Chapter Twenty-Three
I’m not even awake when my phone starts shimmying across the nightstand. The clock reads 7:16, and I groan. It’s Luca.
“Pronto?”
“Story, TMZ broke the news that Rowdy is in rehab.”
I push my hair back and sit up. “Is that what she was screaming about last night?”
“You heard that?”
“Just that she was mad about something.” But then, she usually is.
“After her gig, she was asked about Rowdy, and if he went to rehab after hearing the rumors about Jasmine and me.”
“Nobody needs to go to rehab just because their significant other might be cheating. That’s a stupid question. And he’s not even in rehab anymore, you said he transferred to the step-down care.”
“Aye, he’s been in sober living for at least a week, but the tabs call it all rehab. And it might be a stupid question, but she still has to answer it.”
I yawn. “So this is actually a good thing. It gives her a chance to put some distance between her and Jeremy that has nothing to do with you. She can just say she will always love and support Rowdy, but, right now, they’re focused on his recovery and she’s giving him the space he needs to do that. If they ask about you, she can just say she isn’t ready to even think about what’s next for her, or whether or not it includes Rowdy. That leaves the door open.”
“When did you get so savvy? That’s really good.”
I shrug even though he can’t see it. “I guess Andrew’s rubbing off on me.”
“Unfortunately, they caught her off guard and she doubled down on her commitment to Rowdy.”
I don’t say anything. How does someone with a publicist get caught off guard about anything, let alone about news she’s been worried could, and most likely would, leak? I guess the same way they send a freak dress to someone who is supposed to be catching their boyfriend’s eye. This girl wants everything without sacrificing anything.
“Story?”
“Yes?”
“What do you think?”
“Does it matter what I think? She’s already told the world she’s all in for Jeremy.”
Luca doesn’t say anything for a long moment. “Andrew thinks we should be seen together all day.”
I sigh. I don’t know how we’re supposed to save a girl whose ego makes her sabotage even her own schemes. We’re already scheduled to go to an afternoon lecture by a visiting Scottish professor at Università di Roma. For a girl who doesn’t want me around her boyfriend, she sure finds ways to make it necessary. I need to stand up for myself. But right now, Luca wouldn’t believe me even if I told him Jasmine isn’t worth his time.
“Okay. When should I be ready?”
“Pick you up at twelve-thirty? I’ll take you somewhere nice for lunch.”
“You mean somewhere visible.”
“That doesn’t mean it won’t be nice. Somehow, even when you’re ballbusting me, it ends up being a good time.”
I lie back down. “You can turn off your charm faucet. I’ll be ready.”
“Story, I know how to work a crowd, but I’d never do that to you. You know that, right?”
“Of course,” I say strongly enough that I hope he drops it.
“That’s why I asked Jack to watch out for you. I want you to be happy, even if it’s not—”
“I’m fine. I’ll see you later.” I hang up before he has the chance to finish whatever humiliating platitude he’s about to offer.
At twelve-thirty, I’m downstairs in a Dani Meadows sundress that actually seems like me. Kelsey, Guin, and Alicia come in together, their hands filled with shopping bags.
“Oh, it’s you!” Kelsey says as if it’s surprising I’d be in the lobby of the building where we all live.
“Hi,” I say. “Looks like you guys had a good morning.”
“How crazy is the news about Rowdy Funkmaster?” Guin says. “Is it true he went to rehab because Luca was hooking up with Jasmine? Cute dress, though!”
“Is that true, Story?” Kelsey asks. “Jasmine is so beautiful, what guy wouldn’t want to be with her?”
“I don’t know,” Alicia says, pushing back her dark curls. “I think Luca and Story make a cute couple.”
Kelsey’s eyebrows arch up as she turns to her. Alicia looks down and shuffles her feet.
“Jeremy’s been in rehab for weeks, actually,” I say.
“How do you know that?” Guin asks.
“Everyone’s known.” I shrug as I say it, and the reaction is immediate. Kelsey’s eye twitches, and she’s clearly perturbed I run in circles she can only dream about. I shouldn’t enjoy it, and karma will probably come for me with a vengeance, but I’m so tired of them.
The Portofino pulls up. “Gotta run. Enjoy your day.” I sail through the glass entry.
Luca comes around to open the car door. He grabs me around the waist and pulls me to him.
“They’re watching, aren’t they?” I ask.
He smiles and whispers, “Aye.”
I smooth his hair on the side they can see, and Luca bends down and dusts his lips against mine, letting our noses touch. It all feels a little too real. I slip into the car, and he closes the door. I don’t look back, as if I’ve forgotten the Dip Squad even exists.
Once we pull away, I tell Luca what they said.
“I figured, with that lot.”
“If this blows up, I think them knowing the truth would be the worst of it. That’s so stupid of me. It’s not like I want their good opinion. I just don’t want them exulting at my failure.”
“It’s hard not to let people get under your skin when they wish you’d fail for no reason, so don’t beat yourself up for that. I don’t know why you let them jab at you.”
