Page 36 of Falling Into Forever
“Well then, take her to Three Brothers Brewing. Grady keeps her favorite wine behind the counter, and he’ll be able to help.”
“Ainsley!”
“Gotta go,” she yips right as my phone beeps with another call.
Dante drops his head with a groan. “It’s the lady viper.”
My lips twitch because it can only be one person. “Ains, we’ll call you back. Okay?”
“Yeah,we’llcall you back,” he says with a disarming grin.
I dart my gaze toward him, and heat creeps up my neck.
“Not we. I mean me. I’ll call you back.” I’m reaching for the phone when he wiggles his fingers at my sister, then clicks the green accept button, and the screen fills with Kate’s face.
Dante’s body deflates at the sight of her. Hmm. I guess Kate Gerard has that effect on everyone.
“Dante,” she snips. “Is Sassy there?”
“Why am IDante, but she’sSassy?” This time his tone is teasing.
Oh my god. He’s like a whiny little toddler. Yup. Keep thinking that—anything to counter the other thoughts stirring in my body.
“Because they’re both masks of people whose asses I’m trying to save. Is she there or not?”
He turns the screen toward me, and his smile melts into a frown, so I reluctantly come closer. Rolling his shoulders, he sits on the edge of the bed, and I’m forced to sit next to him so we’re both visible on my iPhone camera.
“I sent the extended video toPage Six. It’ll go live any minute. It’ll take a while for them to track you down in Hope Hollow, but make no mistake, they will. Spend this time getting Hope Hollow on board with this new relationship. Make the people who know you best believe in the fairy tale, or it’ll never work.”
“But…”
“Sassy, it’ll be fine. When I went searching for you, no one in that town would give me the time of day. If they think you’ve forgiven him, they will protect him too, at least long enough for our plan to work.”
It’s so annoying when she’s right.
“We’re heading to the brewery,” Dante announces.
It’s a testament to how much that surprises Kate when it actually shows in her expression. “You are?”
“Sure.” He shrugs.
“Well, if you can sell this to Grady, you can sell it to the public.”
Why did I ever introduce her to Grady? If I’d known she’d throw it in my face like this, I would have kept his friendship to myself. This is what having two glasses of wine does to me. It makes my mouth all loosey-goosey.
“But why?” I demand. “Why do we have to sell this here?”
“Because, Sassy, you’ve managed to piss off Malimar, and now the court of public opinion is the only one that matters. Social media makes and breaks people every day. We need it to make you. So if either of you wants to work again, you will make this look like the most romantic story ever created, or they’ll cut you off at the knees. Trent and Olivia have turned Dante into enemy number one, and you? You’ve turned Will Malimar’s princess into a dildo meme. He won’t let that go unnoticed, and he’s a vindictive son of a bitch. Get your shit together, put on your happy faces, and fall back in fucking love.”
Dante opens his mouth, but Kate isn’t finished.
“Sex sells stories. Make Hope Hollow believe you’re having the hottest sex in Connecticut, so when the soul suckers invade, we have the seeds of a love story the world is already interested in planting roots.”
“You want us to have sex?” My voice quivers like I’m one hundred years old, and my knee bounces wildly against Dante’s thigh. My brain starts spinning with the tempo of Jimmy Eat World’s “The Middle.” It’s chaotic and makes my heart race, but somewhere in the angry beat are words I cling to.
“I don’t care if you fake it, Sassy. But do whatever you have to do to make it appear real.”
“You want me to lie.” I stare up at Dante. “To everyone who has stuck by me my entire life.”
