AllFreeNovel
Share Us
Maybe I’m a masochist of the heart. By going on this trip, I’m just opening myself up to be hurt even more than I already have been by her betrayal. While I know I’d be indulging the part of myself that doesn’t want to let go of the ache, I can’t shake the gut feeling that I have to go.
“You’re going to go no matter what, aren’t you?”
I half-laugh. “You know me too well.”
Colin leans forward and ruffles his hands through his curly brown hair, cursing under his breath. “Okay. Fine. How can I help?”
I smile nervously. “Well, I need a Stella.”
“Don’t even think about –”
“You won’t even let me ask?”
“That’s my sister!”
“You’ve made that very clear!”
Colin huffs, stuttering as he tries to find something to say. “You could hire someone. An actress. This is New York, for God’s sake.”
“You know that it would fall through,” I say. “It would take literally one Google search to find the girl’s headshot and resume.”
Colin rubs his temples. “Can’t you just lie and say you said a different name?”
“Gaslight her?!”
“Oh, come on, it’s not like she wouldn’t deserve it. She isn’t exactly a saint, Flynn.”
Colin does have a point there. “I like to take the high road.”
“You’re not taking Stella.”
I wring my hands and anxiously crack my knuckles. “You know nothing would happen.”
“Uh-uh-uh. You say that now. But you two would have to pretend to be a couple and that would involve some stomach-churning hand-holding and cheek kisses and –” Colin presses his hand to his mouth. “I’m getting sick just thinking about it.”
I know this is a stretch. I got myself into this mess and I should work on getting myself out of it instead of committing to the godforsaken bit. But at this point, the only way out is through. “Couldn’t she use a vacation? It’s two weeks in the Med.”
Colin stops; I see the cogs turning in his head. He’s… considering.Yes.“You’d pay for everything.”
I withhold a smile. I feel like he’s on the verge of agreeing. “Of course. Without a doubt.”
“And you wouldn’t –”
I wave my hands through the air. “Wouldn’t dream of it. She looks too much like my best friend anyway.”
Colin kicks me under the table. I may have deserved that. But it’s the truth. They have the same curly brown hair and matching hazel eyes, although Stella’s are more flecked with amber while Colin’s lean more toward green. “So…what do you think?” I ask as I rub my shin.
He looks out the window at the tiny streets below. Maybe wishing he were anywhere in New York but here. “Fine. You can ask her.”
“Would you go with me to, you know, mediate?”
Colin scoffs. “I’ll go with you to Jersey, but I’ll be damned if I participate in that conversation.”
I nod. That’s more than I deserve. “I owe you.”
Colin narrows his eyes at me. “But if she says no, you can’t beg.”
I can’t make a promise that I won’t beg at least a little, but I nod. “Deal.”
