoods aren’t to be twisted up by this.”

“We’ll be OK, Mommy,” Chloe said. Grace nodded.

I smiled at them both. “I know, but you know I want to protect you. You’re my babies, aren’t you?”

Chloe hated being called a baby and wrinkled up her nose in disgust. I laughed.

“It’s a good goal,” Lainey said. “So, when they’re mentioned, and they will be, just make a little small talk about how great they are and then move the conversation along.”

“The girls are private, not secret,” I said.

She beamed. “Exactly.”

While the girls went to wash up under Travis’s watchful eyes, Zane and I led her to the front door. She opened it, then half-turned back to Zane and asked, “So, did I pass?”

“Pass?”

“The meeting. Surely it was at least partly a test.”

But Zane shook his head. “Sarah said you were what she wanted. I was just glad you said yes.”