Total pages in book: 103
Estimated words: 100466 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 502(@200wpm)___ 402(@250wpm)___ 335(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 100466 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 502(@200wpm)___ 402(@250wpm)___ 335(@300wpm)
"Are those the options? Either she's a traditional bore or she wants to hear you talk about her brother's sex life?" I ask.
But, of course, that's what Laurel wants. She smiles with victory. She even motions to me again look how it bothers him! Isn't this fun?
Zack nods along with her it is fun.
As always, they're in their own universe, where they cause everyone trouble and find it incredibly amusing.
A part of me is proud of them for developing such strong, take no shit personalities.
The other part wants to tell them to shut the fuck up for once in their lives.
But this is a celebration. They're supposed to push buttons. I need to go with it.
I try to channel an inner calm. A detachment. Daphne's interest is unimportant. My siblings' jests are irrelevant.
This is dinner before a friend's party.
I'm happy to celebrate marriage, whatever my feelings on the matter. That's the goal for tonight. Hooray marriage.
And finding a fling for Daphne.
Everything else is irrelevant.
Laurel tires of enjoying my pain and turns her attention back to Daphne. "Aren't you a sex researcher?"
Daphne's brow furrows.
Right. That's not news she's delivered. The last we heard, she's studying addiction.
How did Laurel find out?
Or maybe she misremembered. For a long time, Daphne was torn between the two topics.
"Not yet." Daphne goes with a non-answer.
I shoot Laurel a stop look.
Laurel smiles, enjoying my annoyance, but she nods okay. "Cass and D-man are going to join for the show."
"Then leave early for another session, probably," Zack says.
"Well, who can blame them after"—Laurel drops her voice to a deep tone, in an imitation of a wrestling announcer—"The Thunder From Down Under."
"What about Nathan and…" Daphne struggles to remember his fiancé's name. "Kenji."
"They're running late. Same issue probably." Laurel laughs.
"Is it just us then?" Daphne asks.
"No." Laurel checks her slim silver watch with faux disinterest. "Uncle Pete's mentee is joining."
"Why do you still call him Uncle Pete's mentee?" Zack asks. "You've known Romeo for five years."
"You call him Romeo?" Daphne's nose scrunches in confusion. She doesn't remember the guy. Or she doesn't recognize their dynamic.
Laurel and Zack both pretend they don't care about anything. Even their jobs.
Deep down, they're passionate.
But Laurel wouldn't be caught dead admitting she still has a crush on the guy she's known since she was a teenager. Even if he was obviously interested in her.
"You don't know Romeo?" Zack asks. "Really? I thought Uncle Pete liked your dad way better."
"Why would Uncle Pete like her dad better than his own brother?" Laurel asks.
"I think Jackson can explain that one. He likes Damon better than both of us," Zack says.
"Speak for yourself," Laurel says. "You like me more than Damon. Right, big bro?"
They're fucking with me on purpose now.
I match their level with a so-so gesture.
Zack smiles called it. Laurel laughs, enjoying the return of teasing.
Daphne looks between them, noting their ridiculousness and ignoring it. (The smartest move). "Oh. You mean Rome. Isn't it short for Roman?" Daphne asks.
Zack and Laurel exchange a look. "Is it?" he asks.
Laurel shrugs in an attempt to sell her disinterest. But she shrugs too hard, makes her voice too bored. She overdoes it so much it's obvious she's playing a part. "How should I know?"
"'Cause you're obsessed with him," Zack says.
"No. He's obsessed with me." Irritation slips into Laurel's voice.
"Obsessed with how annoying you are," Zack says.
"Yeah, well, I don't think about him at all," she says with very little conviction.
They aren't enemies, exactly. They're not friends either.
I suppose they're something like frenemies.
The way Cassie and Damon were.
Only that was different. Cassie had a crush on Damon.
Or is it different?
I study my sister's expression, trying to find the truth underneath it, but it's impossible. She's too good at the poker I don't give a fuck about anything face.
Crush or no crush, she doesn't get along with Rome. The two of them are fire and ice.
Rome is a steady, responsible guy who worked hard for everything he has and who would do anything to keep working with our dad and his brother at their label.
Well, it's Dad's label. He doesn't co-own it with his brother. He owns it, and his brother, our uncle Pete, has his own division. Dad is way too uptight to partner with someone as relaxed as Uncle Pete.
I don't know their corporate structure. Only that Dad is the man in charge, and Uncle Pete heads some division. They were both richer than god when they retired from touring, so neither is in it for money.
Dad is in it to prove he can run the world.
Uncle Pete is in it to mentor at-risk kids. A more honorable motivation, but he never really sees it that way. He just loves sharing music with people, the way Dad loves, well, control.
Way back when, Rome was one of Uncle Pete's at-risk mentees. When Laurel took an interest in music, she joined the program unofficially.