“Why?” I ask, surprising myself.
Both Gino and Drew turn to stare at me like I’ve grown a second head.
“Because he was an ass. I only said yes because I needed a date.”
Gino exhales. “Okay. Last question. What was your eighth-grade science fair project?”
She blinks. “Um… really?”
“Yes, really. Answer the question.”
“I engineered a roller coaster loop.”
Gino studies her for a beat, then nods. “Alright. I believe you.”
He turns to Drew. “Cut the ties.”
Drew steps forward, pulls out a pocketknife, and cuts the ties. All three of us tense, half-expecting her to bolt, but she doesn’t. She just sits there, watching us.
Gino takes a deep breath before saying, “Go get Juliet. She’s probably losing her mind down there.”
Drew just stands there, hesitating.
“Drew, go get her. She’s never going to let us hear the end of it if we don’t bring her up.”
Drew finally nods and leaves the room.
Vanessa looks between us, then smirks. “You two are clearly in love.”
I snicker, knowing exactly who she’s talking about.
“Um—we’re not together,” Gino says, pointing between the two of us.
“Bro,” I say, shaking my head, “she’s not talking about us.”
Vanessa snickers.
“What? Me and Juliet? Yeah, no. We’re not together.”
“I didn’t say that,” Vanessa replies. “I said you two were in love.”
“I told you to ask her out already,” I add.
By this point, Vanessa and I are both smirking at each other. I probably hold her gaze for a second too long.
“Cool. So, my best friend and my sister are already ganging up on me.”
“That’s usually how it works,” Vanessa says lightly. “Have you ever read a romance novel?”
Gino and I both look at her.
“What does that even mean?” Gino asks.
“You know. A girl meets a guy, they start dating, and then it turns out he’s her brother’s best friend,” she replies.
“I really hope you two don’t date,” Gino mutters.
She ignores him. “So… do I work for you now? Dad always wanted me to work for him.”
