Between Now and Heartbreak - Dylan Allen Page 0,78

I know she can feel how much I mean what I’m saying.

She’s quiet for a long minute and then she says, “So, tell me what you need.” I feel like an ass asking her for something when I’ve hurt her so much.

“I’m assuming this has something to do with that girl?” She says when I don’t respond right away.

“What girl?” I ask, thrown that she’s honed in on that so quickly.

She sighs in exasperation.

“Are we really going to do this? I know she’s half the reason you’re down there. She did a number on you last summer. I thought you’d never stop glaring at your phone.”

“I’m glad you found my torment amusing,” I grouse.

“I was glad you’d had the experience of disappointment. I think you needed something like that. For perspective. Learning what it’s like to lose something you can’t get back is humbling. And you, my dear, needed some of that badly.”

“What are you talking about?” My affront isn’t feigned.

“You walked away from a huge deal because you didn’t feel like it. I bet you think it’ll come back around, because you’re so talented all you have to do is announce that you’re back and everyone will throw flowers at your feet?”

“Are you kidding? Of course I don’t,” I argue.

“Of course you do. Your ego is huge and now that you know you’re the chosen one, it’s gotten ridiculous.”

“The chosen one? Nadia, that’s crazy.”

“Jack and I were the result of failed birth control. I’m just saying, now that you know that the world doesn’t revolve around you, maybe you’ll stop spitting in fortune’s face every time she smiles at you.”

I laugh at that. “You have no idea what you’re talking about. I’ve never thought the world revolved around me. And I walked away from that deal because I didn’t want the publicity. But now, I want something more than I want my privacy.”

“And that would be?”

“Beth.”

There’s a beat of stunned silence.

“Wow.”

“I’ve never been in love before, Nadia.”

“I know, honey. Is she coming with you this time?” she says lovingly.

“I wish.”

I tell her everything that’s happened.

“You should have called me when all this went down. I could have helped you.” She says piteously.

“You mean you would have meddled. I don’t need my big sister sending threatening emails demanding my bully leave me alone.”

“You were twelve, and I won’t apologize for that. But this is different. We have to get rid of this Duke.”

“I’m actively trying to avoid becoming a murderer, Nadia, but thanks for the suggestion,” I say dryly.

“Murder is for amateurs,” she says, and I can’t help but laugh at her blithe tone.

“Okay, Nadia Bosh, tell me how you’d do it.”

“Catfish him, and get something really incriminating…his father is a politician, right? I’d get a video of him taking it up the ass with my strap-on – and then blackmail him into walking away.”

I’m stunned silent for a second.

“You watch too much reality television.”

“No, I’m serious. Arrogant men are the easiest marks, the best cons.”

“What do you know about cons and blackmail?”

She laughs like she would at a child she’s humoring.

“I’ve built a skin care line brand based on nothing but amazing selfies and staged lifestyle photo shoots. They’re admittedly fantastic pictures, but that’s all they are. The product is fine, but they’ve bought into me and not one bit of it is real. I’m the ultimate con woman. And I’m telling you, he would be an easy mark. But, now, we don’t have that kind of time. You’re coming home in a couple of weeks. You need to make sure she comes with you or that you have a plan in place to make sure she’ll be close behind you.”

I think about what I’ve got to offer, and it’s not much. Maybe I’m the one mired in mediocrity. Duke, while being a complete douche, at least can offer her a home. I deride her desire for financial security, but I also can’t deny that I’ve enjoyed having money for the last few months.

“She’d have to walk away from everything she’s ever wanted if she chooses me,” I lament.

“You can’t frame it like it’s a choice between you and him.”

“Well, it is.”

“No, it’s not. God, I raised you better than this,” she says in mock despair.

“Please just say whatever I’m missing,” I say, my impatience for a solution that wouldn’t make me feel like I’ve ruined her life holds my sense of humor hostage.

“Carter, it’s clear. It’s a choice between a vibrant life where she has to work hard