The room instantly fell silent, like an interrogation chamber, when my phone buzzed for the second time.
Daniel Carter.
My heart tightened.
Max stopped chewing her gum.
Juno slowly lowered her glass of juice.
Sebastian immediately looked at Leo like he was watching a live episode of a drama series.
Meanwhile Leo…
He stared at my phone as if it were a ticking bomb.
I swallowed hard.
"Should I answer?"
Leo, eyes never leaving the screen, said quietly, "No, you don—"
But before he could forbid it, Max, Juno, Sebastian, and even the air in the room seemed to stare at me like,
"ANSWER IT. THIS IS PART OF THE PLAN."
I inhaled deeply.
Fine. Let's do this.
I swiped the screen and pressed the phone to my ear.
"Hello?" My voice came out soft, uncertain.
Immediately, that voice came through.
Gentle. Warm. Too personal.
"Valerie? I'm glad you picked up."
Everyone's heads turned toward me at once, synchronized like meerkats on Discovery Channel.
