16. Ryan
16
RYAN
I banged open the door to The Pub and looked around. “Who’s Solance?”
Tony pointed down the bar to a guy who’d just jerked to attention. The moment my gaze landed on him, I knew he was Nica’s brother. They could’ve been twins.
The guy gaped at me while I strode to him. “Tony, get this guy a drink. We need to talk.”
“Um, hey man. I’m Vinny.” He glanced around at the other patrons, who weren’t even trying to hide their curiosity.
“Ryan. Come with me.”
He followed me to a table out of earshot. I pushed a beer his way. “Tell me about your sister.”
Vinny’s shoulders dropped several inches. “Nica? What do you want to know?”
“Everything.” I sipped my beer and didn’t offer more.
He gulped a drink. “I mean, she’s Nica. She’s tough as hell but doesn’t give herself credit. She’s a wizard at making something out of nothing. Always has been. She’s been running that damn Paris profile for years and still doesn’t feel like people take her seriously. I guess you could say she’s always sure she’s the last in line for, I don’t know. Everything. So she makes her own way.”
“That… makes sense.”
Vinny took another drink. “You got a thing for my sister, man?”
I snapped out of my thoughts and stared at him. “I… yeah. You could say that.”
He nodded slowly. “It would be a miracle if she let herself go for it.”
“Why?”
“You’re fucking famous, dude. Nica’s not one to let herself aim that high. That’s why she still hangs out with that dickhead who told her to do your profile.”
I coughed on my beer. Vinny reached over and thumped my back while I wheezed. “Say what?”
Vinny’s expression said he knew he’d messed up. “Uh, I don’t know all the details. Just that he calls himself her manager. It was his idea to do your fan page… You didn’t know you had a fan page.”
I scrubbed my face with both hands. “I’d heard as much. Is she with him?”
“Not that I know of. Hey, I’m sorry if I said the wrong thing. I, ha, wasn’t expecting this.”
“You didn’t. Thanks, man. Tell Tony to put your bill on my tab.”
We shook hands. Vinny went back to the bar. I drifted to a booth in the corner and stared at my dark phone for a long moment. You didn’t. Nica, tell me you didn’t.
Oh, but she had. As soon as I found the page, there was no question it was her.
Red with fury. Green with regret. And the bluest fucking balls of my life. All brought on by this one enigmatic, audacious woman. I rubbed my eyes and tried to figure out what the hell came next.
The Pub’s door opened, effectively answering my question. Even through all my muddled mess of emotions, my gaze tracked her like a puck on the ice while she stormed in and made her way to her brother. She didn’t look left or right, just marched up to him with her arms crossed.
I leaned forward, curious where we were going next.