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“I’m assuming you want me to talk to Nina?” she asked once the server was gone.
“Yes, please,” April said. “She looks up to you so much more than you realize, London. She’ll listen to you.”
London wasn’t so sure about that. The fact is, she didn’t see her younger siblings very often. It wasn’t something she was proud of, and she constantly promised herself that she would try to do a better job at being a big sister, but with her schedule andtheirschedule, which was nearly as hectic as hers with all their extracurricular activities, months could go by before she saw Nina, Koko, and Miles.
The only reason she saw April as much as she did was that she usually tagged along when London and her mom got together for their monthly—okay, every other month these days—dinner.
“I just don’t know what to do about any of this,” April said. “Nina and I have always had such a good relationship, but lately it’s as if I’m enemy number one.”
“She’s fourteen and you’re her mother,” Janette said as she picked up a roll. “Believe me, youareenemy number one. I speak from experience. And it will only get worse.”
“I was not that bad,” London insisted. She looked to April. “I’ll be honest, I’m not even sure how to approach Nina without biting her head off. She shouldknowbetter.”
“She’s fourteen!” Janette reiterated. “She’s a walking hormone who is trying to impress a boy. You don’t want to hear the kinds of things I did to get boys to notice me when I was that age.”
“No, I do not,” London said. “I never want to hear about that.Ever.” Her mother rolled her eyes at her. “I’ll talk to her,” London said. “And I’ll try to impart just how awful life could get for her if those pictures were to fall into the wrong hands.”
Fallinto the wrong hands? Her sister had nearly delivered them with a fucking bow into the wrong hands. Because a fourteen-year-old boy’s hands werealwaysthe wrong hands. London’s heart started to pound with panic just at the thought of what could have happened if April hadn’t caught her in the act.
Oh, God. The breadth of this horrible situation suddenly hit her. April had caught her. In. The. Act!
How humiliating must it have been for Nina to have her mother walk in on her taking full-frontal nude photos? London would cringe into eternity if something like that had ever happened to her at that age—or any age.
And now they wanted her to talk to Nina?
But how could she say no?
“What about Saturday?” London asked. “Maybe I can take her to the mall or bowling alley or wherever teenagers like to hang out.” It’s not as if she knew. She hadn’t hung out with other teenagers even back when shewasa teenager.
April reached across the table and covered London’s hand. “Thank you so much, honey. I hope you can get through to her.”
London just hoped she made it through the conversation without her head literally exploding.
After dinner, her mom invited her to come over to the house for pound cake. Even though Janette lived only five minutes away and pound cake sounded divine, London declined. She also declined her mother’s leftover flatbread pizza, while making a promise that she would not skip any more meals.
By the time she was in her car and heading back to the freeway, London’s nerves were completely shot, and she was in desperate need of a way to unwind. As she waited at a red light, she picked up her phone and texted Drew.
Want company?
His response was almost instant.
You never have to ask that question. Get over here.
She cursed the stupid smile that formed on her lips, but it refused to go away. They still weren’t friends, but maybe she could move him into the frenemy category.
16
Drew divided his attention between his computer and the door to his apartment. His body had been humming with anticipation ever since he received London’s text. But he needed to finish typing up his notes on the request for proposal one of their managing partners sent for review before he could focus on tonight’s activities. The RFPs from a chain of urgent care clinics based out of Kansas City had come in earlier this week, and if Trident was chosen to evaluate their management system and come up with best practices, it would be their largest project yet.
And further confirmation that leaving the Meacham Group had been the right move. Although, the fact that he no longer chewed antacids like candy was all the confirmation Drew needed to know that leaving his old hedge fund had been the best—theonly—choice. Whoever said money can’t buy you peace of mind knew what the hell they were talking about.
The knock on the door came just as he hit send on his email to Melissa, the partner taking the lead on the urgent care project. Drew closed his laptop and set it aside before quickly making his way to the door.
He opened it, prepared to trade barbs with London, per their usual twisted brand of foreplay. But that changed the moment he took in her expression.
He stepped out of the way so that she could enter the apartment.
“It doesn’t look like you’re here for what I thought,” Drew said.
