Jane:On my way.
I lean against the lobby column, trying to scrub Blake’s voice from my head.
Jane’s plan was brilliant—make Blake’s devotion to Natalie loud, trigger Scarlett’s jealousy.
And Blake ran himself straight onto the blade with his own words.
We did exactly what we came here to do.
I just didn’t expect it to feel like this.
It should feel like a win.
The problem is, it just feels finished.
And I don’t want it to be.
I hear doors bursting open upstairs, releasing the rowdy chorus of "Girls Just Want to Have Fun" and click-clacking of heels before Jane appears at the top of the stairs.
I watch her bouncing down, looking slightly shell-shocked and sporting what appears to be singles tucked into various parts of her outfit. I don’t want to knowwhy.
Her dark eyes find mine across the lobby, and the relief that crosses her face is almost enough to make me forget everything else.
Almost.
"You okay?" she asks when she reaches me, slightly breathless.
I pull out my phone. "Not really. But Blake’s in here. Two hours of him drunk and ugly. We have more than enough damning proof."
Jane grabs my arm, her grip tight. "West—you did it!"
I pull her close, needing the contact after the toxic wasteland of The King's Room. "We did it."
There's a long pause where we just hold each other.
"Thirty-six hours," she says quietly as if she’s sensing what my body is fighting.
"Yeah."
"The deal ends."
"I know."
She forces brightness into her voice. "But we won."
"We won." The words taste hollow.
Neither of us moves. Neither wants to let go.
"Let's get out of here," I say finally.
The drive back to the casita is quiet. Jane looks like she's been through a glitter hurricane, and I probably smell like cigar smoke and moral compromise.
When we get out of the rental car, Jane skips around and links her arm through mine. I smile down at her beaming face, totally unprepared for her next words.
“So—Chippendales.”
I glance at her, jaw tightening slightly. "Yeah?"
