“What a pair!”

Pale as hell and with blue bags under her eyes, Nikki does look even more downcast than me.

“What happened to you?” I ask.

Nikki stares ahead, unfocused. “I bumped into Paul.”

“Was he alone?”

“Yeah.”

“And?”

“We had coffee.”

“And?”

“He was nice and polite as you should be with your girlfriend’s sister. Every time I see him, them… I die a little inside.”

“And Julia still has no idea?”

Nikki massages her temples and shrugs. “Sometimes I think it was obvious something was happening with Paul when she swept in and stole him. Other times I think I’m so damn introverted that maybe it was obvious only to me, and neither Julia nor Paul have any idea how I felt.”

“So the ‘time cures all ills’ motto doesn’t really work?”

“I’m afraid not. I’ve spent the last two years hoping my sister’s love life will crumble to pieces. What does that say about me?”

“That we can be spinsters together, all three of us.”

“Woof.”

Nikki shakes her head. “At least someone’s excited at the prospect.” She pats Chevron. “No, seriously, there’s no hope for me, but what’s your next move?”

I stare out the window at Manhattan’s lights. “Grind Aurora into the ground and bring the whole Vanderbilt fashion empire down with her and her witch of a mother.”

“You know Aurora Vanderbilt isn’t the real problem, right?”

“What do you mean?”

“It could’ve been anyone else in Richard’s room. It would’ve hurt just as much.”

“No, it wouldn’t.”

“Okay, you hate Aurora so it stung more. Fact remains, the real issue is that you have a crush on your boss and he doesn’t reciprocate.”

“That’s not it.”

“What then?”

Hours spent analyzing the weekend showed a clear pattern in Richard’s behavior. Whenever we got closer or personal, Richard had a Dr. Jekyll/Mr. Hyde change of personality. Face changing from open and warm to that tough mask he always wears. The boss works hard at keeping his distance… Aurora Vanderbilt being the ultimate space-keeper.

“I’m almost sure Richard reciprocates on some level…” I tell Nikki about the dinner, our day in LA, and the way he danced with me. “But he’s doing everything he can to fight his feelings.”

“Why?”

“Because he’s scared it could get serious.”

“He’s your boss. It’s natural he’d have reservations.”

“That’s not it. Richard’s scared of commitment after his incident at the altar.”

“And you want a guy like that… why, exactly?”

“Look at it this way: Gerard ticked off all the right boyfriend boxes, and he was a disaster. A perfect match on paper, a cheating scum in real life. Richard may seem like the wrong guy for so many reasons, but he’s not for the most important one.”

“Which is?”

“The way my pulse quickens whenever I’m next to him, or the drop in my stomach I get just thinking about him.”

“So you have a crush, it won’t last forever. The beating heart, the stomach dives… they all disappear, eventually. You’ll get used to him and get over it.”