Page 192 of The Faking Game
If you don’t talk to me, I’m coming to pick you up this afternoon.
He answers on the first ring.
“Nora?”
“Yeah. Hey.”
“Finally,” he says. “Are you okay?”
“Yes, of course I am. Though West still has a black eye.” My voice is calm, but I can’t help myself. “Courtesy ofyou, I heard.”
He switches over to French. It wouldn’t surprise me if he’s at work and doesn’t want people to hear. “I’m getting you out of that house.”
“No, you’re not.”
“Nora, I can’t have you stay there.”
“It’s not your decision.”
Rafe keeps going as if he hasn’t heard me. “I’ll send one of the drivers to pick you up by three p.m. You can stay in the New York apartment. His security team is good, but I can find one just as good. You won’t have to worry about a thing.”
“Rafe,” I say, “you won’t do anything.”
There’s a brief pause on the other end. “What?”
“I’m fine where I am. I don’t need you to come save me because I’m not in need of saving.” I play with the bracelet on my right wrist. I haven’t taken it off since he gave it to me.Be a good girl and get angry.
“Nora,” he says, his voice tight, like he’s trying to rein in his temper. “I don’t know what he’s told you, but I don’t want you to be taken advantage of.”
“What makes you think I’ve been taken advantage of?” I ask. “You haven’t asked me once how I feel about this. About West or dating him. You’re just making demands. West hasn’t done anything I didn’t want.”
“He hasn’t told you about needing to be married to keep the estate.”
“I know about that.”
“Then you know he’s going to marry someone else in a matter of months? Are you okay with that?” His voice sharpens. “Or he might be planning to ask you.”
“He’s your best friend, Rafe. He’s not trying to trick me. If anything, he didn’twantthis to happenbecauseof you. Do you know how big of an obstacle you have been? And I don’t even understand why, because it’s so stupid. You two are friends.”
“He’s strategic. He looks ahead, and he?—”
“I askedhimto marry me,” I say.
There’s total silence on the other end. One heartbeat, two… “What did he say?”
I don’t want to share that with my brother. Not when we haven’t spoken about it since it happened, not when uncertainty makes it hard to think. “We’re working on it,” I say instead.
Rafe takes a deep breath. “He said it’s been going on for over a month. In Costa Rica, you two pretended to be… nothing but friends.”
“Yes.” My pulse is high. I don’t likehaving this conversation. But I’m not going to run from it either. “Because he was scared of your reaction. And so was I.”
Rafe’s voice turns low. “I asked him to look after you. I trusted him, and he?—”
“Did what? Made me happy?” I squeeze my eyes shut. “The only reason you’re reacting like this is because you still see me as your little sister who needs protection. Not someone capable of making her own decisions. And you’ve felt this way about me for years. For as long as I can remember. After we lost Etienne, and you went to Belmont… It changed. We changed.”
“That’s not true.”
“It’s not?”
