Chapter 2 #2
“No, and it’s too late now. Christmas is almost here. I’d look unhinged if I asked a guy to come home for the holidays with me on the first date.”
“There must be someone you can find! You’re the best! Hot, clever, kind. What the hell is wrong with city guys?”
I shrug, even though she can’t see me. I’ve been steadily losing confidence over the last couple of years. Maybe there is something wrong with me.
“I’ve even stopped telling my dates about my drawing,” I tell her.
“Why?”
I don’t immediately reply. I haven’t told Mia everything about my experiences sharing my art online. I once made the mistake of posting some pieces to an art forum, only to be told my work wasn’t original, that it was just derivative “fan art.”
And then there was the time I went with Colin to an artist’s collective meeting in Brooklyn he was part of. That was even worse because I could see the look in people’s eyes when they judged my work as somehow lesser, just because it wasn’t like what any of them did.
So I settle for, “I don’t want them thinking I’m some elf-loving weirdo.”
Mia grunts her frustration loudly in my ear. “Own it! You’re insanely talented. And anyway, there are people online who love what you do. Surely you can see that?”
A handful of them, sure, but there are so many more haters out there …
I take a fortifying breath. “Colin told me I should direct my talent elsewhere.”
“Where? Staplers and photocopiers?”
“Animals. He really loves dogs, so he thought I should do pet portraits.”
“Pet portraits?”
“So I did.”
“Wait … what?”
“Hang on, I’ll show you.” I pull up the picture I drew shortly after Colin ended our relationship, a snarling wolf chasing him. I quickly crop out the left-hand side of the image, and send it to her.
A ping sounds, followed by a raucous screech of laughter.
“Oh Piper, that’s hilarious!”
I smile for the first time in hours and gaze at the uncropped image of Brody as a warrior elf, standing with his arms crossed as he watches his pet send Colin packing.
Should I tell Mia about what happened today?
“Did you send it to him?”
I gasp. “What?!”
“Colin. Did you send the picture to him?”
Oh.
Relief rushes out with my breath. “No. It was just for me.”
“Well, that’s a missed opportunity. You should at least post it to your art account.”
“Hmm,” I reply noncommittally. I’ve never posted any of the pictures I’ve drawn of Brody. They’re my guilty secret, and I don’t want the world to know he’s been my muse since I was a teenager.
Once, when I was fifteen, a sketch I’d done of him fell out of my bag at school and was found under a desk.
Luckily, it wasn’t good enough for people to realize it was Brody, and I denied drawing it.
But the crawling fear and anxiety caused by the laughter and cruel comments made me determined that no one would ever see one of my Brody drawings again, accidentally or otherwise.
At least now I know he’s turned into an asshole and I can move on from this silly crush …
“So, what are you going to do about a non-existent boyfriend?”
“Huh?”
Mia huffs. “Should I tell your mom he’s sick? His granny’s on her deathbed?”
“She’ll only want to send a care package.”
“You could just say you broke up?”
I rub my temples, feeling a headache coming on. “It doesn’t matter whether I say he dumped me or I dumped him. It’ll have the same result. She’ll fuss over me, then drag me to every Christmas party in town to set me up with any single guy under fifty.”
“She’ll probably force you to Eileen’s so she can offer her advice.”
Closing my eyes, I groan. According to her and my mom, it’s their civic duty to give love a helping hand.
“There’s no way I’m subjecting myself to that. Last year she tried to set me up with the guy who sat behind me in English class in eighth grade. He used to throw spitballs at me.”
We fall silent, but it’s a comfortable silence. Mia and I have been best friends since forever, and even though I left Hideaway Harbor and she stayed, our friendship is just as strong as it’s ever been.
She lets out a breath. “You don’t think that this might be the universe telling you to finally go freelance?”
Forgetting she can’t see me, I shake my head.
“Better money, more control, more interesting projects?”
I score my fingernails across my scalp, trying to relieve the tension.
“It’s not worth the risk in this market.” My voice sounds flat and empty. “Not when so many people in my industry are out of work and the rent on my place keeps going up.”
She doesn’t respond.
“I’ve just worked so hard to get where I am. I don’t want to throw it all away.”
“Okay!” Mia says brightly, knowing when to move on. “Let’s brainstorm. How can you make yourself indispensable?”
My heart swells with love for her.
“I honestly don’t know right now. It’s going to take something pretty spectacular for them to see me as more valuable than the boss’s kid.”
“When do you have to start working with him?”
“New Year.”
“Hmm, we can put our heads together over the holidays. You still coming on Friday?”
“Yeah.”
I scroll through my apps to my sister’s social feed. No wonder Brody’s agent knew everything about me. There are photos documenting Harper’s last visit, complete with every detail of my everyday life and future travel plans, as if the whole world should be as interested as she is.
“Great. I’ll pop in and help soften the blow if you don’t find a boyfriend between now and then.”
We say our goodbyes, then I pull up the pictures of Brody hugging someone dressed like me. Marv wants me and Brody to fake a relationship, however Brody seemed to like that idea about as much as a hole in the head.
My phone pings, and my heart sinks when I see who it is.
Mom: YOU MUST TELL ME IF YOUR BEAU HAS ANY DIETARY RESTRICTIONS XOXO
My mom lives for my happiness, and I want to protect hers. It’s a dynamic that landed me here—promising a boyfriend for Christmas like a gift I now can’t deliver.
Mom: AND EILEEN WANTS TO MEET HIM!
Mom: EVERYONE WANTS TO MEET THE LUCKY GUY!
Mom: LOVE YOU, HONEY! XOXO
I slip my hand in my coat pocket, feeling the sharp corner of Marv’s business card. I need to stop thinking about his crazy idea and stop thinking about Brody. So, I force my mind back to the problems at work: how to sell a printer, how to avoid being the company mascot, how to save my job.
An idea jolts through me like an electric shock.
Fingers trembling, and mild hysteria fizzing in my veins, I take out the card and dial the number.
It connects after one ring.
“Marv DeVille speaking.”
“Hi, it’s, uh … Piper.”
“Piper! Hey! Great to hear from you! You been thinking about my idea? Got an answer for us?”
I bite the inside of my cheek. “Um, yeah. I’ll do it—”
“Yes!” I swear I can practically hear him fist-pump.
“On one condition.”
“Name your price.”
“I don’t want any money.”
“You don’t?”
“No. I want Brody to do something for me in return for me being his … his fake girlfriend.”
“Anything. What can he do for you Piper?”
I tell him.
Silence.
Then Marv exhales. “O-kay … Let me run it by the big man and get back to you.”
I stare at my phone, my pulse thudding in my ears.
There’s no way Brody would agree to this.
Right?