I stuck a pod in the machine and started a cup brewing. “Pretty soon, you’ll be wearing black socks with sandals and you’ll take up bird watching.”
He frowned at me. “What’s wrong with looking at birds? That doesn’t make me Dad.”
I poured some sugar in my coffee and sat at the table with Nic. “Thanks again for picking me up last night.”
He nodded and sipped his coffee. “Anytime. Whatever you need, you know I’ll be there.”
“I know,” I said, choking back the sudden surge of emotion. “I know.”
“So, do you want to tell me what happened? No pressure.”
I sighed and pretended I was just blowing on my coffee. “It’s like I said last night.”
He spread his hands. “Last night you just said Luke had lied to you about a bet, but no one cries like that unless there’s more to it.”
“Well, yeah, there’s more to it. Luke asked me to be his fake girlfriend, and like an idiot, I fell in love with him.”
Nic leaned back and his eyes widened. “Love? That’s a big word. Are you sure?”
“I thought I was in love,” I said. “I was falling for him, for sure, at least. If it wasn’t love, that’s where it was heading fast.”
“Wow, that’s a lot to take in.”
“You’re not mad I was with your friend?”
Nic’s brow furrowed. “I’m not a huge fan of it, but no, you’re a grownup. What makes me angry is that he hurt you, however it ended up happening.”
“Thank you for being mature about this,” I murmured, sniffing back tears that wanted to sprout anew. “I’m sure I was just swept up in the magic of it all. You know I love Christmas.”
“When I talked to Luke last night, it kind of sounded like he got swept up in you, too.” My brother held up a hand. “I’m not defending him. Just telling you, he seemed almost as destroyed as you were.”
“I would love to believe that, but I don’t know. I just feel like a fool for going along with his weird deal. It was supposed to be purely professional, but?—”
“Okay, okay, I don’t need details.” Nic shook his head and got up from the table. “Would you like some toast or something?”
“That would be awesome. But my point is, I should have never let things get personal.”
“It takes two to tango,” Nic said.
“I know, but I was the one who pushed things. And I’ll just leave it at that.”
“Thank you.” Nic chuckled and popped some bread in the toaster. “It’s clear you care about him. The question is, does he have real feelings for you?”
I sighed. “It doesn’t matter, does it? My problem is this creepy bet he got me involved with. I don’t think I can see past that. I mean, why lie about it if it was innocent?”
“Yeah, that’s fair,” he said. “Well, just chew on your feelings for a while, see if a few days of being lazy will give you some perspective on things.”
“We’ll see, but I’ve already accepted that New York was just a dream, not a reality.”
“Hold on,” he said. “Things didn’t work out with Luke, but that doesn’t mean you have to write off the whole city. Didn’t you tell me about some director who wants to work with you? Callisto or someone.”
I waved his words away. “Ganymede, but I made all those connections through Luke. It feels wrong to follow up with that.”
“It seems fine to me,” he said. “It’s the least you deserve after he lied to you.”
I sighed again. It was better than more crying but not by much. “I can’t even think about all that right now. I have a lot to sort through, and that’s not at the top of the list at the moment.”
There were only a few days until Christmas anyway, and then this would all be over and I could go back to my normal, washed-up life. If the Helios ever reopened, maybe I could get my old job back. That was more my speed. New York was for people like Luke.