I don’t say anything.
“Story?”
“I think it’s better to take the stupid jabs instead of the ones that could really hurt. I’d rather they didn’t know me well enough to know where to punch.”
“They’re just jealous of you.”
“Why on earth would they be jealous of me? I mean, now that I’m supposed to be with you, yes, but not before.”
“Story, you have no idea what you have going for you. You’ve got your own vibe that’s completely genuine. Of course, girls who need influencers to tell them how to look and act would be jealous.”
It doesn’t make sense. I don’t fit in. Not in Luca’s world, and not in mine. I’ve accepted I don’t fit in. But maybe that’s it. People don’t like what they can’t control, and I’ve always done my own thing, even if it meant going it alone. “I guess we all see ourselves through a perspective that isn’t any more real than the way other people see us. It’s just a snapshot of a moment, and then we’re something else the next, anyway, but we see ourselves as if we are only that one snapshot. It’s all just invented perception, like the photos the tabloids take or that Andy posts of us.”
“It’s not all invented,” Luca says. “You and I really are friends. Aren’t we?”
He seems genuinely unsure of what I might say.
I nod, probably a little too slowly, and hope he doesn’t see how I really feel.
“Besides, I’m not going to let this perception blow up.”
I don’t know how he’s going to do that when his girlfriend seems determined to sabotage us. Then I think about Jack. Lying to the Dip Squad is one thing but lying to someone who is nice to me is something else. I can’t even think about how I’m lying to my mom.
Andrew meets us at the lecture. It’s on the influence of Romanesque architecture on British castles, and how it gives them their massive walls, round arches, and large towers. After the lecture, Luca gets pulled into conversation with the professor, so Andrew and I walk into the courtyard.
“Jasmine saw those pictures of you two on the balcony.”
“We were just putting on for the camera you spotted, you know that.”
“That’s what Luca told her, but she said it looked way tooreal.”
I can’t meet his gaze. “I thought this was the whole point, that it looks real?”
“I’m just saying, Story, she’s pretty jealous. I know you’ve both gotten used to playing the game, but maybe you should tone it down a bit. Maybe you’ve gotten too good at it.”
I hope there weren’t any paparazzi when Luca picked me up, or she’s going to really give him an earful after our little display for Kelsey and company. “I don’t know what the girl wants. She’s the one he’s doing it for, not me.”
“Just be careful, Story.” He starts to turn away but then looks back at me. “And that speech sounds a wee bit bitter.”
I want to fling some flippant retort at him, but his face shows he really is concerned about me. “Noted,” I say instead. He’s right. Being around Luca has become dangerous to more than just my reputation.
Andrew has some perfume I need to hawk, so when Luca joins us, we go take pictures around the university. “It meets all of your requirements,” Andrew says as he hands me the bottle.
I take a sniff. “It’s not bad.”
“She’d rather have L’Air du Temps or Ma Griffe,” Luca says.
I turn toward him. “How do you know that?”
“You have them on your dresser,” he says. “And I love it when you wear Ma Griffe.”
Andrew looks up sharply, first at Luca and then at me, as if it’s my fault Luca notices details.
“Let’s take the pictures,” I say, “and get it over with.”
Andrew takes the shots as I pretend to spritz myself with the proper amount of delight. “Okay, that should do it. Now let’s go shopping,” he says. “Tabloids love seeing minted people spend money, and you two can help me find a present for my sister’s birthday.”
We hit the busy Via Condotti, packed with wealthy summer tourists, and it doesn’t take long to be picked up by paparazzi. There’s the German guy who made fun of my wardrobe and a woman with dyed-purple hair who calls me Astrollee whenever she yells my name. We wander in and out of trendy designer shops until we find a cute purse in Prada for Andrew’s sister.
“I bet she’d be just as happy with something a lot less expensive, if it came from the heart,” I say as I search aimlessly for a price tag because rich people aren’t supposed to care how much things cost.
Luca and Andrew laugh. “Not Kenna,” they say together.
“Story is sentimental,” Luca says as Andrew pays. “She’d pick a plastic ring over Cartier if it had meaning.”
“Are all progressive women like that?” Andrew asks with mock incredulity.
“Most of them,” I say. “See what you’re missing?”
Andrew laughs and opens the door as we step into the street. We pass a coffee bar, and the whole sidewalk is filled with the scent of fresh brewed espresso. We’ve only taken a few steps when a group of four girls walking in the other direction spot Luca and start talking excitedly to each other, obviously trying to decide which one is going to stop him for a photo. They’re barely old enough to drive. When they reach us, a dark-haired girl gets shoved toward us by the others and blurts out in English accented by French, “Can we take un photo weeth you?”
We’ve already stopped. Luca moves over by the wall, out of sidewalk traffic, and pulls me toward him. The girls are all chattering to each other in French, and Andrew and Luca start to laugh.
“What’s so funny?” I ask.
“They don’t want Luca,” Andrew says. “They want you, Story.”
“What?”
