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“For what? A guide if I ever undertake emergency time travel back to the Victorian era?”
“To make Venom jealous, dummy.”
Nadia’s mention of Zeke, even by the stupid road name I refuse to use, brings all the hurt I feel at his rejection back to the surface. I rise from the toilet lid and shoulder past her. Like the brilliant friend she is, Nadia doesn’t take offence.
Instead, she trots after me, stopping short when she finds me standing at the row of basins as I stare at myself in the pitted mirror that covers the wall in front of us.
“Am I truly that repulsive?” I ask as I drag a hand through my dishevelled hair, then gesture at my breasts and my arse. “Too fat?”
“You’re gorgeous. Soft and curvy.”
“Immature?”
“You’re the most sensible girl I know.”
“Then why doesn’t Zeke want me?”
Nadia lays a gentle hand on my shoulder. Our gazes lock in the mirror and she regards me with enough empathy to make me want to cry. “There’s nothing wrong with you, Anna. It’s just that boys—” She shakes herself before she amends. “—men like Zeke have options and that makes them stupid. Sometimes they can’t see what’s right in front of them until it’s too late.”
“So, I should lock myself away like a spinster aunt while he fucks everything with a pulse… until he realises that I’m actually perfect for him.”
“No, Padawan, you make him see what he’s missing.”
“I’ve tried that.”
Nadia smirks. “Did you know that Alex is loitering outside. Pretty sure he’s waiting for you to walk past so he can “accidentally” run into you again.”
“Great.” I roll my eyes. “I can get a weirdo to pursue but not Zeke.”
“Weird or not, he’s the perfect person to make Zeke realise that you’re a woman. Alex is rich. He’s connected. He’s obviously interested in you. He can wine and dine you in a way that not many men can match.”
“I don’t care about stuff like that.”
“I know that, but men are dumb and ego driven. All it’ll take is for a couple well-placed comments about your new boyfriend to get back to Venom to send him into a tizzy. He’ll be riding into Inadale, like a leather knight on his rumbling stead, within a fortnight to claim you. Guaranteed.”
Hope floods me. “Do you really think so?”
“I know so.” Nadia bops me on the nose. “Now make yourself presentable. You have a rich prick to snag.”
“Do you think it’s fair to use Alex like that?” I ask as my conscience niggles me.
The snort that rips from Nadia’s nose is inelegant in the extreme. “Believe me, Anna, that particular rich prick deserves to be knocked down a peg or two. This is a victimless crime—I swear the sisterhood will declare a public holiday in your honour if you go through with this.”
“Okay,” I acquiesce in the face of her certainty. Dampening a wad of paper towel, I wipe down my face. Nadia grabs a hairbrush from her oversized handbag and hands it to me. I scrape my hair back into a high bun. Once I’m satisfied that I’m neat and tidy, straighten my shoulders and clear my throat. “Any final words of wisdom, Yoda?”
“Go and use that rich prick to get your man!”
Rolling my eyes at her, I venture outside and into the pitch-black. The midnight countdown has already commenced. Guilt flares in my chest and I start to rethink my scheme. This sort of thing doesn’t come naturally to me.
Deciding to back out, I feel around in the dark until I touch the cinder block wall of the building. With a sigh, I lean against the cold brick.
I’m alone.
In the dark.
About to see in the new year without Zeke.
It feels like an omen.
