“Okay,” Nora says. “I wasn’t serious about that. I don’t want people coming out for the wrong reasons either. I want this to be fun, positive, and uplifting. I don’t want it to be about retribution.”
“So what can we do?” Astrid asks. “Public apology? You two having breakfast together? Alex going to gardening club? We need ticket sales now. Yesterday, actually. I want over half of those seats sold in the pre-season.
That’s not enough. It needs to be something that will work faster.
I sit forward, resting my elbows on my thighs. “We need something bigger. Something that will make people quickly and easily believe I’m a great guy and that they should like me right now.”
“Agreed,” Nora says.
“Should I donate money to something?” I ask.
She shakes her head. “They’ll see through that.”
“Breakfast with Harley?” I ask.
“That would help,” she says. “But again, it’s not big enough. Harley will forgive you. He’s a total sweetheart. He’s not the problem.”
“Breakfast with the three musketeers?” I ask. “Leo, Wilson, and Brewser?”
Nora’s eyes go wide. “No. We can’t risk that. Not yet.”
Good. I was nervous about that one. “You could come along,” I suggest. “Have your hip waders ready to go.”
She laughs.
“I don’t know, going on an airboat ride with you sounds fun,” I say, stupidly.
She grins. “We can arrange thatwithoutthe kidnapping in the middle.”
I chuckle.
“I’ve got it,” Astrid says.
We both look at her.
My sister looks triumphant. “I have the perfect solution.”
“Awesome,” I say. “What?”
“You’re going to date.”
There’s a beat of silence. Nora and I look at each other. My heart kicks hard against my ribs. Then I look back at my sister. “What?”
Astrid nods. “You’re going to be Nora’s boyfriend.”
Nora’s mouth drops open. But she doesn’t make a sound.
That…makes sense.
I like it. A lot.
I look at Nora again. She looks shocked. But her cheeks are pink.
“That’scrazy,” she says.
“No, it’s perfect,” Astrid says. “Ifyoulike him enough to date him, they’ll all realize that not only do you forgive him, but he must be a great guy.”
Nora starts shaking her head. “That’s…”