“They say I’m hot, but they don’t know why I think everything is about me,” Luca adds. “They think I must have a big ego.” He smiles at me, barely able to keep from laughing at himself. When the girls realize he can speak French, they start apologizing from what I can tell, but Luca just tells them, “Ce n’est pas un problème,” and steps away with a gesture for them to join me.
Suddenly I’m surrounded by these girls as Andrew takes pictures of us with each of their phones. One of them is crying, she’s so excited to meet me.
“Please don’t cry,” I tell her. “I’m just a girl like you.” Luca translates for me, and I think he adds on, because it seems like a lot of words, but soon she is smiling shyly and nodding. I give her a hug.
Afterward, they thank me in a mix of French and English and go on their way, squealing as they check the photos. Andrew and Luca are biting their lips not to burst out laughing.
“Neither of you say a word!”
They shake their heads at me, but their smiles let me know how funny they think it is. “It was actually really sweet of you,” Luca says, squeezing my hand.
“Dai,” I say, “I don’t want to talk about it,” and start walking. Rush-hour taxis and cars jostle each other along the boulevard, and I lose myself in the noise of it all. When we pass by Tiffany’s, I slow and browse the windows. Luca has his fingertips laced in mine, so he slows, too.
“Wait,” he says, “isn’t there an Audrey Hepburn movie about Tiffany’s?”
I nod. “Breakfast at Tiffany’s.”
“Come on,” Luca says, and pulls me into the store.
We peruse the glass cases. Most of the jewelry is too modern for me, but some of it’s very pretty. Luca tries to guess which designs I like the best, and he hits it pretty well.
“Story could use some diamond earrings,” Andrew says.
“Which ones do you like?” Luca asks.
I point sarcastically at a big pair that look hyper expensive.
“Those ones,” Luca says to the girl.
“Oh, I wasn’t serious,” I say as the lady says, “These are twenty-three thousand dollars.”
I cough.
“They’re a bit large,” I add to cover my shock.
Luca nods very seriously as he looks at my ear. “Something classic,” he tells her. “These are conflict-free, correct?”
“Oh, yes, sir. We have very stringent standards.”
Luca smiles at me to get credit for checking.
“These are very classic, and less expensive,” the saleswoman says as she pulls out petal-shaped earrings. My comment about not wanting large earrings clearly didn’t fool her. “Would signorina like to try them?”
I shake my head. “Oh, no, thank you.”
“You’d like something else? The vine ones are nine thousand four hundred. They’re very popular.”
“Oh, no, those are lovely, it’s just, I’m not shopping for diamonds today.”
She arches her brow at me because who says that in a Tiffany’s?
“Wrap a pair up,” Luca tells her.
She smiles and nods at him.
“Luca,” I whisper as fiercely as I dare. He pulls me away from the counter. “It’s no big deal,” he says. Andrew joins our little meeting.
I turn my back to the windows in case any paparazzi are watching. “Are you pazzo? Those are diamonds. Did you see how much they cost?”
“I’m getting off easy, you could have liked the nine-thousand-dollar ones. Or the twenty-three-thousand-dollar ones, for that matter.” He laughs.
“It’s not funny. Andrew, explain it to him.”
Andrew looks at me blankly. “Story, just take them, you’ve earned them.”
“I can’t take those!”
They look at each other and shake their heads.
“Sir?” the woman says. Luca goes to the counter flashing his credit card like he’s 007 on a mission.
“Andrew, you know I can’t accept them.”
“Story, you should have diamonds if you’re going to be an influencer and look like you belong with the Lucas of the world.”
“Luca! One Luca! One and done. I won’t be an influencer after this is over. And it’s almost over.”
Andrew frowns. “If it really bothers you, you can pay him back. You’ve got enough income from the influencer ads. But honestly, I think you should let him buy them. He asked you to do this, not the other way around. He can afford it a lot more than you can.”
I just stare, because Andrew is supposed to be the sensible one, the one who keeps Luca in line. He’s also supposed to be the one who doesn’t worry about lower classes needing a leg up.
“First of all, that’s way too egalitarian a thing for you to say. Second, he doesn’t owe me anything, Andy. He’s already doing the scholarship, which is a lot more than I ever expected from this deal. Plus—”
“What?” Andrew asks when I hesitate. I take a deep breath.
“He’s given me dolphins and wildlife prints, and he helps at the farm, and the dinners, and flowers, and just everything. He’s been my friend, Andrew. It’s not right.”
He looks at me for a long moment. “You’re one in a million, Astoria Herriot. Do you want me to make sure they’re returned quietly?”
I nod. Luca comes over and hands me the little blue bag. His smile is huge, and his North Atlantic eyes are gleaming. “These are going to look gorgeous on you. And I have somewhere for you to wear them.”
I glance at Andrew. So much for returning them. “I’ll pay you back. Andrew says I have enough now.”
Luca laughs and throws his arm around my neck and kisses my temple. “Oh, sweet Story, you just did. You just did.”