Page 21 of Rock Hard

Alice went back to her room. It was hard to say which emotion held the largest sway—anger or sadness—but at that moment, anger was edging ahead. Things had to change. A plan had already begun forming in her mind, but she wanted to talk it over with Johnny first. In the meantime, she was going to give Carly a day to remember.

She found Johnny sprawled on the sofa, watching old cartoons and finishing off what looked like at least one of everything on the room service menu.

“What?” he asked innocently.

“Nothing. Get dressed. We’re going to have some fun, goddammit.”

***

MUCH LATER THAT NIGHT, Alice and Carly collapsed on the huge bed in Carly’s suite. Johnny had been sent off to his own room so the girls could have a night together. They’d had a wonderful day exploring the city. The hardest part was deciding what to do. Ultimately, they had decided on Madame Tussauds museum, where Johnny had posed with his waxen doppelganger, incognito, of course. Then they’d enjoyed cupcakes at Magnolia Bakery. From there, they’d walked around Times Square, taken a horse-drawn carriage ride around Central Park, and did some shopping on Fifth Avenue, finishing up with an amazing dinner at one of Alice’s favorite restaurants in Little Italy. Alice wasn’t sure who was acting like the bigger kid that day—Johnny or Carly.

“Johnny is awesome,” Carly said on a yawn.

“Yeah, he is.” Alice had been a little worried about how Carly would react to his presence at first, but Johnny had charmed her within minutes. Carly had been enamored with him for the rest of the day.

“Do you love him?”

“Yes,” Alice answered truthfully.

Carly was quiet for a moment, then said, “I can see why you left my dad for him.”

Alice decided it was time to be honest with Carly. “I didn’t leave because of Johnny. I do love Johnny and he loves me, but it’s more like a brother-sister kind of thing. We grew up together in the same group home.”

Carly’s eyes lifted. “A group home?”

“Yes. A home for kids with no families.”

“Oh,” Carly said slowly. “You guys didn’t have any family, so you created your own.”

“Yes, I guess we did.”

Carly thought about that for a minute. “Can I be part of your family, too?”