Page 101 of House of Deceit

My TV is on, but muted while we talk, as I wait for the finale to start.

“When’s the next time you’re going to be home?” she asks.

In a regular year of filming, I would be going home tomorrow. The wranglers party just as hard at the finale as the contestants do. Lorelei and Tank take me out to dinner for a job well done, and then I enjoy six weeks without talking to anyone. Sometimes I’d go to another country and just spend time at the beach.

“There’s a break in our schedule in a little under a month. I’ll be home then.”

“I have someone I want you to meet while you’re here since you and Charlie didn’t work out. She’s smart and funny. A little quirky. Beautiful, of course.”

“Lore, I don’t want to meet anyone right now. I’m busy with this new job and learning everything I can from Tom.”

Her gray eyes get large and a little wet. She knows I’ll say yes to anything to keep her from crying. “Well, yeah, I get that. But even when you’re busy, you have time to meet people.”

I roll my eyes. That’s true. I rarely would turn down someone my sister wanted me to meet if for no other reason than to get laid. But since I’ve met Charlie, I have no desire for anyone else.

“I don’t want to just mess around anymore. I want something more, something real. But for right now, can you drop it?” I drag my hand through my rapidly drying hair.

“You fell in love with her, didn’t you?” She watches me with knowing eyes.

“I wouldn’t say love,” I hedge.

“I knew it!” She slaps the table she’s sitting at. “I fucking told Tank you were in love with Charlie and he swore up, down, and sideways you would never fall for her, but you did! When can I meet her? Even though you fucked it up, do you think she’ll go on girls’ trips with me? Is she as amazing in real life as she is on the show?” She runs out of breath before I can get a word in edgewise.

Annoyed at the direction of this conversation, I give in so it ends as quickly as possible.

“What makes you think I fucked it up? And she mentioned wanting you to go on a girls’ weekend with her and her best friend. And she’s even better in real life.”

“Because I’ve met you and sometimes, and I love you, but sometimes you can be an asshole.”

“I’m not an asshole!” I smile at the accusation, remembering when Charlie called me the same thing as I worshiped her.

“Remember that time Mom and Dad were out on a date and you were in charge and you threw shoes at me any time I moved from the couch? I almost peed my pants! Only assholes throw their shoes at their precious angel baby little sisters.”

“Angel? The girl who let the air out of my tires every week for a month? You wish.”

“Pah,” she says, swiping a hand through the air. “How about the time I had to tell Dad I was the one that dented his car so he wouldn’t kill you?”

“I feel like we are even on that one,” I tell her.

“Fine, fine. But seriously, no jokes. Do you want to fix it?”

Charlie’s face flashes in my mind, her head resting in my lap as I read to her. My fingers run through her hair as I read the pirate book she selected. She giggles as I try to give the characters different voices. I would feel humiliated if not for her laugh.

Looking down at her, she smiles up at me and the last piece clicks into place.

“I love her. I don’t really know when it started, but through our time in the interview room, I fell in love with her. I’m not sure I could want anyone the way I want her. But if it gets out that we are together, with what happened…I had to…” I trail off.“I had to. I can’t tarnish her reputation. She has brands begging for her to be their spokesperson. If anything came out, and we were together, it could hurt her ability to distance herself from me to save face. I did it for her, Lore.”

My voice catches in my throat at the end and I’m afraid I’m going to cry in front of my sister. I don’t want her to worry about me and the second she sees tears, she’ll be banging down the door of my hotel. I have to keep it together while I’m here.

“Are you going to watch the show tonight?” she asks.

“Yeah, I want to see if she wins,” I say, as the opening credits start.

I got to unmute my TV but an unsaved but memorized number pops up on my screen and my heart starts racing.

“Lore, someone’s calling me and I have to take this. I’ll call you tomorrow. Love you.”

I hang up on her before she can respond and accept the new call.

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