Page 28 of Redeemed (Dirty Air 4)

“Finalizing the last details for my project. What are you not doing right now since you called me for a distraction?”

“I can’t do it.”

“You can’t have sex with the hot guy who lives in the creepy castle?”

“No. I can’t find the courage to speak to Matteo. My body tenses up anytime I get the courage to visit his house.”

“Maybe you’re worried it won’t be a natural introduction.”

“I’m not sure how anything along the lines of ‘Hi, I’m the daughter you didn’t know existed’ can ever sound organic.”

“What are you thinking?”

“What do you mean?”

“Come on. I know how you are. You tend to be impulsive and I want to see how I can talk you out of whatever new plan you’ve thought up.”

“What if I applied for a job at the coffee shop he owns?”

“How do you know that he owns a coffee shop?”

“Umm… I followed him around yesterday after our phone call.”

Brooke whistles. “Damn, girl. You’re breaking all kinds of laws now. First, you were a peeping tom, then you got accused of some good, old-fashioned breaking and entering, and now you’re stalking someone? Where was this rebellious streak when we were sixteen and I begged you to sneak out to Jack Gibson’s party with me?”

“I didn’t want to get kicked out of another home.”

“Yet now you’re on a path to a more permanent house. The big house, if you get me.”

I laugh. “Well, it’s done. I’m putting my illegal past behind me. I’m not that girl anymore.”

“Wow, you have a quick turnaround time for changing yourself.”

“Brooke…”

“Okay! God, you’re really serious lately. So back to you working at the coffee shop.”

I tap my foot against the ground. “How does that plan sound?”

“Awful. You don’t like coffee.”

“Well, working at a coffee shop doesn’t require ‘liking coffee’ as a prerequisite. All I have to do is sell it.”

“And make it.”

“That’s nothing YouTube can’t fix.”

Brooke giggles. “So I gather that you plan on staying there a lot longer than the original two weeks we planned.”

I bite my lip. “Yes. I can set up an ad for someone to sublease my apartment that way we’re not struggling to pay the rent while I’m gone.”

Brooke clucks her tongue. “Don’t worry about it. I’m sure I can find someone from school who needs a place to crash.”

“Thank you.”

“You can thank me by sharing all the dirty details of this adventure. I seriously can’t wait for future developments of how you try to sneak in your real identity while working for your dad.”

I sigh, pressing my head into the cool metal of the gate. I can’t remember the last time I second-guessed myself like this. And I’m not sure if I’m capable of achieving the one thing I always dreamed of.