Page 30 of The Arrogant One

Like this one.

“This drink is hitting so differently—am I right?” I said to the girls.

Cat was to my right, and Bryn was to my left, the three of us at a high-top table in the bar of a popular sushi restaurant.

Dear Foodie wasn’t on duty tonight. This was all Sadie.

Of course, I’d still snap some pictures and share it on my social media with a cheeky caption. When food was beautiful, it deserved an audience, and that was why I fed it to mine. My brand wasn’t just about reviews, although that was a large part of it; it was also about celebrating all things culinary. So, when Igot home, I would choose the best picture from this evening and schedule it to go live in a few weeks.

The girls knew that when I was at a restaurant, my phone would stay on the table, and I’d be snapping photos throughout the evening, even asking them to take some of me, neck down, to guarantee I wouldn’t be recognized.

“This honestly might be the best thing I’ve ever put in my mouth.” Bryn laughed. “Okay, maybe that’s a bit extreme, but, yes, it’s hitting in every way.” She nodded toward my sister. “So, fill me in. How are things with Mom and Dad? Sadie told me they’re driving you cray.”

“Cray is an understatement,” Cat replied. “I’m really thankful Sadie talked me off a ledge and tried to make me feel better, but the way they constantly weigh in on every situation and pretty much let me know that whatever I’m doing, I’m doing wrong—I could do without all of that.”

“I’m thirty, and my parents still do it to me,” Bryn told her.

I lifted my hand in a wave. “Same to the age and same to hearing the constant opinions of our parents.”

“But you’re kicking ass,” Cat said to me. “You’re making a ton of money, you own your own condo, and you did it all without our parents’ help. What exactly do Mom and Dad have to say to you? You’re making all the right decisions.”

“I didn’t make all the right decisions, little sis. I made decisions that just happened to work out after lots and lots that didn’t.” I offered a gentle smile. “Mom and Dad harp on my plan B. You know, on what I’ll do if social media goes away or shifts and influencing no longer pays my mortgage. My gig atSeenpays well for a publication, but it doesn’t compare to the brand deals I get checks for and my earnings from the social media giants.”

Bryn moved her hair off her shoulder. “Your followers aren’t just going to disappear.”

“No, they won’t, but that doesn’t mean I’ll get paid to have so many,” I countered.

Cat shook her head. “Mom and Dad will forever worry about every single thing.”

“Remember, it’s kinda their job, and we have to love them for that,” Bryn said. “Just because we left the nest doesn’t mean they’ll cut back on parenting. I swear, girl, it only gets worse.”

“Ugh,” Cat groaned.

“Wait until you have a kid,” Bryn offered. “You’re going to hear everything that they did and why it was right and why you should do it too—at least, that’s what my sister tells me.”

Cat rolled her eyes. “I can’t wait.” She held the wide glass of her filthy martini up to her lips. “Stop me when I try to convince the waitress to get me a pitcher of these. Because that’s how many I’d like.” She swallowed down half the contents. “Two martinis I can handle. Three? Things have the potential of turning a little wild.”

I laughed. “Three is, by far, my max too.”

Bryn smiled at me. “We’ve heard about Cat’s week. Now it’s your turn.” She ran her finger around the rim of her glass. “Work-wise, I’m sure it’s been a doozy since I know how busy you’ve been. But personal-wise, I’d say the end of last week wasn’t so bad for you.” Her grin grew.

“She’s talking about the Horned guy, isn’t she?” Cat asked.

“Oh, he was horned all right.” Bryn laughed.

My sister didn’t know all the details. Some things didn’t need to be mentioned to family, regardless if we were best friends. Cat knew I’d broken my dry spell and that, for once, I’d become a bad girl. She didn’t know how many times I’d had sex with Lockhart and where. The gist of it was that I might have turned bad for a night, but the good girl had returned.

“We were both horned,” I added.

“Tell me again why you haven’t already fallen in love withthis man and spent every night with him this week?” Bryn asked.

“You know why,” I replied.

“It’s me,” Cat said, raising her shoulders in defeat. “I’m the problem.”

I put my hand on one of those shoulders and rubbed it. “You are not. You called me that morning. I made a decision, and I left his suite. I could have woken him up, he could have gotten my number the night before. Lots of different scenarios could have played out, but none of it is your fault.”

Every word of that was the truth. Still, I had regrets. Even though I didn’t know how I’d feel if I’d woken him up and things turned awkward and he didn’t want my number, at least I could have said I’d made the effort. Because I hadn’t, I opened my eyes every morning since and wondered about what-ifs.