Page 95 of Can't Take My Eyes Off You

Melinda’s shoulder-length dark hair is lying limp without her cabinet of potions and on-call hairdresser, and for the first time ever, she seems almost human. No color-coordinated jewelry sets that complement her eyes or her sweater, and not a stitch of makeup on her face.

‘Was it supposed to be hard?’ she asks snidely.

‘No,’ I say. ‘I just—’

‘I was a lawyer, Berkley. I’m not brain-dead.’

My jaw drops open involuntarily. Melinda rolls her eyes.

‘You were a lawyer?’ I’m just realizing I know pretty much nothing about this woman. I’ve never asked, and Will doesn’t like to talk about them.

‘How do you think I met Jacob?’

‘I kind of assumed it was in the realms of the underworld as you battled for the most power.’

A pinched smirk crosses her face. ‘It was an evil lawsuit and I got him out of it. We were married six months later.’ The way she CliffsNotes the story makes it seem so unromantic. Obviously, Will didn’t get that from his parents.

There’s a slap on the counter that makes me jump, and when I look over, Mike is standing in front of me.

‘This isn’t your department,’ I remind him.

‘I know. I have a question, though.’ He motions for me to follow him. Reluctantly I do. All the way into the horror department, where he stops in front of the display I built of the Royals’ tell-all book that released last summer. ‘I stumbled upon this masterpiece this morning. What the hell is it and why are we in the horror section?’

I laugh. I’d forgotten about this since I can’t see it from the front desk. I received the book at an unfortunate time, just after Alex and I had broken up, so Olivia suggested we build it a fitting display. A four-foot penis built of books with all the Royals’ faces on them. It seems to have developed a bit of a tilt, which makes it funnier if you ask me.

‘It is what you think it is: a giant meat twinkie with your face on it.’

He bursts out laughing, turning away from me for a second before finally facing me with a straight face. ‘Why?’

‘Because y’all were giant tools, and I built a display I thought would represent the show.’

He rolls his eyes dramatically. ‘Has Will seen this?’

‘I dunno? It’s sort of hard to hide a four-foot penis made of books.’

‘Are you not afraid you’ll break his heart by making fun of him?’

‘No.’ I laugh. ‘I stand by this thing. If he was still on the show, he’d still be a big dick. Trust me, this is probably the most accurate book display for the Royals’ book in the city.’

He shakes his head. ‘You should ask Mom about Will,’ he says, under his breath like we’re staging some kind of evil plan together.

‘Absolutely not.’

‘Why?’ he asks. ‘You want answers. She’ll most likely talk when my dad isn’t standing by her side.’

‘This is a family problem, and three out of the four of you have made it very clear I’m not a part of your family. Why don’t you grow a set and finally stand up to your parents yourself?’

He shakes his head as if that’s impossible. ‘I’ll never understand why Will likes you.’

‘And despite your heartwarming apology earlier, I’ll never question why he doesn’t like you.’

He huffs. ‘Fine, you coward, I’ll do it,’ he says, suddenly marching towards the front desk.

‘Mike!’ I hiss his name as I follow behind him. My gut is telling me this isn’t a good idea.

‘Mom,’ he thunders, not keeping his voice down one bit. ‘What’s the deal with Will? Is what Dad said true?’

Melinda sets the book she’s reading on the counter gently, taking her time to meet Mike’s gaze with a sigh, her eyes moving to me as I walk back around the counter.

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