Page 46 of Dev Girl

Watching myself change as she did her thing was a surreal experience. My brains stayed mine, but the man I watched in my reflection became someone else.

Life was like that though—we all changed, we all grew into people we didn’t recognize, even if in our heads we thought we were the same.

Wow, deep thoughts. I took a long sip of coffee and focused on letting the caffeine clear my mind.

“Ready for the paint,” Aubrey said. “While I do this, I need you to be as still as possible, so I can keep the lines straight.”

“Will do.” I settled my expression into the most neutral, relaxed posture I could manage, and watched in the mirror as Aubrey began to put the first lines in place.

“Does Alys know, and you asked her to keep it a secret, or are you hiding it from her too?” Aubrey asked.

I raised my eyebrows. She couldn’t be talking about…? No. “Does Alys know—?”

“No talking.” Aubrey clipped the words.

“Then no questions.”

“Yes or no questions. I promise,” she said. “Does Alys know you’re selling?”

“How do you—?”

Aubrey pressed a finger to a portion of my lips that weren’t currently lined. “Shh.”

Why did I feel like I’d been set up? I sighed to convey my displeasure. Seriously, how much did she know and where did she hear it?

“I was talking to Brooke when she got the remodel request from your buyer.” Aubrey switched to a new brush with a broader surface, and started filling in the circle closest to my fake hairline.

The best response I could manage was to flat my nostrils and open my eyes wider. Did that come close to conveying you were talking to Brooke? I’d assumed the buyer request was coming, but didn’t expect it until after the sale was final. The city council had to approve any major remodels on Main Street, since the block had been declared a historic district about a year ago.

“Yes, I’m on speaking terms with Brooke.” Aubrey almost sounded smug. “It’s awkward because yes, she stole my guy. But she didn’t really because I’m not an idiot. Deacon was never mine.”

Great. Swell. Good for her.

Despite the mental sarcasm, I was glad Aubrey was dealing well with the whole situation.

I still didn’t like that she had this information about me, though.

“Does Alys know?” Aubrey asked again.

I gave a grunt that should convey no. My mind was already jumping several steps ahead to how hard I’d need to beg Aubrey to keep this quiet. Would I be able to convince her to hold onto the information for another week?

Considering she was much closer to Alys than she was to me, I doubted it, but I plucked through various options anyway.

“Will she know soon?” Aubrey asked.

Soon was a matter of opinion. I gave her a grunt that I hoped sounded like uh-huh.

Aubrey filled in another circle in a new shade of blue, and went back to blend the gradients. “I don’t want to be the one to tell her. I don’t have anything against you, so that feels petty, and if it comes from me rather than you, it’s going to hurt Alys a lot.” She pulled her hands from my face. “But I won’t keep it a secret for more than a day or so. Give me your word, say it, that you’ll tell her.”

“I swear. The last thing I want is to hurt Alys. But there’s nothing to tell until there’s more of a deal. The guy Brooke talked to is jumping the gun.” Not the total truth, but it was close enough.

I hated adding another deception to the growing stack.

Aubrey studied me for a moment, then leaned in with a different shade of blue. “Okay.”

Maddox showed up a short while later, ready to get to work. The photos themselves took an embarrassingly short amount of time given how much work Aubrey put into the make-up.

It was a shame to wash it off so soon.

---