“Here. Try this one. Duck jianbing.” Dallas ripped open a bag of mantecaditos, popping one into her mouth. “How were the Scottish teacakes, by the way?”
I nibbled on a biltong jerky, one of about two thousand snacks that splayed in front of us. “Oral orgasm perfection.”
We hadn’t even taken off yet, and Dallas had already sampled the majority of food Romeo stocked his private plane with. Her favorites from every country.
Evidently, she’d visited all of them.
I stared at her with a mixture of alarm and awe. How could she fit all of this food into her body?
Frankie kicked her feet on the couch across from us. I couldn’t take my eyes off Dallas’ younger sister.
She was the kind of beautiful that defied both nature and logic. With feline green eyes, pouty lips, and lush brown locks that cascaded all the way to her butt.
“Don’t look at my sister that way.” Frankie’s eyes narrowed. “She’s eating for two.”
I slanted my head to one side. “Sumo wrestlers?”
She burst into laughter.
Dallas leaned over to swat her arm. “I told you she was fun.”
“You also told me she can kill me with a toothpick.” Frankie fanned herself, wriggling her brows. “Is this true?”
“A very slight exaggeration.” I smirked, picking up my cocktail and taking a sip, “But I know how to inflict serious damage with sharp objects. Why?”
“I have some names and addresses.” Frankie released a hard candy from cellophane wrap, popping it into her mouth. “But whatever. We’ll talk about work some other time. Now let’s celebrate your birthday.”
I frowned. “How can you celebrate a person you don’t know?”
“You’re certified by my sister. Anyone who passes her bar is worthy of being celebrated.”
The plane began rolling before it took off, slicing through dense silvery clouds. I didn’t even ask them where we were going.
Destination was of little importance when you had good company. And these girls were prime BFF material.
“Anyway.” Dallas sucked her thumb clean of crumbs, grabbing a duffel bag from a seat and hurling it into my arms. “Go take a shower and change. We’ll be landing in New York soon.”
New York.
One of my favorite cities.
My heart sang. I slung the duffel over my shoulder and walked to the bathroom, opening the door.
Then, I dropped the bag.
A squeal tore past my lips. “Ari.”
My best friend stood at the threshold, glowing and beautiful and smiling like a loon. “Finally. I’ve been hiding here for ages.”
We jumped into each other’s arms, squealing so loud, a raccoon would be jealous. She hugged me tight enough to grind my bones together.
I rocked her side to side. “What are you doing here?”
“Your new bestie called me to surprise you.” She laughed into my ear. “She’s a keeper.”
“Bestie? That was the fastest promotion I’ve ever gotten.” Dallas popped in the doorway, propping a shoulder over the frame. “Then again, it’s also my first ever job position.”
Ari peeled herself from me, giving Dallas a once-over. “Girl, I’m sure you’ve experienced plenty of positions to get to where you are today.”
Dallas ran a palm over her very pregnant belly. “You have no idea.”
“No, but I want to hear all about it.”
After more squealing and giggling, Ari and Dallas retired to the cabin while I took a lengthy shower, washed and blow-dried my hair, and shrugged on skintight jeans and a designer hoodie Dallas had picked out for me.
The clothes came with a note:
Not every girl wants a dress to feel pretty.
Some dazzle with combat boots and a sword.
One of them has even become my dear friend.
Happy Birthday, F. <3
— Dal
When I finished, the plane was already preparing for landing. Soon enough, the girls and I spilled out onto the tarmac, where a uniformed driver ushered us to Angelo’s.
“Only the best Italian restaurant in NYC.” Dallas kicked her feet up in the back of the limo. “And I’ve been to all of them.”
Ari and Frankie laughed.
Dallas didn’t, staring at my best friend, serious as a heart attack. “I’m not joking. Did you know there are twenty-four hundred? And that doesn’t include the underground ones.”
Ari’s smile disappeared. She elbowed me on a whisper, “Where did you find this chick?”
