“I can’t say who, I don’t know how— actually, I think I don’twantto know how, but I am sure.”
“What?” I ask, tilting my head. “If you don’t know who or how, I’m a little skeptical you can be sure.”
“Iknow who. I just can’t tellyouwho fixed things,” she says with a big grin. “But based on the who, I know for sure it’s done. He’s not the type of man to leave any loose ends.”
“It’s Theo, isn’t it?”
“No,” she says, but I can tell she’s lying. “What would make you think it was him?”
“Because he said he’d try to help.”
“Rigghhht, that makes sense,” Kat says, nodding. She winces. “Urgh, I promised I’d keep it a secret.”
“Why?”
“Because he asked me to.”
“No, I mean why would he ask you to keep it a secret?”
She shrugs. “I don’t know. He didn’t say. But enough about that, because the amazing news is that I’m off the hook! Mum and Dad will never have to know about thething. No one will ever see it. It’s over! I’m free!”
She gives me another hug and relief washes through me. If Theo dealt with it, I know it’s really, truly over. I don’t have to wipe out my savings, grovel to Aunt Beth and Uncle Dan, cover up for her, or find some seedy loan shark. Suddenly my “no promotion” life feels like no big deal.
“I’ve been thinking,” Kat says, parking herself on one of my kitchen chairs. “It’s time I grew up. I need to start taking responsibility for my life.”
“Praise the Lord,” I tell her, raising both hands in the air like the lead singer in a church choir.
Kat grins. “I’m applying for college. I don’t know what I want to study yet, but I figure I can start in general arts and go from there. Oh! I also deleted Tinder off my phone. No more wasting my time with stupid hookups. From now on I’m focusing on self-improvement. I’m going to get a job—one that pays—and work as much as I can until school starts.”
“Good for you,” I tell her, happiness flowing through me.
“Thanks,” she says. “And thank you for being such an amazing big sister. You really had my back when everything turned to shit, even though I didn’t deserve your help, because I’ve been a total brat.”
“Yeah, you have, but I also could have been a better big sister and a better boss. I should have taken the time to teach you what you needed to know.”
“You were swamped. Besides, I wasn’t exactly eager to learn.”
“True, but I’m thrilled to hear that you are now, because you have a lot of potential.”
Kat lets out a contented sigh. “Speaking of potential. I think there’s a strong possibility that Theo Rojas might have a thing for you.”
My face heats up as soon as she says his name. “What? No, I don’t think so.” I shake my head a few times, then stop. “But, just out of curiosity, what makes you say that?”
“There was something about his voice when he told me not to tell you. I can’t put my finger on it. Maybe it was the way he said your name? I’m not sure. But if I were you, I’d definitely be making a play for him. Hot, rich, and willing to step up to help a girl out, even when it’s for someone he barely knows? I think he might be one of the good ones.”
“You might be right,” I tell her, chewing my bottom lip.
And if sheisright, I’m the biggest moron to ever walk the planet.
* * *
“What about this one?” I ask, holding up the strangest-looking bra I’ve ever seen. It’s got clear plastic where the nipples would go.
Hadley raises one eyebrow. “Why would they give them windows?”
“I have no idea.” I put it back on the rack. We giggle quietly so as not to disturb the surly saleswoman who’s been hovering around with that “those two look like trouble” expression. We’ve been in the bra section at Apple Blossoms for nearly forty-five minutes, during which time we’ve mostly stood around while I told her what happened with Theo rather than doing any browsing. I gave her the rundown of how Theo stuck up for me at the meeting with Carolina and Vincent (good boyfriend material), then sold me out at the meeting with Harrisonet al(very bad), and how just after I lost the promotion, he decided to confess his feelings for me (horrible timing, which makes us question his emotional intelligence). I told her about seeing Carolina coming out of his hotel room (highly suspicious), but how Markos told me he heard Theo turn her down (decent showing of high moral standards to not take advantage of the situation when he knew he didn’t want things to become permanent). This led to a lengthy discussion about Carolina and what type of awful person would pretend they were getting married. In the end we agreed it’s because she’s so threatened by me. What I don’t do is tell her anything about Kat and Paz, even though it kills me to hide something that big from my bestie. I’m keeping my promise to my little sister, and although it’s the right thing to do, it feels awful. I’m half-tempted to use charades as a loophole, so I can share what happened with Hadley without actually having to say it. But I won’t because it would take hours to act out each word, and I’m pretty sure I’d be arrested if I pantomimed sex on the bar. At the very least, I might be banned for life from the store.
Hadley plucks another bra off the rack and tests the fabric for stretchiness, then bends over a little and groans. “That didn’t feel very nice.”
