Jenna leaves, and Meghan decides to give Prim a makeover. Pa and Jake are excitedly talking over webcam, and Alistair is eyeing me with a smoldering grin.
Take him up to the loft. He’s handsome, your father loves him, and he’s hilarious, the perfect man to help you forget about…him…
“Rough night?” I ask.
“Legendary,” he replies. “I found out my hand can fit inside an entire vagina.”
I choke on my laughter.
“So, how’d you like that pickup line?” he asks with a waggle of his brow.
“Pardon?”
His gaze is locked on mine, and my chest feels tight.
“You’re single, and rumor has it, slightly heartbroken.”
“Who’s been spreading rumors?”
He blinks half a dozen times. “So it’s true? Honestly, in order to hold a position like mine, you need to be able to read people. You have heartbreak written all over you, so I started the rumor myself.”
I cast him a distrusting glare.
“Anyway, I’m single and very good at making women forget about their asshole exes,” he whispers into my ear as he traces my jawline with a finger. “I’m terrible boyfriend material, but I’m good for a night. What do you say?”
The room grows ten degrees hotter. Alistair Whent is known for a lot of things, being arrogant, mischievous, and devastatingly sexy. I could definitely do worse.
“I-I don’t know…”
“Well, if you don’t take him up to the loft, I might.” Mom comes out of nowhere, cleaning plates off the table.
“Mom! How could you say that? Dad—” I look to the other room, where my dad’s merrily chatting over webcam.
“Oh, don’t give me heck. I’ll put him on my list.”
“List? What list?”
“The ‘freebie’ list. You know, the list of celebrities we’re allowed to sleep with if given the opportunity.”
“You and dad have lists!”
“I even knew about the list,” Prim says. “Clint Eastwood fell off last year and was replaced with Idris Elba.”
“What?”
“It was surprising, but no one could blame her. Even Jake understood, and he’s a big ole stick in the mud.”
“Whaddaya say?” Mom says with a waggle of her brow towards Alistair.
“Gross! I’m going up to the loft. Don’t even think of bringing him up there.”
As I make my way out to the barn and up to the loft, it strikes me how relaxed everyone is now. A month ago, my father didn’t have a kind word to say to me, and Jake was none too kind either. Now, it’s like we’re a real family again.
Somehow, through tragedy, I managed to turn my life around when I didn’t even know how backwards it was. All without sacrificing my career. I’ve had four Instagram stories released, all of them going viral within minutes of being posted, proving that I can still draw an audience.
Despite everything, even my boy problems, I feel like the best is yet to come.
My phone buzzes and I look down to see a text from Ted, who is probably looking to congratulate me on my success. Smiling, I open the app.
