Page 10 of Gin and Bear It

“It could work for both of us with just a little bit of acting,” I say. I hope I’m not coming off as desperate, even though I truly am. “Just a little.”

“Did I not just say that I couldn’t fake being in love with you to save my life?” she asks.

She did, but the longer we talk, the less I believe her.

I felt something when we were bickering about love at Wes’s wedding. Intrigue, and not just because I didn’t recognize her when she was all dressed up. I felt that way when we were growing up—her laugh was always drifting through our house when she was over studying with Waylon and her brother. I always wanted to know what could inspire that kind of laugh.

A little bit of curiosity could go a long way. And I’m not going to give up yet. I can’t.

My stomach churns. If I don’t get the money, then what do I do? I could work for the company, or I could go into debt chasing our royalties. Either way, I could run out of money long before our troubles are fixed.

The band is going to officially break up, too, and then I’d have nothing.

And be nothing.

“Just consider it.” I grab a stack of Post-it notes and her glittery blue pen, then scribble my phone number on the top note. “Text me if you change your mind.”

“No, thanks,” she says.

I return to my table right as her friend comes back. I keep an eye on them the whole time, and she doesn’t throw away that note.

FOUR

JADA

He said yes!! …

I stare at Danika’s Instagram post for so long that my screen goes to sleep. But the image is burned into my retinas—my cousin, a big grin on her face, sitting across her boyfriend’s lap. He has a half smile on his face, showing the thick gold band across his ring finger.

Danika did not. She did not finally take the reins for the first time in her life and propose to her fuckboy boyfriend. They’ve been together for a decade and he’s flat out used every excuse in the book to not propose. But he said yes?

“Oh my god,” I say to my cat Pipsqueak. “This is so not the news I was expecting on a Tuesday morning.”

We’re cuddled up in bed because I have the afternoon shift at the front desk. But I’m never fully off since I’m the de-facto owner, so someone might call me. Thankfully everyone has it together and no one has needed anything.

Pipsqueak slow-blinks and does his equivalent of a meow—a full body effort that only yields the tiniest squeak.

“I know, right?” I say in response, snorting.

I screenshot the announcement and text it to Jeremiah. He refuses to be on Instagram because he doesn’t want his students to find him but loves it when I text him screenshots of everyone’s business. To my surprise, he texts back right away.

Jeremiah: guess even she got tired of waiting lmao. What’s the caption say beyond that?

I tap the caption to read the rest.

I’ve (finally ) got the ring and by the end of May I’ll (finally) have my bachelor’s!! Yes, ya girl is graduating with a degree in general studies!!! Then there’ll be even more changes but more on that soon watch this space

“Fuck!” I blurt so loudly that Pip scuttles off my lap and across the bed. When he realizes I haven’t spontaneously combusted, he comes back over and makes biscuits on my lap.

She’s going for the hotel. There’s no other explanation. And once she has her degree in a month, she can actually get it.

Is her boyfriend—fiancé, whatever—a fuckboy? Yes. But they’ve been together for ten years and no one could deny that they’re in love. Or that she loves him, at least. Close enough to fulfill the will.

My grandparents tried to have her work at the hotel, but she was more of a nuisance than a help. And we’re not exactly besties, so I doubt she’d want me to be in charge while it’s in her name. She’d run it into the ground so fast that no one could save it.

The whole staff, who are basically like my family, would lose their jobs. Including me. The guests that come year after year, or the people just discovering Jepsen, would lose it, too.

I slump back into my pillows and take a few deep breaths. The hotel is profitable, but I’m not rolling in cash with my student loan debt. I can’t buy it off of her.