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“You don’t see it because he’s your brother. I’m mad at myself for not jumping on him. He was a hot mess back then, but I’m an expert at wrecks. I could’ve fixed him.”

I remember and shudder. That was a rough time all around for us. “He was in love with Lauren. He has always been.”

“I could tell he had more baggage than Samsonite. But he’s so delish I almost let him beat the shit out of Mateo that one time he came looking for him, just to watch him flex all those muscles.” Her eyes are dreamy.

It’s my turn to laugh. “You’re so crazy. Do you know how scary that was? My brother would’ve done some damage.”

“I know. That’s why I stopped him. I wouldn’t want him going to jail. Anyway, it worked out for the better. You met someone new…”

“And got dumped,” I retort, trying to keep the bitterness from my tongue but failing.

“He made a mistake but tried to rectify it yesterday.”

I look out past the downstairs terrace into the water. “I don’t know what that was about.”

“He fucked up. It happens. Trust me, I see it every day. Unfortunately for him, he doesn’t have a Maeven to fix it for him.”

“Um… If I can help it, I will never be in a relationship with someone who needs a Maeven in his life. No offense.”

“None taken,” she says, taking a bite of a croissant. “It’s messy. But life is messy in general. I would tell you to fuck it out of your system here in Positano. I know some people here I can hook you up with. But…”

“I’m not in the mood for that?—”

“You’re not over Oliver,” she says, conjuring images of his smile, his hands around me.

“I’m not,” I admit. Painful as it is, there is no bigger truth.

“What are you going to do about it?” Maeven asks.

“I’m going to get over him.”

She flips a hand over, exposing her pink stiletto nails. “How?”

“I have a plan.”

Her eyes light up. “I love plans. Tell me.”

“I’m going to take some time to myself. I haven’t done that well. I’m going to use that time to work on my career and myself. I have yet to do a single and traveling series.” I dig into my croissant.

“That sounds good. Like Princess Meghan before she met Prince Harry.”

“God, I used to love her blog. Yeah, something like that but more me.”

“I like it. Let’s start this afternoon. There are a couple of spots here that are perfect for IG videos. You can do some organic content.”

“Are you auditioning to be my publicist?”

She giggles. “We can add you to the roster. Right now, I’m more like auditioning to be a friend.”

I smile at her. “Consider yourself selected.”

“Okay, then, let’s get you started in your single bougie life.”

Oliver

Another sleepless night. Another day I’m driving on I695, but this time, I’m going in the opposite direction of Baltimore. I’m headed to Virginia with my stomach in a knot. Things with Ayla are improving. She’s back to her bright-as-the-sun smile and was her usual chatty self on the drive to school. She got to talk to her mother while I was in the room. I told her she could go to her room for privacy, but she chose to stay.

“No secrets.” She smiled and went on to talk to Noris for half an hour.