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“I think you’re going to need luck more than me,” he said.
I almost ended the call, but remembered he was the one who called me three times already. “Wait, what did you want?” I asked. “Not just to rub it in that you have an airtight reason not to go out with us tonight.”
“Yes, actually.” There was a long pause, and I knew he was working up to something. “I saw a few pictures of you in the gossip pages.”
“Yeah?” That wasn’t new. I tried to keep it from happening by never going to the same place too often. I quickly pulled up the local news sites and searched for my name. “Oh, crap.”
The pictures weren’t great. One was of me on the sidewalk in front of a club with Pamela draped all over me. Her dress was so short it revealed the rounded undersides of her ass and her hands were inside my jacket, clutching at my chest like she was trying not to topple over. I was clearly sauced as well.
The next picture was inside the club, with Pamela sitting on my lap. We both had drinks in our hands, her other hand was out of the shot, thank goodness, because it was down my pants at that point. I swallowed hard.
“Oh crap,” I repeated.
“Indeed.”
I wanted to cut his disappointed big brother routine off at the pass. “Listen, don’t worry about it. I’m not seeing her anymore.”
“Good, because there’s someone who I think you’d like. She’s a defense attorney, but is—”
“Are you really trying to set me up on a date?”
“I already set it up,” he said smugly. “Listen. It’s clear you need a woman in your life at all times so—”
“No, I don’t,” I argued.
He only laughed. “So it may as well be a respectable one.” His tone changed. “We’re worried about you. I know you don’t just go out on weekends anymore, these pictures are from Tuesday. You’re drinking way too much. Just do me this favor because I honestly think you two would click. I set up a dinner on Monday.”
“Monday?” I whined, acting the way he was treating me.
“You suddenly have a problem going out on weeknights?” he countered.
I knew it would be easiest to just go and get it over with. If he and Ben were having secret meetings about me, I’d have to put on a good face, so this woman would return a favorable report. Because I knew that’s what this was about.
“I’m being serious, Eli,” Will said. “If you keep ending up in pictures like that, it’s going to start hurting our family name. What would—”
“Don’t you fucking say it,” I said, furious. I knew our dad would be disappointed, heartbroken even. “I’ll go to dinner with her, but don’t ever set me up on a date like that again.”
“I honestly think you two will hit it off,” he said. “There’s nothing like having a good woman in your life.” His voice broke. “Promise you’ll give her a real chance.”
“Fine.”
“Send her flowers, I want her to be impressed with you.”
I grumbled and ended the call. Now I was depressed on top of being furious. Will should have been the one going on dates to find a good woman to be in his life, but he thought that ship had sailed after Callie died. Now he was meddling and I had to not just lay low for a while, but I had to impress his spy or he’d keep worrying about me. All I needed was for Ben to fly out from Montana to stage some kind of misguided intervention for me.
I had a sudden, awful thought. What if Will told our mom about his concerns? Was she going to nag me about my extracurricular activities as well? I would be damned if I let her do it. As if she had any right.
Violet poked her head in the door. “Sorry, I tried to buzz you,” she said.
I only stared at her, like an oasis in the desert. For a bizarre moment I wanted to bitch about my family life to her, as if we were friends. But we weren’t. I’d seen to that. I asked her what she needed.
“Just wondering if there was anything else you needed before I head out?” She used her sickly sweet voice, which meant she was still pissed at me.
Which meant she was eager to get out and have a good weekend, kicked off with dinner and a movie with Jed. I couldn’t have that, and at the same time I saw a way to keep my mother from getting too personal tonight.
“Actually, there’s a last minute dinner meeting I’ll need you for.” She was going to kill me.
Her face faltered only a little. “Tonight? I have plans.”