“At a dinner party.” I shrugged, grinning at Dallas. “Where else?”
After a seven-course meal, during which I ate enough for the entire nation of Belgium, we grabbed cocktails at a nearby bar. Frankie flashed her fake ID and bought us five rounds.
“How can you afford this?” Dallas stared her sister down. “I thought Daddy confiscated your credit card after you bought a small island for service dogs to retire on.”
“Can you believe the lack of altruism from him?” Frankie rolled her eyes, knocking back a fruity cocktail. “Those dogs have done more for our country than most politicians.”
“I’ll ask again, Sis. How can you afford this?”
“Oh, Oliver gave me two of his Amex cards. Such a gem.”
Dallas choked on her mocktail. “You two are in contact?”
“No.” Frankie giggled, like the answer was obvious. “I texted him that I need to borrow a card or two, and he sent them to me with a courier.”
“Frankie, credit cards are not a cocktail dress. You can’t borrow them.”
“Of course, I can. How do you think I’ve been funding my life for the past three weeks?”
By the time we reached Broadway to catch a show, we weren’t pleasantly drunk—we were completely hammered.
“What are we watching?” I hiccuped, swaying inside Dallas’ arms.
She’d knocked back non-alcoholic margaritas while we got sloshed, periodically glaring at her mocktails and hissing out, “How ironic it is that pregnant women can only have virgin drinks?”
“Cinderella.” Frankie spun around, her ’50s dress blooming like a flower. “It’s a limited four-week run. Isn’t it great?”
Isn’t it fitting? I corrected to myself.
No matter how hard I tried to run away from the comparison, it always boomeranged back to me.
Ari pulled me from Dallas to make sure I didn’t squash her, coiling my arm over her shoulder to carry me into the hall. Theater-goers weaved in and out of the building.
We found our seats and fell into them in fits of unexplained snickers. Frankie and Ari even produced a small tiara from a designer bag and placed it on my head.
The show was incredible. I had to keep myself from crying through most of it.
And when we escaped into the prickly early winter night, all I could think about was that Dallas was right.
Sometimes you have to write your own story to get your happy ending.
“So.” Ari pressed her shoulder to mine, deliberately walking faster than the Townsend sisters to lose them. “What’s going on with Zach?”
“We’re fooling around while he’s engaged.” I barely mustered the energy to tip a shoulder up. “So, you know, pretty messed up.”
“Dallas says he’s your puppy.” Ari scanned my face. “That he follows you around and stabs anyone who dares to get near you.”
“Ha.”
“Does this mean he pees himself a little every time he sees you?”
“Hope not. I’m in charge of his laundry, too.”
I had no idea where we were going, and I was beginning to understand that it didn’t matter.
Sooner or later, a limo would appear out of thin air and scoop us all to a boutique airport, where we’d fly back home on a luxurious plane that looked like a Manhattan bachelor pad.
That was the reality of Dallas Costa, the most charmed girl in all of America.
“He wants me,” I admitted, feeling my throat squeezing around an invisible ball of anxiety. “But he wants to please his mother even more. This has no legs.”
But it had a heart and a soul, and that scared me.
I didn’t tell my best friend why Zachary Sun was so enchanted with me.
That something had made him a human-fearing heathen.
That I was his only shot at salvation, even though I had no idea what had made him this way.
“And if he wanted you more than pleasing his mother?” Ari looped her arm around my elbow. “What would you have done?”
We stopped at a crosswalk, Dallas and Frankie now joining us. I swallowed hard. I’d been avoiding asking myself this question for a while now.
Finally, I said, “If I allow myself to hope, I’ll allow myself to break. And I have never had the privilege to do that.”
A limo rolled in front of us, double-parking and stopping at our feet. The driver slid out and opened the door for us.
I slipped in, knowing I hadn’t told Ari the entire truth.
Because a part of me had already cracked.
And every day that passed, Zach pried the fissure open even more.
