Page 144 of This is a Kissing Book

“Guys, could you pretend to be Screechy and Grumbly?” I ask through the wall.

There’s movement, then Nate, in a sleepy voice, asks, “What do you want us to do?”

“My old neighbors used to argue about everything through the wall. It felt like home. Could you two have a fake argument?”

There is silence, then Oly, her voice overly loud and dramatic, calls, “I can’t believe you did that in my dream last night!”

“It was a dream!” Nate protests, catching on immediately.

Oly whines, “But it was so awful.”

“I’m not responsible for dream me!”

“Dream you was very rude! Dream you ate my leftovers!”

“Real me would never eat your leftovers!”

I smile for the first time in twelve hours.

Their footsteps pad to my door, and they slip inside like concerned parents checking on a sick child. They were there for me last night when I arrived on their doorstep looking like a rat drowned in tears and holding trash bags filled with my sparse belongings. They listened patiently while I spilled the whole sob story, brought me tissues, and Nate even did a chocolate run, returning with two grocery bags full of heartbreak supplies—ice cream, tissues, face masks, and enough chocolate to put me into a sugar coma.

“How are you holding up?” Oly asks, perched on the edge of the bed.

“I have to figure out what to do.” I pull my knees to my chest. “About Linc, about work, about everything.”

Nate settles in the small armchair by the window. “Well, if it were us, we’d fight about it first. A real blowout.”

“Then we’d talk like mature adults,” Oly adds.

“Communication is key,” Nate agrees.

“Apologies to follow.”

“Forgiveness next,” he concludes.

“Last, but not least, rebuilding trust.”

I appreciate their advice, but I’m not there yet. Not even close. The betrayal feels too fresh, too raw. The man I thought I knew doesn’t exist. Linc is a hockey player with fans and a famous actress ex-girlfriend. He lives in a world I could never be part of.

Resolved, I announce, “The plan for today is to do my job … if I still have one.”

“Juliana—”

“I have to. If I lose this position, my father’s creditors will come after me again.” The weight of twenty-five thousand dollars in debt sits on my chest like a boulder-sized piece of fool’s gold.

Only, I’m the fool.

Before heading to the thirty-ninth floor, I make a detour to my old department. I need to see Wendy and Carmen—a glimpse at my life before Linc Andresen walked all over my heart.

“Juliana!” Wendy practically bounces out of her chair when she sees me. “We were just talking about you!”

The familiar autumn decorations and cheerfulness of the shared office feel like stepping back in time—to a life before corporate espionage and secret identities and feelings too big for my chest to contain.

“Just wanted to say hi,” I manage.

Carmen leans forward conspiratorially. “Girl, you have been holding out on us. The rumors on social media are wild.”

My stomach drops. “What rumors?”