Maia adjusted her dress in the back of the limo. The slit up her left thigh, the undamaged one, twisted as she sat, and she continually had to make sure it wasn’t drifting to reveal her bandage on the other leg. “I should have gone with the Gelinas jumpsuit.”

“The color was all wrong for you.” April didn’t look up from her phone. She was sending her daily update to Aaron, extolling Maia’s creative genius on The Late Show.

“I can do mint.”

“You can do Oreo mint, not pastel.”

Maia pouted. “Who stole your mint Oreos?”

April laughed. “Sorry. Aaron wants clips, and I’m about ready to tell him to stick it.”

“Send him a link to the show’s website.”

April gasped. Her hand splayed across her chest. “You want me to shirk my duties?”

“I want you to have fun tonight. You work too hard.”

April’s smile was layered with her daily to-do list. “It will all be worth it when this tour is over.”

Maia turned to look out the window. “I hope so.” The city lights played on the darkened windows. The people on the sidewalks were dressed in everything from rags to designer dresses and fake furs. A woman with a turban and loose-fitting white pants strutted the sidewalk in an ankle-length, silver fox coat. Liquid silver hung from her ears and draped across her body in long strands. Okay, maybe that fur was real.

The car slowed and April reached for the door handle. Maia could barely make out the blue jacket of a footman, the brass buttons dull through the dark glass. There were a few photographers waiting behind a velvet rope, their cameras dangling from thick straps. April stepped out first and scanned the area. She nodded to the footman and walked forward.

Maia hung on to the slit as she swung both legs out, searching for the pavement with her Gianvito Rossi Leather Portofino heels. The footman offered his white-gloved hand and she used it to pull herself to her feet. Cameras snapped and her name floated from lip to lip. She stepped forward and was rushed from the side.

Ice-cold liquid hit her in the face and cascaded down her neck and chest. She gasped and was hit with a second deluge. Shocked, she swiped the liquid from her face. The juice was so cold that it clung to her eyelashes in frozen clumps, making it difficult for her to see.

“You’re not good enough for him!” screamed the angry man. “Stay away!”

Maia held her arms in front of her face for protection. Her cheeks were cold and she could hardly breathe for the cold on her chest.

“In the car!” screamed April. She shoved Maia backward, and the two of them landed on the limo floor, their limbs tangled. “Go! Go!” April shouted at the driver. The car lurched forward and the door slammed shut.

Maia struggled to move out from under April. But her dress was caught in the door. The small train hadn’t made it all the way inside.

April rolled off of her and cursed. “Your leg?”

Maia took inventory. “It hurts like the devil, but I think the stitches held. Bless the plastic surgeon.” She sat up. Her skin was warming and chunks of red and blue ice fell on the carpet when she moved. “What is this?”

“Slushie.” April flicked a chunk off Maia’s shoulder. “Berry blue and raspberry red, if I remember my flavors correctly. You okay?”

Maia nodded. “I think so.” She shook out her arms, spraying the limo floor with slush. “What the heck was that?” She laughed. “I can’t believe that just happened.”

April wasn’t laughing. “What did he yell?”

Maia’s laughter died as her attacker’s words came back full force. She swallowed the lump of fear in her throat. “‘You’re not good enough for him.’”

“Who? London! You think this has to do with London?”

Maia considered the question. “Or Franz. No one knows I know London. We’ve been on the DL.”

“It can’t be Franz. You guys don’t go out unless it’s official. No one in their right mind would think you were together.”

“Does this look like someone in their right mind?” Maia held up her red-and-blue-and—in some places where the flavors mixed—purple-stained arms.

“I guess not.” April’s phone rang. She checked the screen. “It’s Aaron.”

“That’s just great. You’d better answer.”

April accepted the call. “Aaron, there’s a little situation here.”

“I heard.”

“How did you hear about it so quickly?” April demanded. “We aren’t even dried off yet.”

“The photographers caught the whole incident. They went live. I’m watching them haul the guy off.”

“They caught him.” April struggled to her knees.

“Head over to the police department so you can make a statement. Legal is all over this.”

Maia sighed. “I look like the creature from the Blue Lagoon, Aaron. I want a shower!” Maia yelled towards April’s phone.

“Sorry, kiddo.”

“Don’t call me kiddo,” Maia ground out.

Aaron fell silent, probably wondering where his sweet princess had gone.

“I’m going to the police station, Aaron, but you owe me one.”

“I hear ya,” he griped.

Maia blinked once. “All right then.” April took care of saying goodbye, and Maia leaned forward to tell the driver their new destination. Her night of fun and slipping back into her old life became a giant headache with a side of sticky underwear.