Page 5 of I Think They Love You

“I hate you.”

It’s not true. For most of his life, Denz has semi-idolized Kami. Not quite as much as their dad, but a respectable second.

“Shall we?”

The moment Kami’s heels click against the lobby’s marble floors, all eyes lock on her. Near the elevators, three interns whisper excitedly. She doesn’t even notice the attention. From 8:00A.M.to 5:00P.M., Kami’s all business.

“By the way,” she says, eyes lowered. Her phone chimes away as she types. No doubt she’s replying to emails that piled up over the weekend. Anything that lands in Denz’s own company inbox after 3:00P.M. on a Friday goes unanswered until he’s at leastcaffeinated the following Monday. Maybe later. “The social media numbers from Saturday are looking exceptional. The best yet.”

“Did you expect anything less?”

When Denz came on as an events coordinator, 24 Carter Gold’s social media presence was a LinkedIn page, a Facebook account, and an irregularly updated Twitter feed. Fixing the company’s nonexistent digital footprint wasn’t one of his job functions, but Denz couldn’t resist.

Relentless dedication is Kami’s thing. Social media is his.

He did a complete digital rebrand. Diversified the platforms they used. Captured perfect candids at events. Spent weekends creating video content around the city. Tagged partnered companies for greater visibility.

Three months and ten thousand new followers later, his dad offered him a salary bump and an extra job title: social mediadirector.

Now, he’s an integral part of the annual NYE party’s success. While Kami, an events manager, handles the planning, Denz is the energy behind promotion. Personalized hashtags. Persistent reminders. Reshares from celebrities and his own public account, which has—not to brag—over eighty thousand followers alone.

In a family full of overachievers, he savors having a way to stand out.

“Five-star review from TFW,” Kami notes as they climb on the elevator.

“Not bad,” Denz says. The Final Word is a mildly reputable gossip site. He leans in a corner with Kami. Her eyes are lowered again, a soft smile tucked into the corners of her mouth. A hand shields her screen as if she’s watching porn, but Denz knows better.

He whispers, “It’shim,isn’t it?”

Kami elbows him hard. Her eyes flit around. The interns are busy on their phones, finished silently worshipping her. It doesn’t stop Kami from blushing, which isn’t noticeable since they sharetheir mom’s rich brown skin. But Denz can tell by the way she bites her lip.

He’s never met Kami’s secret boyfriend. The one she’s been dating since early November. The reason Denz spends at least one evening every two weeks babysitting his nephew. The most he’s gotten out of Kami is a first name.

“So…” He nudges her arm. “How’s Suraj?”

“We’re not discussing this.”

“Fine. Just give me a last name.”

“You’re not cyberstalking him, Denz.”

“Wouldn’t dream of it.”

He already tried. Kami’s hyper-curated following list consists of relatives, random college friends, and their favorite coffee shop. Not a single Suraj.

“I don’t know why you won’t tell everyone,” Denz says, his voice still lowered. Not even Nic knows this mystery boyfriend exists.

Kami locks her phone, flexing an eyebrow at him. “Youdon’t?”

Denz grimaces. Being a Carter is a full-time job. Thanks to the company’s continuous growth—last October, they hosted the Obamas’ anniversary party—the public’s expectations of them have been consistently high. The spotlight is always on. Then there’s the familial expectations,especiallyfrom the aunties.

What college they attend, their career aspirations, wardrobe, friend groups, who they’re dating. Every detail is up for dissection and approval.

No one has let Kami forget her last relationship, with Matthew, Mikah’s father. The man she delayed finishing her degree at Emory University for. The asshole who left when she was six months pregnant for “better” acting gigs in Canada. To date, his biggest role has been Sullen Bad Boy in a forgettable teen drama that Denz didn’t hate-watch in the dark.

(He did.)

His own dating life is purposely nonexistent. Nothing resembling a relationship. All his casual hookups come with preestablished rules:

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