I breathed through my nose, anger and frustration roiling inside me. “I’ll make another dress,” I said, indignant. “I still have the designs. You’ll be the one wearing a knock-off. A copy.”
“Oh, sweetie, it’s so cute you think anyone would believe that I’m the one who stole from you.”
She smiled and crossed back to Julian, who stood patiently, tape measure around his neck, pins in his hand. She stepped onto a stool in front of him, and he bent over, adjusting the hem of the dress to accommodate Sasha’s smaller-than-Paige frame.
“You won’t get away with this,” I said, but the fire had already fizzled from my voice.
“That’s just it, Dani,” Sasha said through a sneer. “I already have.”
I took a step backward, still furious, but too defeated to keep pushing. I retreated to the door but then turned back. “You know what?” I said. “I feel sorry for you. It must be hard keeping up the façade—convincing everyone that you actually have talent. I wonder how long you’ll be able to keep it up? Especially since you won’t have me to steal from anymore.” I reached for the door handle. “I quit.”
Chapter Fourteen
Alex
“She really was like my best friend,” Jasmine said, for what felt like the fifteenth time. After lunch at The Brown Dog Deli, we wandered around downtown until we hit the battery, aimlessly wandering past centuries-old mansions and sprawling live oaks. It was a warm afternoon for fall—almost too warm—which only added to my discomfort.
Jasmine had been talking about Dani nonstop.
I had to wonder if she knew Dani and I had a history. Constantly talking about an ex-girlfriend seemed like a weird way to spend a date. But then I figured out Jasmine didn’t actually care about Dani. Or me. It was all about Isaac.
“We shared a cabin at summer camp one year, did I tell you that?” Jasmine said.
I nodded. “You did. So have you been up to see her then? In New York?”
Jasmine paused. “Oh. No, well, I’m not super big on traveling.”
Right. I bet that was it.
“Isaac goes to New York a lot, right? Does he take you with him? As his assistant?”
“Business manager,” I said, my tone short. I was trying, but the woman was making propriety really hard.
“What?”
“I’m his Business Manager. Not his Assistant.”
“Oh. Well, whatever. I’m sure his life must be so glamorous.”
For another hour we walked around the city. Had we not stopped at Kaminsky's to get dessert, the day might have been a complete failure. But eating her ice cream kept Jasmine quiet long enough that I was able to enjoy my milkshake in peace. And a Kaminsky’s milkshake was an experience all its own.
I was back home by four-thirty, my shoulders sore from the tension they’d been carrying all afternoon. I’d gone on a date to get Dani off my mind and instead experienced the exact opposite. I dropped onto the couch in the living room.
Isaac pulled off his headphones. He was, miraculously, alone in the spacious room. “How’d it go?”
I groaned my displeasure. “I think she only dated me hoping to get closer to you.”
“Really? Jasmine?” he said, in a tone that said he already knew. “You think she’s into me? Interesting.”
“She’s already tried to ask you out, hasn’t she?”
He grinned. “Did she talk to you about summer camp?”
I tossed a pillow at his face. “Why didn’t you warn me?”
He dodged the pillow with a chuckle. “I thought you might like her.”
“I hate you.” I threw another pillow, this one hitting him square in the face. “Where’s everyone else?”
“Went to see a movie,” Isaac said.
“And you didn’t go?”
“Naw. Didn’t feel like dealing with people. Sorry the date sucked. I kinda hoped she’d like you enough to stop talking about me. I mean, she’s not bad to look at.”
“No, but she’s not . . .” My words trailed off. Because finishing the sentence meant admitting to something I didn’t want to say out loud.
“She’s not Dani?” Isaac finished for me.
I sighed. So much for ignoring that truth. “Nobody is.”
I leaned back into the cushions. The first time I’d kissed Dani, it had been all her. I’d taken her to see Hamilton on Broadway and right there in the theater, minutes before opening curtain, she’d turned to me, taken my face in her hands, and kissed me. “Thank you for bringing me here,” she’d whispered.
It had surprised me in the moment, but the longer I got to know her, the more I’d realized that’s simply the way she was. She lived passionately. Intentionally. She valued experience, learned from and embraced the world around her, and never hesitated to fight for what she wanted.
“Hey, you busy in the morning?” Isaac asked.
“You tell me, boss.”
“Nah, this isn’t work-related. I have to go to my parent’s house and let in the guy who’s fixing the roof. I thought you might want to tag along and see the place.”
A surge of desire swelled in my chest. I likely would have agreed to go anywhere with Isaac just to keep him company. He was a good friend and he’d earned my loyalty. But seeing the house where Dani had grown up intrigued me in a way that surprised me. We’d dated close to a year; it was weird that we’d never traveled to Charleston together. But Dani had been so determined to make it in New York and to do it on her own. She didn’t make enough to afford the travel or the time off work, and she would have never let me fund the trip. It was hard enough to buy her dinner.
To get an inside glimpse into Dani’s life, even after our breakup, felt like an opportunity I couldn’t pass up. I tried not to sound too eager. “Sure,” I said to Isaac, with a dismissive shrug. “I’ll come. I don’t have anything else to do.”
Isaac gave me a knowing look and I grimaced. My feigned indifference must not have been too convincing.
“You could call her, you know,” Isaac said, his eyes focused back on the video game screen. “Tell her you’re thinking about her.”
I stood. “It’s not that easy. She still works for my stepfather. And that’s not a world I want to be in, even if she’s in it.”
Chapter Fifteen
Dani
Chase fell in step beside me as I hurried to the elevator. “That was the bravest thing I’ve ever heard you say,” he whispered.
I bit my lip, determined to keep the tears at bay. Not for Chase’s benefit. He knew me well enough to handle tears, no matter their reason for falling. But I had too much pride for anyone else at LeFranc to see me skulk away with my tail between my legs. I leaned against the wall of the elevator while Chase pushed the button for the third floor. I almost stopped him. It felt so much easier to stop in the lobby and walk away without a backward glance. But my phone and my purse were both at my desk.
“You okay?” Chase asked.
I shrugged. “No. But I think I will be. Eventually.”