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“Only if you tell me what you’re doing with that photo up there.” He gestured with his chin at a publicity shot of Pedro Carro, his nemesis, the new hotshot shortstop who was getting all the attention. It was an action shot of a wicked throw to first base.
“Oh this?” Playing innocent, Archie ripped the photo off the wall and walked it over to the dartboard, where he pinned it right in the middle. “Just waiting for our next showdown.”
“My man.”
They fist-bumped and Archie twirled a dart around in one hand, before flinging it at Pedro’s left foot.
As he was reading his own dart, Billy’s phone pinged with a message from Pete.
L. Delaney from Love + Life Magazine, tomorrow lunchtime. Best behavior.
Quickly he Googled Love + Life Magazine. It was a women’s magazine devoted to empowerment, relationship issues, and fashion.
He aimed at the dartboard and barely hit the outer ring. Uh-oh. Bad omen?
Six
What was the perfect outfit that would telegraph excellence in co-parenting but also a complete lack of romantic vibes? Half of Jenna’s closet was on the bed when Annika appeared in the doorway. Her sister propped one shoulder against the doorjamb and surveyed the mess.
“Are you doing a Marie Kondo thing?”
“Uh, no. None of my clothes spark joy right now. I’d be naked if I Marie Kondo’d my life. We’re meeting with the reporter in about an hour. I need a freaking outfit.”
Annika lifted her eyebrows as she polished an apple against her green sweater. Annika had a gift of always looking elegant, no matter how casual her clothes. It was her height, Jenna figured, and her confidence. She always looked as if she didn’t give a damn what anyone thought of her, which she didn’t. If she turned mismatched socks into wrist-warmers, it became a trend at school. If she made a mini-kilt out of their father’s old painting smock, it wound up on social media. After their mother had run away, Annika had stepped into the mama-bear bedtime-story role. She always started every story the same…
Once upon a time, there was a girl who lived in a castle near a lake.
Jenna had loved those stories so much she’d adapted them for the boys. She knew she was lucky to have Annika, but occasionally she wished her sister could understand what it felt like to be a less-confident, more-anxious person such as herself.
“Yeah, walk me through this again,” Annika was saying. “In order to get Billy on a team in Japan, you have to pretend you’re the perfect ex-couple?”
That sounded about right. “We have to show that he’s not an immature jerk anymore.”
Annika snorted. “It’s going to take more than an outfit to do that.”
“Stop that.”
“I’m teasing. I tease. That’s what I do. Billy’s used to it. It would freak him out if I stopped.”
“Well, maybe we’ll all get to find out some day.”
Annika sank her teeth into the apple. Her straight eyebrows drew together in concentration as she scanned the pile of clothes. “Okay, I take it back,” she said when she could talk again. “Billy is a lot of things, but he isn’t a jerk, never has been. How about that blue wrap dress? Total Stepford wife vibes.”
“Exactly. It would look like I’m trying too hard.”
“Pants, then. It’s got to be pants. No one wears a dress this time of year unless they’re trying to make an impression.” She strode toward the bed and plucked out a pair of indigo skinny jeans. “These will make you look young and cool. Which you are,” she added quickly, before Jenna could object. “Maybe a hoodie?”
“Too casual.”
“A sweater, then. Turtleneck, you always look great in those.” She tossed Jenna a soft dove-gray sweater. “And boots. Gotta wear boots, you need a little extra height to meet a reporter.”
Jenna held the pants and sweater against her body, modeling them together. Annika nodded in approval. “Earrings too. Tiny bit of mascara. Lip gloss. Nothing too blatant. And you’re good to go.”
“How do you know all this stuff?” Jenna marveled. “You’re a trauma nurse, not a stylist.”
“I’m not defined by my profession, just like you’re not defined by once being married to Billy Cooper.”
Maybe not, but it was a pretty important fact.
