“You’re a total snob. Isn’t she, Colin?”
Colin kept his head down as he busied himself untangling his hair straightener from his curling iron.
“Isn’t she?” Natalie demanded.
“Maybe a little,” he whispered.
Vanessa gasped. “That’s totally unfair. I wish I could help.”
“You have yet to present a valid reason you can’t,” Natalie said, leaning over to grab a glazed donut.
Vanessa huffed. “First off, where would we host the show? Valentine’s Day isfourweeks away, and I’m sure all the best venues are booked,” she said, poking her index finger in the air. “Second, who would sort out the designers contributing the clothes? These things take months to plan.”
“Okay, you’re totally overthinking. This would be more like a high school fashion show.” Natalie chewed thoughtfully for a moment. “Something casual, in the gym, donations from the shops at the mall.”
“Shops at the mall?” Vanessa cried, horrified. “You suggest I plan a fashion show with the clothes on sale at themall?” Not on her watch. She suppressed a shudder but didn’t miss the look Colin and Natalie exchanged.
Nope. Donuts be damned, this visit was not making her feel better. She gathered her purse and phone and got out of Colin’s chair. Her blowout would have to wait for a day when she wasn’t being kicked while she was down by her own flesh and blood.
“Oh come on, Ness, look at this as an opportunity,” Natalie pleaded.
But Vanessa didn’t want to hear it, because there were better opportunities. She only had to find them.
CHAPTER FIVE
“Who gets afucking rabbit as a pet? And who the fuck names it Nigel?” Jordan muttered, stopping in the middle of his brother’s living room to take a deep breath. He counted to ten, reminding himself he wasn’t that guy anymore, the degenerate who dropped more F-bombs than actual words. He wasn’t letting a four-legged creature revert him back to one.
Once he calmed down, he made his fourth sweep of Sean and Ivy’s apartment, but the damn beast was still nowhere. The food he left out yesterday was gone, so he knew the bunny was in there somewhere, but after two days of Nigel-sitting, with no sightings, he was starting to worry.
He couldn’t believe he’d let Ivy convince him to do this.It’ll be easy, she’d said.He likes to snuggle, she’d said. She’d made it sound like Nigel would hop right over, curl up in Jordan’s arms, then chill while he watched an NBA game on Sean’s big screen.
But no. The reality was Jordan showing up, calling the fluffball for a good half hour while he searched high andlow, then giving up and pouring pellets into a bowl before leaving. The second Ivy had gifted the rabbit to Sean for Christmas, Jordan had known it would spell trouble. He just hadn’t imagined it would be his trouble.
Whatever, as long as the food kept disappearing, he was technically doing his job. Maybe this was even for the best. He ranked his pet care skills below his people care skills, which reaffirmed what he already knew: men like him were best left alone.
“Nigel!” He gave it one last try before he made his way to the cage that sat open in the living room.
Somehow, Ivy had trained the rodent to go to his cage to eat and drink. The rest of the time he was what she called ‘free range,’ which meant they let the damn rabbit do whatever and go wherever he wanted in this place.
Jordan poured a quarter cup of pellets, left some lettuce and a piece of carrot in the cage, then decided to leave. His duty was done. Tomorrow the rabbit hunt would resume.
Pulling open the apartment door, he glanced over his shoulder one last time, just in case…
A blur shot past his ankles, making him lose his balance. “Motherfucker!” He jumped back and let the door slam shut. What wasthat?
The chill of dread ran down his spine. He whipped open the door again, and sure enough, Nigel, in all his white and gray glory, stood frozen in the middle of the hallway outside the apartment.
Wonderful. Fricking perfect. What was he supposed to do now? A few seconds passed as they stared each other down. The bunny’s nose twitched as Jordan widened his stance and flexed his fingers.
“Okay, little buddy, let’s do this.”
The fluffball was trapped, and he knew it. The hallway led to the staircase to the building’s front door, but all entrances and exits were shut. All he had to do was corner the fluffball, make a grab, and that would be it.
He stepped forward. Nigel hopped back. Another step forward, another hop back.
That’s when he noticed the whites of Nigel’s bulging, panicked eyes, and froze. He knew that kind of fear. Constantly being on guard. The anxiety of not knowing who to trust, who was out to get you and who actually cared. One moment you’re being rescued by a cute brunette with a spunky attitude, and the next you’re abandoned in an empty apartment with a stranger dumping food in your bowl once a day and taking off.
Hours and hours of isolation could really mess with your faith in people, not to mention trust issues. Jordan had been there too, and it sucked.
