Page 33 of Say You Will

Silence falls between us.

“I challenge you to tell me something that stinks,” she says.

“That’s negative thinking.”

“Acknowledging that some things suck sweaty monkey balls isn’t negative. It’s accepting reality so you can move past it.”

I squinch my face up in disgust. “Unnecessarily graphic, but okay.”

I hesitate, then say, “Something that sucks is your brother offered me a paycheck to be his wife so your grandmother will give him shares in a real estate development company.”

It takes three solid beats of my heart before Bronwyn explodes. “Thatbonehead.”

I shrug. “I turned him down, obviously.”

“Obviously,” she says dryly. “Did he think because you had a crush in high school that you’d fall at his feet now? How rude can he get?”

I smile ruefully. “I’m not sure he realized how big of a crush I had. It’s fine. He apologized and accepted my refusal with good grace.”

Bronwyn’s brows come together. “Really?Henryaccepted defeat gracefully?”

I nod. “He’s a practical person.” A hard ball of stress tightens in my stomach, and I clear my clogged throat. “He offered me a job, though. He’s in the beginning stages of acquiring a small tech company in France, of all places. He needs a translator that can act as go-between. I’m excited about it.”

She tilts her head slightly to the side. “Interesting timing.”

“He calls it serendipitous. It is for me too. I can do this job. I’ll be good at it. My French is flawless, and he says I can use voice to text when my body isn’t cooperating with me.”

Despite the squinted eyes from her headache, a smile breaks across her face. “You’re right. It’s perfect.”

“You want to know something else unpleasant about my life? My father expects me to keep some old hotel magnateentertaineduntil the man signs a contract with him.”

Bronwyn’s expression morphs to disgust. “Why do I get the impression you’re not talking about an hour of conversation in your father’s office?”

“The guy saw my photo and wants to ‘get to know me.’ Jonny made it sound like whether the deal goes through or not depends on how friendly I am.”

“That’s revolting.”

I glower. “I know.”

“When are you going no-contact with your parents? They are so toxic.”

“I’m getting better at boundaries with them. I’d still be in California with my mother and I’d have agreed to date that guy for my father if I weren’t.”

Before Bronwyn can interject and tell me that’s not enough, I go on. “Besides, what’s the point of going no-contact with my father? I hear from the man once a year, if that. Everything goes through his PA.”

She shakes her head.

“You,” I accuse, pointing a finger, “are giving me unsolicited advice. We just agreed to stop doing that.”

She grimaces. “Oops.”

“You and Henry with your ‘oopses’ and your ‘hmms.’”

Her eyes widen. “Did you just pull a‘you’re just like your brother’ on me? Henry and I are nothing alike. At all.”

“Don’t tell me you haven’t absorbed some of his techniques in handling people. I won’t believe you.”

“They’re effective,” she defends.

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