Christie is a professional dancer who was even onDancing with the Starswith Callum. After that, she transitioned into singing and released an album, went on tour. Got famous for her cute little dance moves, baby doll dresses, and iconic lyrics.
I’m not really into that kind of music, but even I listened to her album when it came out last summer. And the deluxe version when that came outthissummer. And her Christmas special when she recorded a bunch of cheeky, poppy Christmas songs…
On the screen, Mandy—whom I’ve only seen through internet stalking—is walking hand-in-hand with the pop star. Christie wears a pair of lilac purple sweatpants rolled up around her waist, her flat stomach tanned and exposed, a belly button ring sparkling in the light.
Mandy has this nearly platinum blonde hair that’s completely natural—as far as I can tell. When I scrolled through her Instagram photos, I watched the slow transition from it being straight, silky, every day, to her allowing waves to come back, falling softly around her shoulders.
And in this photo, those waves are pushed back by the breeze, showing off her smile as she’s caught mid-turn looking over at Christie Elle like she hung the moon.
In all my time running around with Dad, we met plenty of celebrities. Talked to diplomats and ran through important political buildings. It’s not like I’ve never been around an important person before. But there’s something different—something entirely surreal—about realizing Luca exists in this sphere. One in which his ex-wife could date the world’s biggest up-and-coming pop star.
“Wren?” Sloane presses, shaking the phone a little bit and drawing me out of my thoughts. When I refocus, my eyes shifting to hers, it takes me a second to reconcile with the look on her face.
In the time that I’ve known her, there are basically three moods I’ve come to expect from Sloane McKenzie: happy, crying, or crying happy tears. And right now, she’s not falling into any of those categories.
Right now, she looks like she wants to fight someone.
“No,” I finally manage, recognizing how strange it is that she’s asking me this question. It speaks to how much time Luca and I have been spending together, that his own sister thinks I might know something she doesn’t.
Except Idoknow something she doesn’t know. I know that he’s getting divorced, and I know the strange details of their marriage. But I definitelydidn’tknow that his ex-wife was dating a pop star. And I don’t think anyone would have guessed Christie Elle to be queer.
“When I get my hands on her…” Sloane growls. And with that, she turns and starts stalking down the hall. For some reason—curiosity, worry—I turn and follow her, nearly running into the first person who steps out of the door at the end of the hall.
“Hey, hey, woah,” Callum says, his hands finding his wife’s biceps, settling her like he’s predicted this mood even before seeing her. “Let’s take a deep breath—”
“Did you know?” Sloane asks, her voice rising. “Cal, what the fuck? With Christie Elle? Have you talked to her about this? Did Christietellyou about this? Mandy has some fucking nerve to cheat on my brother—”
“She’s not cheating.”
The three of us turn to see Luca stepping into the hallway, looking like he’s barely keeping it together. Maverick and Petrov slide out behind him, both of them dispersing, clearly wanting nothing to do with this.
“What the hell are you talking about?” Sloane asks, glancing between her brother and the picture on her phone. “I’m all for strong friendships between women, but Luca, Mandy looks like she’s inlovein this picture—”
“We’re getting a divorce, Sloane.”
The silence in the hallway is actuallypainful, my heart twisting, an internal cringe forming inside of me. Something likesecondhand embarrassment, secondhand emotional turmoil. Watching Sloane digest this information.
One day, while we were waiting in a hotel lobby for a taxi to the airport, Sloane had gone on a rant to me about her sister-in-law.
“She’s just…sobland,” she’d said, “I have no idea what Luca sees in her.”
You’d think she’d be happy about the revelation that he’s getting a divorce. Maybe it’s the pregnancy hormones, or maybe it has to do with their dynamic, but Sloane doesn’t look happy. She looks royally pissed off.
“You’re getting a divorce?” she hisses, gaze skipping between her brother and husband. “And you didn’t tell me?”
I start to inch down the hallway, trying to leave as quietly as I can, but Luca’s eyes flick to mine over Callum’s shoulder, and I halt. For some reason, I get the feeling that he wants me to stay.
It’s stupid. It doesn’t make sense. Why would Luca want me here for this? It’s not like I’m his girlfriend. We’re not even friends, really.
But I stay. Because I’m pretty good at reading people, and that’s what I’m reading from him, right now.
Maybe he wants me here because I’m the only other person who knows the truth.
“I was going to wait until things were final,” Luca says, his voice completely calm, level, which I’ve come to recognize as his default state. “There was no point in telling you until it was through—”
“How long has this been going on for?” Sloane asks, shaking her head. “Luca. Mandy hasn’t come to anything. I thought that was just her being her, but was it because of this? When did you guys—I mean, when did—?”
“She told me she wanted a divorce last summer.”
