I suppose I should be thankful that they aren’t angrier at me. I almost ruined our chance of getting funding for our business.
“So, what exactly is going on?”
“Do you remember when we all went to Tropez Dali, that club, on our senior trip in high school? When we stayed at that cheap motel in the city?”
“Yeah.” Willow nods. “When we pretended to know Mona Hilton … who, by the way, did you see she just got a talk show?”
“I didn’t, but, yes, that night.” I groan. “Do you remember me flirting with that one guy?”
“That super-hot guy who was fucking you with his eyes?” Brielle giggled. “But nothing happened ’cause you were too young.”
“Yes.” I give her a look. “The guy that was Zac’s older brother.”
“Wait.” Willow’s jaw drops. “Zac’s older brother is Jack?”
“Yes.” I wrinkle my nose. “The same one who told Zac to dump me. After Zac cheated on me.”
“Oh shit,” Brielle gasps. “No way. I had no clue. Wasn’t he also the guy you were going to lose your virginity to? If he said yes.”
“Girl.” I glare at her. Why did I share that information with them one night when we were divulging secrets?
“Yeah, you said if he hadn’t found out your age, you totally would have banged him.” Willow giggles. “I can’t believe I didn’t realize that it was Sebastian’s friend. What a small world.”
“Unfortunately.” I sigh and then moan loudly. “Why does this shit always happen to me? Out of all the investors and men in the world, why did Jack have to be one of them?” I feel like I could cry.
The fact of the matter is that seeing him again threw me for a loop.
“What do you want us to do?” Willow asks softly. “Sebastian is willing to be our sole investor, if it comes to that.”
She looks away, and my heart drops. I know the last thing Willow wants is for her new man to be backing our business. She’s determined to show that she’s not with him for the money, and while I understand, it just sucks. A couple of million would be nothing to Sebastian Laurence, and then we could open the bed-and-breakfast the three of us have been talking about for years.
We ran the Whispering Haven Bed & Breakfast for Charlotte for years. I know we can run our own, even if we don’t have all the details ironed out yet.
“I don’t want us to go through Sebastian,” I say reluctantly. Even though I hate Jack, my love for Willow is more than my pride. “I don’t mind us planning a new date to present to Jack, Santiago, Levi, Flynn, and Nate.” I shrug. “The last four seem like nice guys.” She grins. “And Sebastian as well.”
“Yeah, they do.” Brielle grins, and there’s a light in her eyes. “They are all so hot.”
“Anyone in particular?” I ask her, wondering if she has a crush.
“No, not at all.” She giggles and turns away. “Just saying I appreciated the eye candy of yesterday.”
“Me too—until I saw Jack the Ripper,” I say, and they both laugh. “I know I shouldn’t be mad, but that man made me see red, girls. The gall of him to tell his brother to dump me was the pinnacle of gaslighting. Like I was the one in the wrong.”
“Girl, you still haven’t really told us what happened,” Willow says and gestures towards me on the large couch in the center of the living space. “Settle in, and I’ll pour us all a glass of wine. You girls want white or red?”
“How about I have a bottle to myself so I can drown my sorrows?” I joke as I lean back on the couch and close my eyes. “I just cannot believe this is happening. And to think, he didn’t even apologize. Jackass.”
“You didn’t really give him a chance though.” Brielle plays with her light-brown hair as she sits next to me. Her hazel-green eyes are hesitant as she sizes me up. “Maybe he was going to, but then you stormed off.”
“I sincerely doubt it, girl.” I shake my head in disbelief. “Did Jack Heathcliff look like the sort of man who would apologize for something that had happened almost a decade ago?” I laugh bitterly. “He probably doesn’t even know the definition ofsorry.”
“I mean, at least you never slept with him,” Brielle offers as if that was something positive to be garnered from this entire situation. “Imagine if he’d been your first, you would have had that memory for life."
“I guess. Not like I lost my virginity to anyone better.” I groan loudly, and we all laugh. Because it’s true.
I have been unlucky in love. While I attended WHCC, I met a guy called Manny, who swept me off of my feet withhis Portuguese accent and dark skin. He was Brazilian, loved dancing, and took me to cute little restaurants to share arepas, tacos, and tostones. His brown eyes seduced me into long nights of kissing in the back of his car, and his lips brought excitement to my body. I never reached the height of tension I’d experienced with Jack, but I definitely fell for Manny. It also didn’t hurt that Manny was a nanny for a number of kids in Whispering Haven. I thought he was deep, soulful, and kind. We made love after three months of dating—in a cheap hotel near Niagara Falls—and while it didn’t blow my mind, it was fun. And the following weeks were filled with more fun, as Manny wanted to try new positions and other toys. I was more than happy to go along with it.
I was even ready to introduce Manny to my parents and sisters. He’d already met Brielle and Willow, and they’d liked him a lot, especially as he loved to take us all salsa dancing and helped us learn the moves. But then he started getting called to different nanny jobs at all hours of the day and night.
