Page 51 of Just the Tipsy
Mom nods, pleased. “Is that what you’d like to do in the long-term? Social media? Modeling can be so brutal as women age, I bet.”
Bianca pauses, her mouth popping open for a second. “Yeah, I think.”
“You think?” Mom raises an eyebrow in a way I recognize. She’s about to dive into her ‘what are your future plans’ talk in more detail, which generally ends up badly even when she’s just talking to one of my younger cousins.
Mom has probably planned everything in her life down to the day, so she can’t fathom the idea of anyone else being different. And that’s kind of the problem with her overall.
“She’s doing a great job,” Rose adds. “It hasn’t been long but our engagement is already picking up.”
Mom just nods, tearing a little piece off her biscuit. “That’s good. So that’s your career path? Social media?”
When Mom wants a question answered, she’ll ask it in fifty different ways until she gets what she wants. Bianca just blinks a few times, like she’s trying to figure out how to answer.
“I’m not entirely sure, to be honest. But I’m interested in opening a business. A spa,” Bianca says. “Someday in the future.”
“Oh, a spa in Jepsen would be amazing! There are a few nice ones in the mountains and over in Nashville, but a local spot would save me so much trouble.” Mom sips her coffee. “What spot in town were you thinking?”
“It’s just an idea at the moment,” Bianca says, looking down at her plate. Hopefully Mom doesn’t dig much deeper. This spa isn’t going to be anywhere near Jepsen but Mom doesn’t need to know.
“Ideas need action,” Mom says, her smile barely softening her feelings on the topic. “I’d start scouting locations — just to see what’s opening and where so you can choose a spot thatgets a lot of foot traffic. I’m not sure how much you know about Jepsen’s tourism, though. Do you have a business plan? Have you written one before?”
I can feel Wes’s eyes on me, silently sayingwhat the hell?I give him the same look back.
“Mom, do we need to dig into Bianca’s entire future? It’s a little…” I nearly saypushybut I’m not looking to start something. “A little premature. She said it was just an idea, not that she wanted to open the place tomorrow.”
Mom takes a bite, staring at me for several beats. “What’s wrong with asking her questions about her future? And making sure that she’s taking the right path for Jepsen? It’s very different from LA.”
The way Mom says it makes it sound like Bianca could never figure out the “intricacies” of Jepsen, as if the population isn’t one percent of the size of a single LA neighborhood.
“Bianca is more than capable of starting her own business when the time comes. Grilling her on it right now is pointless,” I say, pausing. “Unless you’d like to talk about it, Bianca.”
“I don’t really have a ton of ideas yet,” Bianca says. “I just know it would be more of a spa with treatments for acne, scarring, things like that. And the regular stuff too.”
Mom nods, like she’s trying to wrap her head around the concept of that kind of place.
“Interesting,” Mom finally says.
Bianca presses her knee against mine and lightly squeezes it, in what I’m guessing is a silent thank you for steering us away from the topic.
As soon as we’ve all eaten, Mom, Wes, and Rose drift off to socialize with other family, leaving Bianca and I alone again.
“Thanks for coming to my rescue on that,” Bianca says. “The spa.”
“It’s no problem. I’ve been on the other side of that before.” I rake a hand through my hair. We’re still sitting right next to each other, hip to hip, even though the rest of the table is empty. “It feels like that’ll be a recurring theme when talking to her.”
“I’m picking up on that.” She blows a breath out of her nose. “Are you okay?”
“Me? Yeah,” I say. “I can’t believe you’re the one asking me after that grilling.”
She shrugs, her arm brushing against mine. “I can still worry a little.”
I lightly squeeze her leg before I can stop myself. Out of anyone I could have chosen as my fake girlfriend, I’m glad I chose someone like her.
FIFTEEN
BIANCA
“You want to shower first?”I ask once we get back to our cabin. “I’m going to take longer than you.”
