Page 99 of Never Ever Getting Back Together

“I can’t tell Lauren, you sent her home.”

“Oh yeah. Anyway, in some ways, my life’s changed more than Sam’s has. The media really loves me, and I’m not locked up in a palace half the week, so I get dragged to a lot more events and stuff. Which is great, like I said earlier, because of sponsorships and the like, but it’s made dating a bit tricky.”

“Mm. So, bit of a drought?”

“Drought of decent, classy women, flood of gold-digging bitches.”

“Never change, Jordy.”

He pauses, lost in thought, like he’s deciding whether he wants to spill his guts to me. Then, he must figure it’s safe, because he leans in. “I was so excited about the show, though. Because it’s the first time it’s been aboutme,you know?”

Hmm, gotta say, I do not know. “Elaborate?”

“Ever since Sam met Florian, it’s been our whole lives. Yeah, I’m famous, and beloved and rich, but at what cost?”

“… You still haven’t made the cost clear.”

“I’m not Jordy Miller. I’m Jordy Miller, Samantha’s brother. We live here because of Samantha. I have to be careful what I say or do in public in case it affects her standing with the royals. My parents are obsessed with her, the public isobsessedwith her, it feels like I talk about her all day every day.”

It takes everything I’ve got not to “champagne problems” him. “That sounds… tough.”

“It’s not that I don’t want good things for her,” Jordy says, before swilling his beer. “I just don’t want those good things to come at a cost to me.”

“Sure…”

“My life was already good, you know? I was born good-looking and rich. Everything was easier before I became nobility.”

“You’re not nobility.”

“Close enough. Like, before this, I never had any issues with girls. Ever. I mean, obviously, look at what we’re doing right now. But… okay, how’s this? I met a girl last year.”

I don’t think I’ve ever met a guy who gets around the way Jordy does. “Was that before or after Francesca?” I ask.

“Before.”

“Ah. Go on.”

“I won’t go into too much detail about her, because I don’t want to upset you.”

“Very thoughtful.”

“I loved her, though.” When he says it, his voice goes funny. I don’t think I’ve ever heard Jordy Miller sound like that.

“What happened?” I ask. “I won’t be upset. You might as well tell me the full story. I promise, I’ll keep my raging jealousy in check, just for you.”

Jordy gives me a lopsided grin. “Okay, well… the whole thing happened crazy fast, like, I’d barely met her before I was mad about her. I thought she felt the same about me, but it didn’t take me long to realize she was a lot more into my sister than me.”

“Oh, was she queer, too?”

Jordy gives me a sharp look. “I mean Samantha’sstatus.”

“Right, sorry.”

“Anyway, she’s with another guy now. They seem very happy together.”

“And now you’re on here, dating everyone you’ve ever met,” I finish for him.

“Something like that, cheeky git,” he says, elbowing me.

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