Page 55 of Win Some Love Some
She needed to start over.
“I’m sorry?” Peter said, unsure of what she’d been about to say.
“I’m just excited about your book,” she said with a half-smile.
“Well,” he said with a bashful smile that made me grind my teeth. “That makes one of us. Frankly, I’ve lost all interest in what I’d been working on because…well, I am obsessed.”
He looked up at Nora hopefully and I narrowed my eyes. I didn’t like this guy’s energy. Not one bit. I chomped another fry.
“With what?” she asked.
“You.”
Nora laughed. Hooted, really. Everyone turned to look at us and she went bright red.
Peter stretched his arm across the booth and turned towards her like I wasn’t even there.
“Peter,” she whispered, darting wide eyes over to me. “You’re not obsessed with me.”
“I’m obsessed with your story. With what happened to you with Rene.”
“The fuck?” I barked, cutting him off mid-sentence.
“Nick,” Nora admonished me.
“I don’t mean to bring up bad memories,” Peter said quickly, “but you have to admit the story is incredible.”
“It’s not a story,” I told him. “It’s her life. And it’s not for anyone’s entertainment.”
“Don’t I get to decide that?” she snapped at me.
I blinked at her. Stunned.
She shifted on the bench and reached for a fry, stalling for time as she figured out what she was thinking. Peter looked puzzled, but I knew what she was doing. She took her time eating that fry and then leaned forward to take a long draw on her coke.
Something about the way her lips wrapped around it bothered me.
“Listen,” Peter said. “You can tell your side of the story, instead of everyone interpreting what happened based on socialmedia and gossip. You can set the record straight. Own your story so it doesn’t feel outside of your control.”
Nora tilted her head like she was thinking about it.
“That video you made, the last one?” Peter asked. “The one that broke the story.”
The one in her bed, her eyes red from crying. She’d been nearly naked, emotionally and physically.
Guys,she’d whispered. Her voice broken and rough.I think Rene is a con man. I think… I think I’ve been conned.
Thinking about that video still had the power to send me into a blind rage. I wanted to find that guy and kill him. Just pulverize him. Bury his cold body in a shallow grave.
“It’s not like I could forget it,” Nora said with a brave smile and sad eyes. That video had been the beginning of the end for her. Even though she’d deleted it a few days later, it had taken on a life of its own. “Not my smartest moment.”
“But it was the bravest,” Peter said. “The most honest and vulnerable thing I’d ever seen. And it started an international manhunt. You are the hero of this story. Not the victim.”
“Thank you,” Nora whispered. “Can I… can I think about this? I’m still pretty raw.”
When I told her that, she didn’t believe it. But here she was eating it right out of this guy’s hand.
“Of course. Of course.” Peter squeezed her hands with both of his. “Hey, are you going to be at Terry’s wedding next week?”
