Page 100 of Pin-up Girl

“How did you stay alone for so long?” Sylvie asked when all our friends were gone.

I didn’t like the way she’d phrased the question.

“I don’t want to sound mean,” Sylvie said. “I thought I was okay with being single, and then… How do you do it?”

“I’m not alone.” The answer came easily. Even when I was chasing Deacon, and not dating anyone, I had Alys and Evie. Deacon and I were friends. I had Clint and Elaina. “I was never alone.”

She made a sound that was half-grumble, half-sigh. “Friends don’t count.”

“I assure you they do.” More than most anything.

“But that’s not?—”

“Not what you mean, I get that.” Yes, I’d fallen for Clint and Brodie, but that didn’t make my friendships any less. “Friends still count. Mine mean the world to me.”

“But you’ve got your man now. Men?”

I sifted through my thoughts for the best words to express this. “Being in love isn’t the final goal.” That wasn’t right. “Rather, it was for me, for a long time, but it’s not now. It’s nice. It’s incredible.” So wonderful. “But it’s not what made me whole.”

Sylvie slumped in her seat and rested her arms on the table. “I wish I could be like you.”

“Good God, why?” I gave a short laugh.

“I— You’re— ung.” Sylvie scowled.

“I don’t need a list of reasons. It would be good for my ego, but that’s not my point. You don’t need to be me. You’re incredible as you.”

“I thought so too, but I’ve fucked up so much recently.”

I wasn’t sure how to respond to that. Yeah, Peter was a dick, and I wouldn’t lie about that, but I didn’t want her to get down on herself because of him.

“You’re not going to reassure me?” Sylvie asked. “Say, no, you did great, Sylvie?”

I shrugged, but she wasn’t looking at me. “Is that what you want to hear?”

“No.”

In the background, the light sounds of local traffic and kids playing overlapped with birds and the nearby stream. My back was heating up with the sunshine.

“I lied about quitting my job,” Sylvie said suddenly.

Oh. “So you do have a job?” With all the secrets she was keeping, I couldn’t believe she’d given me grief about being with both Clint and Brodie.

Sylvie shook her head, and her frown was so deep, the lines in her forehead looked like they might stay permanently. “The CFO at the company I was at…” She twisted her mouth. “He was hitting on me. A lot. Until it came down to him saying no one as young and cute as me got where I was without sucking cock, and it was his turn to find out if I could earn my next promotion.”

Rage spilled through me, directed at him, not her. I didn’t realize I was clenching my fist until my nails dug into my palm. I dragged in a deep breath. “I’m sorry.”

“Yeah.” Sylvie’s voice went flat. “I told him no and couldn’t go into the office for a few days. The entire thing made me sick. And then he fired me with some bullshit excuse. No one will talk to me. Not recruiters. Not other companies. I can’t get a call back from anyone in the industry. I don’t know what he did, but…” This time her sigh almost sounded like a sob. “I worked so hard, and now I’m unhirable.”

I wanted to hunt the cretin down and castrate him. Preferably with those steel decorated, pointed-toe heels I had in my window at the shop. “How long ago was this? Give it a few months and everyone will forget. You’ll be back on top in no time.”

“It was right after Christmas.”

Almost nine months?

“I was going to fight it. Sue him. Sue the company. But I let the entire thing—his words, and the whole experience—gnaw away at me.”

“I didn’t know.” Not the best thing I could say, but sorry didn’t seem any better. “Why didn’t I know?”

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