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“She knows his schedule?”
“Yeah. They share a Google Calendar.”
Of course they do. “Okay. I can come.”
“Good. Now, can you explain this to me? If what I have with Jake is love?”
“Maybe. Tell me what happened on Saturday.” I slide off the desk and sit next to her on the couch. “Maybe that will help.”
She looks around the office. She checks her cell—three texts from Willa, two from Jake—then places the device face down on the couch. “The second we got to Jake’s place I could feel it. This was going to be the night. He lit candles. He played Sade. He asked if I wanted a drink. A cosmo. He’d bought everything to make one. He’d been practicing.”
He does love her.
“It was overwhelming. I had to excuse myself to use the bathroom, the one in the bedroom with more privacy. And I saw it there. Rose petals on the bed. Actual rose petals. And there was a gift-wrapped box and a card, too. It said, ‘I love you, Lexi.’ That’s all it said. And I just couldn’t do it. Because what if we weren’t good? What if he was too fast or too slow? Or I forget how to do things?”
“Then you try again,” I say.
“Is this love, though? Feeling sick because you’re worried about disappointing someone? Or them disappointing you?”
“It might be.”
“Oh god.” Her face goes pale. “I love a man I haven’t fucked.”
“Is that a bad thing?”
“What if we don’t fit there?” She shakes her head. “How am I supposed to live with that?”
“You don’t have to.”
“But the app… What if this is a deal-breaker for Willa?” she asks. “She already hates me. She’s looking for a reason to write me off. To not work with us. I know it.”
“Even if it means the end of the app,” I say. “You don’t have to.”
She throws herself against the couch again. “Really? That’s okay? You’ll forgive me?”
Does she think I wouldn’t? “Of course.”
“But…it’s not theoretical, Dee. The guy Willa is bringing to the resort. He’s the guy who co-owns the firm. This is our real test. The dinner in a few weeks won’t matter if we fuck this up. She’s going to believe it’s real now. Or we’re never going to convince her.”
Chapter Twenty-Nine
Deanna
Lexi looks at me with expectation in her blue eyes.
I’m the wise sister, the honest one, the loyal one.
Only I’m none of those things. Not right now.
“I know it’s a lot of pressure,” I say. “I can’t help with that. I can’t control what Willa will do. But I’m on your side, whatever you want.”
“Even if we lose funding and close shop?”
“Even if.”
Lexi frowns. “I don’t know if I’ll forgive myself.”
“We’ll figure it out, Lexi. Whatever happens. I promise.”
