Page 45 of Arrogant Playboy

“And what do you think?” Georgia asks.

“I don’t know. It feels like the wrong time with everything going on. I don’t know if I’m up for it,” Emily confesses.

“You have us here. We will be with you every step of the way,” I say, giving her hand a squeeze. There is no way in hell the three of us are going to miss out on her exhibition, even if I have to sell my soul to the devil to get there.

Emily’s eyes glisten. “I showed Daniel the art I have been working on in the studio. He loved this new direction.”

“Did you show him that piece you did of you and Louis?” I ask.

“Yeah. I gave it to him to give to Louis.”

“You did?”

“If it helps him stay out of the darkness,” Emily states and my heart breaks for her.

“Aw, that’s nice of you.” Ava smiles.

“I think you should do it,” I tell her.

“That’s because it gives you an excuse to stay in touch with Daniel,” Georgia teases.

My eyes narrow at Georgia. “You deserve this. You’re so ridiculously talented, and you haven’t had many, if any, breaks over the years. If anyone deserves this, you do.”

“I’m only getting it because I slept with Louis.” Emily huffs.

“What? No, you’re not. Do you seriously think Louis or Daniel would do you this sort of favor simply because they know you?” I question her.

“You said Louis showed Daniel your art without him knowing it was you. You got this on your own merit. Why not take a chance?” Ava asks.

“Also, the gallery isn’t going to take a chance on an unknown if you're crap,” Georgia says sternly.

“After everything you’ve been through over the years, you deserve this break,” I tell her.

Emily starts to cry. Shit, did we push her too far? “I want to take a chance, but I’m scared, guys,” she confesses.

“You have us,” Ava reassures me.

“We’ll help you get to where you need to be. If that means we have to get you coffee so you can work all night, or buy you paints, we’ll do it,” Georgia tells her.

“I’m sorry, guys. I said those horrible things to you all, you didn’t deserve that. You were trying to help me, and I threw it all back in your faces,” Emily apologizes.

We let her down in Paris. I would have screamed and called us every name under the sun, too, if I’d been drugged and kidnapped by some vengeful asshole who wanted to take advantage of me, and my friends were having too much fun to notice.

“What happened was disgusting, and you were in shock. We don’t hold a grudge over your words,” I reassure her.

“But it wasn’t your fault, and I took it out on you all.”

“You needed to blame someone to make sense of it all. We understand, and we’re happy to take your angry outbursts as long as it helps you. We all love you, and we knew you were hurting. We’ve all been so worried about you,” Georgia tells her.

“I’m sorry. I didn’t mean to scare you all,” she says.

“You were processing, we understand that. You take all the time you need. We’ll always be here for you,” Ava says.

“I love you guys.”

“We love you, too.”

“One day at a time … that’s the only way for me to move forward,” Emily says.

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