Even though Serena saw the Blast Off party as a distraction from her goal, as soon as she and Griffin hit the road for the airport, she was glad for a break. Especially a break in the company of someone like Griffin. He was always such a strong, solid presence that something in her relaxed around him. That chip on her shoulder, the need to be sassy, to stand out, to be noticed—all of that dissolved around him.
With him, she didn’t feel like a “ghost person” because he really saw her. If that made any sense.
On the short flight to Santa Barbara, Griffin filled her in on the key players at the party, his sponsor, his ex-manager, his rep. The more he talked about the party, the more tense he got. She wondered if it would be hard to return to his old world for just one night.
“Is it going t
