“What do you mean?”
Carly rolled off him and pulled the newspaper off the nightstand. She scanned the article and then began reading aloud again.
“Jacobs is a former professional ballet dancer himself, and launched a career in photography, blah blah blah … Theonce-obscurephotographer jumped at the chance to combine his photography talent and ballet experience with his picturesque hometown. ‘Once-obscure?’ You weren’t obscure, you were established, and a big deal in Paris. She made a mistake. You should call the paper and ask for a correction.”
Nick’s pulse quickened as she talked. He licked his suddenly dry lips, trying to decide what to do. He’d spent enough time with Carly to know that she’d insist on asking theMorning Sunto correct what she believed was an error in their reporting. But if she did that, she’d have to learn the truth about him from Ivy Page. She’d learn he’d been lying to her, and she wouldn’t even hear it from him.
“Nick?” she said, looking up at him with wide eyes, the newspaper still clutched in her hand. “You should make them fix this.”
He ran a hand over his hair. “It’s not a big deal,” he shrugged, hoping he looked unruffled, “and I don’t take it as an insult. Plenty of artists do great work in obscurity. And besides, the paper’s already printed, so it’s too late to change it now.”
She shook her head in confusion, then sat up straighter against the bedhead. “It is a big deal! They got it wrong, and they can probably still fix it in the online version.” Her face was alight with anger on his behalf, ready to defend him yet again, because he’d let her think he was worth it.
He had to tell her. He ran his hand through his hair again, stalling, putting off the moment when her anger would turn on him and change everything.
“Forget it,” she sighed, and for a moment he thought he’d been reprieved. But then she reached for the nightstand again and reached for her phone. “I’ve got her email address, so I’m going to tell her myself.”
Shit. He had to tell her, now.
“Wait a second,” he said quickly, and she looked up from her phone. He swallowed hard. “Don’t send that to her. She … she didn’t make a mistake.”
Carly frowned, then spoke slowly and clearly, as though explaining something very obvious. “Yes, she did. You were not obscure before the photos went viral.”
He forced his mouth to form the words. “I was, though. I … things weren’t getting off the ground in Paris. I thought I’d done everything right, I worked all my connections in the dance world, but no one wanted to hire me. Aside from a few little shitty gigs, no one wanted yet another dance photographer. I’ve spent more time pouring drinks lately than I have taking photos.”
“Oh my God, the Manhattan recipe. But Marcus said—”
“I know. And I should have corrected him, but I was too embarrassed. And then things kind of … got away from me.”
Carly’s eyes had gone dark, and her face was set in an expressionless mask that made his heart pound with dread. “So you lied to him.”
“I—”
“You lied to all of us. You lied to me. To my face.” She spoke clearly, every syllable crisp and suffused with anger. She was gripping the newspaper so tightly that the corners were trembling.
“I didn’t mean to. I just … I didn’t want him to know how badly things were going. I didn’t want anyone to know.”
“So you didn’t tell him about your girlfriend, and you didn’t tell him about your job,” she said, tossing the newspaper off the bed. “You just let him believe a bunch of lies? What kind of friendship is this, Nick?”
A hot wave of shame swept across the back of his neck. “The same kind of friendship where you let your friend believe a bunch lies about your sex life for a decade,” he shot back. He heard her sharp intake of breath and regretted his words instantly.
“Fuck you,” she hissed. “I would do anything for Heather. I’m here on the other side of the world for her instead of at home trying to get promoted, because she’s like my sister, and I would never lie to her. I told her the truth about Jack even when I knew she wouldn’t hear it. Even when I knew it would make her hate me.” Her voice cracked, and she blinked away a sheen of tears.
She was right. She’d had the courage to tell her friend the truth even though it could have broken the friendship forever, and he couldn’t even tell Marcus he was going through a rough patch.
“I’m sorry. Really, I am. I should have told the truth,” Nick said. “Because the truth is, I came home feeling really lost, like I didn’t know what to do next. But working with you helped me feel like I’m finally on track.”
Carly’s expression turned thunderous. “I’m so thrilled to hear that, Nick. That’s so great foryou. I’m so glad thatyoufeel like you’ve gotyourshit together. Congratulations.”
“I just meant—”
“You just let me believe that you were some big deal photographer, that you weredeigningto help me. You let me hang my career hopes on abartender,” she said, looking at him with betrayal and disgust on her face. “And you didn’t just lie to me, you turned me into a liar! All those posts where I talked you up and bragged about what a big deal you were, how talented you are!”
She scrambled off the bed, as though she couldn’t stand being near him any more. “God, I’m so stupid,” she muttered, pacing the room. “No wonder everyone else has their lives together and I don’t. Because the one time I decide that maybethisman is different, thatthisman won’t fuck me over, he absolutely screws me.”
“That’s not fair. I did not screw you. I held up my end of the deal!”
“Only after you let mebeg youfor help, when I had no other options,” she cried, dashing a few more tears from her eyes. “You let me think you were doing me a favor! Like you didn’t need me as much as I needed you, but you did. You needed this as much as I did, maybe more. And now it’s worked out perfectly for you, and I’m exactly where I was when we started, which is nowhere!”
