Page 77 of All Signs Point to Malibu

We clink glasses and my mind reels.

I got her out. Now what?

I guess I was hoping that when I arrived at the resort to pick her up, she’d miraculously tell me the wedding was off. But she looked happier and more relaxed than she has in days.

Sonia takes in the club and I try to figure out what to say. This is likely my last chance to talk her out of this, without actually talking her out of this.

Manipulating people is a lot trickier than it seems.

Are you sure you want to get married when your career is on the rise? Think of all the movie stars you could bang if you were single?

Probably not.

Married women are likely to age quicker than their single counterparts?

Not Sonia. She’ll look radiant forever.

I’ve got nothing.

“This place is so great,” she says, leaning closer to yell above the music. “I take it you know the owner if you were able to secure this VIP experience on short notice?”

I nod as I sip the champagne. “He was a client of mine.”

Sonia looks at me in awe. “Did you always know this was what you wanted to do with your life?”

I laugh. “Honestly, growing up I was the most lost teenager ever.” The truth slips out unfiltered and slightly unexpected, but I don’t get the usual uneasiness I typically do when I overshare.

“That can’t be true.”

I stare at the liquid in my glass and an unfamiliar sense of wanting to open up to someone overwhelms me, so for the first time in my life, I go with it. “It is. I went to the same high school as Liam and Warren, but I didn’t exactly belong. I lived outside the district and my mom worked hard to pay my tuition. She always said our family suffered from a curse and she wanted me to be the one to break the cycle of poverty.”

Sonia’s expression is thankfully not one of sympathy, but one of respect. “You did it. She must be proud.”

“I hope she would be.”

She touches my hand gently. “Sorry. I know what that loss feels like.”

She lost her mother in a car accident four years ago so this is something we have in common. This unexpected friendship has me severely conflicted and I’m disappointed that it can’t actually be something.

“Then, how did...this transformation...happen?” she asks, gesturing to indicate who I am now.

“In high school, I discovered I had...” I pause. Can’t bethatcompletely vulnerable. “...a knack for helping others reach a goal or potential. Providing support, being that one person that believed in whatever they wanted to achieve or offering advice from an outside perspective.”

She smiles. “I’m envisioning a Lucy ‘help booth.’”

I laugh. “If only I’d been smart enough to charge for my services back then. Anyway, it just seemed like a natural fit and then the popularity of life coaching made it possible to pursue it as a career.”

“But how do you always know how to help people?” She crosses her long legs and settles in with genuine interest. “I mean, I can barely figure out my own life.”

“It’s easier from the outside looking in I guess.” I take a sip of my drink.

“Well, I for one am eternally grateful for your guidance and...friendship?” She looks hopeful.

“And friendship,” I say. For now anyway...

Disappointment creeps into my chest. I hadn’t even thought of how this whole thing would impact my life. I hadn’t believed it would. But first this connection with Warren...now Sonia. Losing both of them at the end of all of this will be tougher than I’d imagined.

Ripple effects. Collateral damage.

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