Page 55 of Betting on You

Which led to me admitting I’d never heard of Joe Goldberg, which led to her spending thirty minutes telling me about the You books by Caroline Kepnes.

She offered to loan them to me, which I politely declined.

I offered to loan her my other Murakamis, whichshepolitely declined.

“You can keep your highbrow lit,” she’d said, raising her chin in that defending-my-stance way she had. “I prefer lighter reading.”

And by “prefer lighter reading,” she meant that she read five or six romance novels.

Aweek.

How did I know that?

Because I’d crept on her social media, of course.

Bailey the Introvert hadthousandsof followers on her bookish account, a place where she posted pictures and reviews of books she’d read. Her posts were smart and funny and engaging as hell, and even thoughIknew that side of her, it was wild to see her being bold when she was so… controlled and concerned in real life.

She was a fascinating contradiction.

“Excuse me.”

Bailey and I looked at the desk, and a tiny blond woman in a floral swimsuit cover was waiting with a scowl on her face. She seemed ready to Karen the shit out of us, and I stifled a sigh.

“Oh. Hi.” Bailey went to the counter and said, “Can I help you?”

I could tell just by looking at the woman that she was about to walk all over Bay.

“Yes,” she said, clearing her throat. “There is a tall boy in the World of Water who cut in the waterslide line. Not only that, but he looks entirely too old for the slide.”

“Okay…?” Bailey said, obviously waiting for the rest of the story.

The woman glanced at me, then brought her snooty gaze back to Bailey. “I would like him removed.”

“Um, removed…?” Bailey said, sounding confused. I could seeonly the side of her face, but I knew Bailey’s brow was creased, even without the visual confirmation. “Did anyone give him a warning, or—”

“No, maybeyoucould,” the woman said, raising her voice and scowling even harder. “Don’t askmeto do your job.”

I stood, feeling strangely protective of Bailey as the lady snapped at her.

The woman couldn’t have been over five feet tall, but she had that perfectly coiffed way about her that screamed of money and power. Shiny red manicure, big diamond ring, lipstick with a swimsuit, Louis Vuitton beach bag—it looked like the whole package.

“I—I wasn’t,” Bailey stammered, her cheeks turning pink. “I was simply—”

“I’ll talk to the kid,” I said, moving to stand beside Bailey. “You said he’s in World of Water?”

The woman nodded, looking appeased. “Yes.”

I said facetiously, “I’ll go take care of that little whippersnapper in just a moment.”

But then she replied, “Thank you,” gushing and laying some seriousSee, that’s how you treat a customereye contact on Bailey before going back down the hallway.

I felt like shouting,“The whippersnapper” was sarcasm, you hag!

“Whippersnapper?” Bailey gave me a look that showed exactly how nauseating she found me. “I think I just puked a little in my mouth.”

I stepped closer. “Quit lying. I was charming as fuck.”

“If ‘charming’ means ‘annoying,’?” she said, biting her lip and trying not to smile as I towered over her, pretending to be threatening, “then yes, you were totally that.”

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