could be no changed minds, not without lost money at least.
“Hey, girlie.” Angel’s standard greeting was more than welcome in my ear. “What’s up?”
“What’s your schedule like between now and mid-July?” Since school had finished, she’d been concentrating on her modelling career. With her tall but athletic frame, her bikini body was nothing short of amazing, and she tended to get the majority of her bookings over the warmer months. She was sure that would continue until she broke into the Milan fashion scene or something like that—she had a different dream every month. Long-term they all revolved around fashion design or photography, but she was flaunting it while she had it until she got there.
“Um, nothing I can’t cancel. Why?” She couldn’t hide the suspicion in her tone. Maybe she wasn’t even trying to.
“Because I need to ask you a huge favour.”
“Uh-huh, what trouble have you got yourself into now?”
“Mum and Dad are on board with me going to the States!” I practically screamed the words at her. We’d discussed the idea of a US trip after graduation during our last year of high school, but hadn’t got there yet because of our conflicting schedules. Well, our conflicting schedules and the fact that I’d been positive Mum and Dad would never let me leave the country without one of them accompanying me.
“No way!”
“Uh-huh.” I ran my free hand through my hair as I spoke to her, needing to do something to dispel the nervous energy racing through me. “With a couple of conditions.”
“Let me guess, the first is that you need a chaperone.”
I grinned. She knew me too damn well. “And you were the first person I thought of.”
“I’m not sure if I should feel flattered or used.” I could almost picture her reaction, the pursed lips and hands on her waist.
“Flattered, my angel, always flattered.”
“When are you leaving then?”
“As soon as possible. Two weeks?”
She hummed, and the sound of turning pages came down the phone. Despite being modern about everything, she still kept an old-fashioned appointment book for her schedule. I couldn’t do that, even if I wanted to because there were too many contingencies and other people involved. Instead, I relied on the blips and beeps of my phone’s calendar to keep my appointments on track.
“Doable,” she said after a moment. “What are you thinking? Road trip?”
“Kind of . . .” I trailed off, unsure how to tell her my actual plans.
She laughed, no doubt understanding my intention. “You want to ditch me the moment we land, don’t you?”
I joined in with her laughter. “Maybe not the exact moment. But this is something I need to do alone.”
“As if I haven’t had to listen to that conversation a thousand and one times.”
“That’s not true!” I exclaimed. “It can’t be any more than a thousand.”
She laughed. “Count me in. I’ll try to line up some meetings with agents and fashion houses for when you ditch me.”
We discussed possible flight itineraries and dates, and I grabbed all of her passport details so I could get Audrey to book the flights for us. It was Audrey’s job to arrange all travel for Emmanuel Racing; she had enough contacts to get a far cheaper deal than I could alone.
Once I disconnected the call with Angel, I ran back downstairs to where Mum and Dad were sitting in the middle of what seemed like a heated conversation. I pressed my cheek against the wall, trying to make myself as invisible as possible as I listened in.
“I don’t understand why you’d agree to this, Lys,” Dad said. His voice belied the anxiety he felt, and his irritation that Mum had acted opposite to how he’d obviously expected her to.
How I’d expected her to as well, to be honest.
“I don’t see what the problem is. You’d already agreed.”
“No. I told her that it was okay if you said it was okay.”
“That’s as good as agreeing.”
“No, it’s not.”
I
“Hey, girlie.” Angel’s standard greeting was more than welcome in my ear. “What’s up?”
“What’s your schedule like between now and mid-July?” Since school had finished, she’d been concentrating on her modelling career. With her tall but athletic frame, her bikini body was nothing short of amazing, and she tended to get the majority of her bookings over the warmer months. She was sure that would continue until she broke into the Milan fashion scene or something like that—she had a different dream every month. Long-term they all revolved around fashion design or photography, but she was flaunting it while she had it until she got there.
“Um, nothing I can’t cancel. Why?” She couldn’t hide the suspicion in her tone. Maybe she wasn’t even trying to.
“Because I need to ask you a huge favour.”
“Uh-huh, what trouble have you got yourself into now?”
“Mum and Dad are on board with me going to the States!” I practically screamed the words at her. We’d discussed the idea of a US trip after graduation during our last year of high school, but hadn’t got there yet because of our conflicting schedules. Well, our conflicting schedules and the fact that I’d been positive Mum and Dad would never let me leave the country without one of them accompanying me.
“No way!”
“Uh-huh.” I ran my free hand through my hair as I spoke to her, needing to do something to dispel the nervous energy racing through me. “With a couple of conditions.”
“Let me guess, the first is that you need a chaperone.”
I grinned. She knew me too damn well. “And you were the first person I thought of.”
“I’m not sure if I should feel flattered or used.” I could almost picture her reaction, the pursed lips and hands on her waist.
“Flattered, my angel, always flattered.”
“When are you leaving then?”
“As soon as possible. Two weeks?”
She hummed, and the sound of turning pages came down the phone. Despite being modern about everything, she still kept an old-fashioned appointment book for her schedule. I couldn’t do that, even if I wanted to because there were too many contingencies and other people involved. Instead, I relied on the blips and beeps of my phone’s calendar to keep my appointments on track.
“Doable,” she said after a moment. “What are you thinking? Road trip?”
“Kind of . . .” I trailed off, unsure how to tell her my actual plans.
She laughed, no doubt understanding my intention. “You want to ditch me the moment we land, don’t you?”
I joined in with her laughter. “Maybe not the exact moment. But this is something I need to do alone.”
“As if I haven’t had to listen to that conversation a thousand and one times.”
“That’s not true!” I exclaimed. “It can’t be any more than a thousand.”
She laughed. “Count me in. I’ll try to line up some meetings with agents and fashion houses for when you ditch me.”
We discussed possible flight itineraries and dates, and I grabbed all of her passport details so I could get Audrey to book the flights for us. It was Audrey’s job to arrange all travel for Emmanuel Racing; she had enough contacts to get a far cheaper deal than I could alone.
Once I disconnected the call with Angel, I ran back downstairs to where Mum and Dad were sitting in the middle of what seemed like a heated conversation. I pressed my cheek against the wall, trying to make myself as invisible as possible as I listened in.
“I don’t understand why you’d agree to this, Lys,” Dad said. His voice belied the anxiety he felt, and his irritation that Mum had acted opposite to how he’d obviously expected her to.
How I’d expected her to as well, to be honest.
“I don’t see what the problem is. You’d already agreed.”
“No. I told her that it was okay if you said it was okay.”
“That’s as good as agreeing.”
“No, it’s not.”
I
Similar Books
