“If you’re feeling lucky, then what made you miss the tournament in New York City yesterday? You were registered.” She shoves her little microphone in my face, where it hovers like an annoying little gnat. I wish I could swat it like one.
I shrug. “Something came up, and I had to cancel. Family stuff.”
Her eyes light up, and I know I’ve given her just the in she wanted. “Anything to do with your stepsister?”
Deflect.“Isn’t the Toronto Tea your competitor, Marina? I’m surprised you’re giving their garbage article any air.”
“No one’s my competitor,” she says airily. “And you should be more worried about competition than me. You lost pretty badly at your New Year’s tournament, too. Scared of starting a losing streak?”
I snort. “No way. I’m not scared of things that will never happen.”
“Well, then what are you scared of?”
“Losing her.” The truth comes out before I have the time to filter it. It’s like the words have been lingering on my tongue, just waiting for some influencer to ask for them. I definitely shouldn’t be confessing how I feel to the whole internet before I’ve even had the courage to say it to Pippa.
But now that I have said it…fuck it.
“There’s only one woman I’ve ever loved, and the thought of losing her is fucking terrifying,” I tell a wide-eyed Marina. “Not having her around to check me when I’m being annoying, or kick my ass in poker, or mess up my Sequel algorithm by watchingThe Vampire Diariesover and over.Losing her would be the worst thing that could ever happen to me.”
“Losingwho?” Marina asks breathlessly.
I stare directly into the camera on her phone. “She knows who she is. As for the rest of you…well, you can probably figure it out. It’s probably pretty fucking obvious.”
With a wink, I spin and walk away from her. Telling the truth feels good. Amazing, actually. I should have done it ages ago. Maybe spilling to an influencer wasn’t exactly the way to do it, but whatever—I’ll deal with the consequences.
Pippa can be mad at me all she wants. The only way that thisthingbetween us can get the chance it deserves is if we bring it out in the open. It’s a risk, but since when have I been scared of taking risks?
Love isn’t a weakness. It’s the only gamble worth taking.
It’s probably too late. Pippa’s still leaving for her new apartment, still going on those fucking dates for work. But I’d rather play a bad hand to the end than fold and lose it all.
Marina shouts a few more questions after me, but I ignore them. I gave her more than enough of a soundbite.
It’s only a few more blocks before I arrive at the Copper Cup. I yank open the door, and I immediately almost run into a gigantic blue void. When I skid to a stop, the void recedes a few feet, enough for me to realize that I’m actually staring at a massive abstract painting.
“Excuse me,” a quiet voice says. There’s a tall, pale woman with pin-straight auburn hair staring at me, as I stand directly in the way of her navigating through the door with her large canvas.
“Shit, sorry.” I hold open the door for her to exit. “Unless this is an art heist and you’re stealing this painting.”
“It wouldn’t be a good art heist, since I’m replacing it with a different painting. And since it’s my painting to begin with.”
She starts navigating her way toward a white windowless van. When she opens the back door, I see a bunch of other paintings of various colors. She starts moving them around, like she’s rearranging them. I briefly wonder if I should offer to help, but Pippa would probably tell me you don’t corner a woman by herself by a windowless van.
Absolved, I walk inside and find Brinley standing behind the counter. She scowls when she sees me, for some reason.
“Uh, hey, Brinley.” I fiddle awkwardly with my hair. “Everything good?”
“Not really,” she sneers. Okay, she’s definitely mad at me, but I’m not in the mood to parse through her feelings. Pippa’s back at home, and I don’t want to leave her alone for too long.
“I’m here to pick up some books Pippa put on hold. And if you’ve got some almond croissants I could bring her, that would be great.”
She laughs. “Oh, so now you care about what Pippa wants?”
My eyebrows shoot up. “What the hell has you so pissed off?”
“Maybe you manipulating my friend’s feelings?” she snaps. “You insinuating your way into Pippa’s heart and hurting her? You think that maybe would get me mad?”
Ah. Brinley reads the Toronto Tea. Fan-freaking-tastic, and she believes their stupid lovebombing accusations. As if that stupid blog hasn’t done enough to ruin my life, it’s also turned one of Pippa’s best friends against me.
