Page 94 of Dropping the Ball

He pulls in next to my car. “Didn’t you say this is how Madi is? And her friends? That they would do anything for each other? For her? For you?”

“For her, yes.”

“You don’t think they would do anything for you?”

“I’ve never needed them to.”

“But would they?” he presses.

I climb out of the truck. He cuts the engine and follows me to my car, waiting.

I drum my fingers on the roof. “I know you think the answer is yes, but they all have lives now. Husbands. Careers and babies. I would never ask them to drop any of that for me.”

“Would they do it for Madi?”

“Yes.” No hesitation. If the term ride-or-die hadn’t already existed, they would have invented it.

“And would she do that for them?”

“Yes.”

He places his hands on the roof of the car on either side of me, not touching me, but he leans in so that I lean back, flat against the door. “Would Madi do that for you?”

“She has a lot—”

“Kaitlyn. Would Madison do that for you?”

I sigh. “Yes, butI’mtrying to be that forher.”

“Youare. What else would you call putting your life on hold for seven months?”

“It’s not that big a deal.”

“Liar.” It’s a soft and sweet word, the way he says it. “Couldn’t you have taken the bar in July if you weren’t stepping in for your sister?”

“How did you know that?”

“I have lawyer friends. You could have, right? But you pushed it all the way off to the February date to get through this gala.”

“So?”

“Wouldshedo that foryou?”

“If I had a baby? Yes. She would run interference so I wouldn’t have to worry about anything. And that’s what I’m doing for her. Dragging her into the gala problems isnotrunning interference.”

“You are the most stubborn woman I’ve ever known.” He rubs his hands over his face and gives a muffled groan before he drops them. “Last time I made you mad, you didn’t talk to me for eight years, but elf it.”

I snort.

“This needs to be said. What would Madi want more? For you to hide this from her, then you both watch it fail, and you’re both miserable? Or for you to ask for help, you both watch it succeed, and you celebrate the win together?” He tips my chin up and waits for me to meet his eyes. “You know who Madi is. Let her be that for you. Tag her in.”

He drops a kiss on my forehead. Then he opens my door, waits for me to get in, and stands there watching me drive away.

Let her be that for you.

Can I?

I consider the question all weekend. Can I ask Madi to help? Can I go to her and say “I can’t make this auction happen”?

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