Page 22 of A Photo Finish
Now it’s Billie’s turn to roll her eyes. “Think of it this way. You’re one quarter of the way through your recovery. That’s not so bad!”
I glare back at her, where she’s curled into the corner of the big plushy couch opposite me, legs tucked underneath herself, looking comfortable and carefree. I’ve been trying to put my best foot forward, to stay positive, but I must confess . . . I’m floundering. I’m bored. I’m sad. And I’m feeling a little resentful—angry, maybe. This was supposed to be my season to prove myself.
“You okay, Vi?” The skin between Billie’s brows pinches together.
My breath rushes out of my body on a huge sigh. “Yeah.”
She’s not buying it. “What’s wrong?”
I don’t want to stress Billie out. I don’t want her to worry about me, and she’s such a mother hen that I know she will. “Nothing,” I say, pasting a fake smile on my face.
She stares at me, hard. I hate it when she does this. It’s like she’s digging through my brain without permission. “Did Cole do something?”
I look down and snort as I trail my index finger around the rim of my wine glass.
“Violet,” she whines, “are you ever going to tell me what’s up with you guys? I’m trying to be a grown-up about it, but it’s literally killing me. Being a grown-up is really hard.”
My eyebrow pops up skeptically. “You look fine to me.”
She groans and looks up at the wood-beam ceiling. I roll my lips together again, weighing my options. I could talk about Cole, or I could talk about my intense level of sadness and disappointment and probably start crying. For once, talking about Cole feels preferable.
I take a big swig of my wine. Liquid courage.
“Okay, Cole and I met on the internet.”
She hunkers down, leaning forward slightly, like a little kid getting ready to listen to a campfire story.
“On a . . . uhm . . . ” Oh god, saying this out loud is harder than I thought.
“Dating website?” she prods.
I almost laugh. The thought of Cole on a dating website. “No, more of a . . . uhm, forum?”
“Okaayyy.” Billie looks confused now and my cheeks heat.
I just blurt it out and get it over with. “A forum where people post nudes,” I say quickly, before shoving my wine glass in my face again.
Her brows knit together. “Cole posts nudes on the internet? If he weren’t my future brother-in-law, I wouldn’t be averse to see—”
“No, I did.”
Billie’s feline eyes bulge out as she chokes on her mouthful of wine. With one hand across her chest, she gasps for breath. “You?”
I nod.
“My sweet little Vi?”
I go beet red. Head to toe, I’m sure. I hear a click but can’t look away from Billie.
“You posted naked pictures of yourself . . . on the internet?”
And somehow, because I have the worst luck in the world, this is the moment that Vaughn waltzes in through the front door.
He looks at Billie and me, his dark features intentionally blank, and holds his hands up in the air. “I was never here.”
“It was one picture! One time!” I announce to the room, trying to clarify myself and cringing so hard at the thought of people I know and respect finding this out about me. Billie is one thing. But Vaughn?Ugh.
“I heard nothing!” he calls back a little too brightly as he heads upstairs. “And even if I did, I’m all for women taking charge of their sexuality!”
