Page 16

“Poor guy. He can’t build his pool with the family inheritance.” She faked a pout. “You can find something else, right?”
“I have no idea. I’m trying but ... I don’t know. Is Sebastian hiring?”
“For his department? Probably not. He sticks to a smaller team these days. But maybe the company is. I can ask.”
“That would be great,” I replied. “Where does he work again?”
“It’s called Leviathan,” she said.
The name sounded familiar, though I wasn’t sure why. I didn’t need to harp on it. A job was a job, no matter how much I dreaded it.
“I’ll owe him one if he saves my ass. Does he like it there?”
“Much more than working for his dad. He has a decent work-life balance these days.”
I tried to sound excited, but it was hard to when I hated working. I wished I had a life like Lily’s, where she had passive income and had free time that people with day jobs could only dream of. I knew she worked hard on her writing, and she’d had more than her fair share when her parents were still forcing her into modeling, but she had her happy ending now.
And I wanted that too.
But my life was all in books. My dating experience had been through apps and hadn’t led to any sort of connection besides a night of sometimes good, but most of the time boring, sex. Thankfully, I had Lily now, so I supported her in every way I could, including reading her books and supporting her as she renewed her vows to Sebastian. I loved her the only way I could—all the way.
“Wanna play video games until Sebastian gets home? I desperately need to think about something else.”
“Um, of course.” She gave me a bright smile. “What else would I do with my free time?”
“Glad I left my Nintendo Switch here. Mario Kart, or shall we continue our Stardew Valley save?”
“I’m in the mood to be a farmer today,” she said. “I’ll get us a few snacks.”
“I feellike I should marry Sebastian purely because he shares my husband’s name,” Lily said four hours later. She was following the in-game character with the same name as he walked to the beach.
“But he doesn’t give the vibe that real-life Sebastian has.”
“You’re just saying that because you want to marry game-Sebastian.”
“I do, but also, have you seen Harvey? He’s way better suited to you.”
“I like his glasses,” she said as she changed course to do something else. “But you’ve played this before. Shouldn’t you want to marry someone new?”
“Like who? Elliot? He’s too poetic.”
“Who is that again?”
“You thought he was a girl when we first started playing.”
“Oh!Yeah, he’s wrong too. The men in this game leave something to be desired.”
“It’s too realistic,” I muttered. “Sebastian at least has a motorcycle.”
“I keep thinking you’re talking aboutmySebastian.”
“Did hehaveto be named that?”
“Ask his dad. Oh, wait. Don’t. He’s a dick.”
I huffed out a laugh. “Fine, I won’t marry a man with the same name as your husband. I’m going for one of the ladies this time. Abigail?”
“She’s cute.”