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I tugged on my Jimmy Choo flats and sighed. “I miss the spinning shoe rack at Kir’s door.”
“And his dick,” Britney said.
My entire face heated. “Britney!”
Kelly locked the door behind us as we headed out. My friends laughed as we went down the flight of stairs and outside. Isabel said, “You’ve never blushed so much.”
At least my friends had helped me stop pitying myself. We walked to the corner and found a table. As we settled in, Miley folded her hands on the table. “Okay, so, tell us why you chose to sleep on Kelly’s couch and not in Kir’s bed, and don’t tell us it was the blog.”
The door opened, and my eyes widened. “Hope, you’re here?”
She tugged a chair over to the table. “Sorry I’m late. What’s going on?”
My skin tightened. Hope had a connection to Kir. Once she settled in, I took a deep breath. It was time to tell the truth and outline the original agreement between Kir and me.
I squared my shoulders. “So, everyone here is my friend. Kir decided to help me out to get a promotion at work when I asked him to be my pretend date for a while.”
Isabel looked at me like I was talking about a science fiction movie. “So, you were faking?”
“Yeah.” I stared at the table, and then the waiter came with a round of drinks. Britney must have ordered them. I accepted mine, and everyone waited till we were alone again.
Isabel then said, “You seemed so happy with him.”
Hope said at the same time, “And he loves you.”
My heart twisted as I stared at Hope. She knew. I took her hand. “You talked to him?”
Hope smiled at me as if she understood everything. “He’s my business partner with Charlie, though he took the rest of the day off to go to Red Rocks for rock climbing and then cliff jump from the top, and that’s after he parachuted this morning.”
My eyes widened, and I sat back in my chair, unable to breathe for a second. He’d told me did that stuff when he needed to feel alive. Heat rose to my face as I thought about the fact that I’d made him feel anything but wonderful.
I lowered my head. “I had no idea he already jumped today.”
Hope wasn’t blinking as she stared at me. “Well, it sounds like you two broke up after he visited your sister in the hospital and convinced her to go to Switzerland for treatment.”
Broke up. He’d said the same thing. My stomach twisted. He was the last person in the world I’d ever want to disappoint.
I tugged my shirt collar. “He did?”
Hope sat up and picked up her drink. “I’m not trying to guilt you. You know your feelings.”
No, I don’t. I needed to stop him from jumping off a cliff. I’d seen on video how dangerous that was. I sipped the drink. I wasn’t sure what to say. I had no money and no job. I had a credit card, though.
I asked, “Where are the Red Rocks?”
Hope pivoted her attention back at me. “Near Vegas. Why?”
I needed to tell him I loved him. Even if I'd fucked it all up. He had a right to know. “I have no idea how to stop Kir, but I need to talk to him. Risking his neck isn’t a good idea.”
Hope nodded. “Agreed. We need him at work. He is swamped with crunching all the confusing financials.”
Swamped? Analyzing financials was something I was good at. Maybe the job offer wasn’t out of pity after all.
I rubbed my forehead. “I’m crazy. Do I go back to his place and wait there for him, you think?”
Hope picked up her phone and texted. “I can get you to Vegas and the Red Rocks. You’d only be an hour behind him, based on what he blocked off on his calendar.”
I scooted closer to her. She was my lifesaver. “You’re helping me?”
