“What was that, dear?” his mother asked Elinor.
“Nothing,” Elinor said.
“Nothing at all,” he said firmly.
Elinor raised her eyebrows in that annoying way she shared with EJ, like they could see through the bulldust to the truth.
And yes, the truth might be something he didn’t want broadcast for all to see.
Because Elinor was right, and he wasn’t content with staying as mere friends with EJ. He wanted more. Much more. But it felt impossible when she seemed to want to keep him at a distance in every way.
“You just want more, more, more. You’re insane with greed!”
EJ flinched as the actor slammed the Georgian table, spilling the valuables to the floor, while Charlie leaped from her lap and the line spilled truth inside.
The movie might be an adaptation of a Barbara Cartland novel, not Austen, but it was one she and her sisters had watched plenty of times, thanks to Aunty Marion’s love of old romantic movies. But never had that line struck her in quite the same way. She was conscious that blowing off her family and old friends to chase new friends was due, in part, to her desire to want more. More exposure for Dream Match. More investors. More likes. More money. More trips and exclusive parties and more, more, more.
Was it wrong for her to want more? More money meant she could help others, so it wasn’t automatically a bad thing. Really, the only people who seemed to have a problem with it were those who were super straitlaced. Like Jordan. Elinor. And Liv. Oh, and maybe her parents, but she hadn’t spoken to them for a couple of weeks now, so she wouldn’t really know for certain.
Guilt panged. Maybe instead of watching movies she’d already seen a dozen times, she should be speaking with her family, reassuring them that she was fine. She’d received a few concerned text messages from Elinor and Katie. Apparently Jordan hadn’t done a stellar job in assuring them that she was fine. Awesome to know he had her back like that.
Her phone buzzed. Gwen. Again. She’d felt a little distant towards her ever since she’d leaked EJ’s phone number to Eric. And while she’d yet to respond to Gwen’s messages, including yesterday’s one checking in to say Eric had asked whether she’dreceived the flowers, she found herself getting more curious by the hour about just what Eric wanted.
She wasn’t so naive that she thought he was genuinely interested in a relationship. She was curious to know if there was any way she could leverage the situation to work out in Dream Match’s favour. So she hadn’tdefinitivelydecided never to contact him. She just hadn’t yet figured out what to say. To either Eric or Gwen.
The phone stopped buzzing, then five seconds later resumed again. She sighed and pressed ANSWER. “Gwen.”
“EJ, at last! I thought you were ignoring my calls or something.”
Gwen was right, but EJ would never admit that. “I’ve been a little busy.”
“Oh, I know. Life gets a little hectic sometimes when you’re chasing the dream, doesn’t it?”
But what dream are you chasing?She could almost hear Jordan say those words aloud. Ugh. There was something clearly wrong with her if his thoughts were so heavily entwined in her brain that she could barely think without his voice being there. Was this what codependency felt like?
“So anyway, now that you’re not ignoring me …” Gwen laughed, but it felt like a jab all the same. “I was wondering whether we could meet for dinner to discuss potential investment in Dream Match.”
“Really?” EJ sat up straight. “You want to invest?”
“Look, I know people who know people, and I think there’s a lot of interest, so it’d be good to capitalise on that while people are keen.”
Her heart thudded. She didn’t want to know just who some of those people might be. Didn’t dare ask, either. “I’d love to chat about Dream Match with you some more.”
“Well, if you like, I can set something up. Are you busy tonight?”
EJ hesitated. Why did Gwen’s invitations always happen at the last minute? For someone who was so successful, she seemed to have a lot of no-shows allowing openings in her schedule. And not showing wasn’t EJ’s way. She wondered what would happen if she pushed for it to happen later. Then decided to dare anyway. “I am busy, actually.” She’d finally call her parents. They’d be pleased.
“Oh.” Gwen’s intonation held surprise and disappointment.
Good. See, EJ wasn’t about to drop everything just at Gwen’s say-so. She wanted investors, but if they were as keen as Gwen suggested, then maybe they could afford to plan a proper introduction with a little more notice.
“EJ, I have to admit that surprises me. I would have thought you were super excited to see what might be done to get this across the line.”
“I am, but—”
“But what, EJ? What’s holding you back from saying yes?”
“I’m just not sure if I have my pitch ready for tonight.”
