Girl Gone Viral (Modern Love #2)(14)

Katrina wasn’t quite sure how this living arrangement had come to be. Rhiannon had gone home back east for about twenty-four hours, and returned with the news that she’d invited a childhood friend’s baby sister to live with them.

Katrina had been mildly anxious about whether the semi-famous Pakistani American influencer would like her. That fear was put to rest about five minutes after meeting Jia. The younger woman was goofy and lacked a filter, but she made up for her chattiness in the pure earnest warmth and sweetness she exuded.

“I’m dying of hunger,” Jia announced.

Katrina’s lips quivered. Jia very much liked to announce things. “How do you feel about waffles?”

“Ooh yes, love them.”

“Can you grab the juice, Jia?” Rhiannon asked.

“Yes, ma’am.” The younger woman stuck her head in the fridge. “Orange, apple?”

“Both.”

Katrina took her seat at the small breakfast table in the sunny nook and neatly placed a napkin on her lap while the other women joined her. The much larger dining room was rarely used, except for holidays. The last few Christmases had been fun, with Rhiannon, select Crush employees, and her own staff.

What’s going to happen when Rhiannon leaves you?

She swatted away the anxious thought. Nothing. She would be fine. People came into her life, and they left, and Katrina had learned to enjoy the parts in the middle. That was really all a person could do. “How was your party last night, Jia?”

Jia was at the point in her career where she was getting invites to various product launches. As far as Katrina could tell, being an influencer meant a whole lot of visibility. Like modeling, but with more access.

Inwardly, Katrina shuddered. Jia could have that.

“I couldn’t enjoy it.” Jia tapped on her ever-present phone and showed Katrina the screen. “Would you look at this jerk?”

Katrina peered at the photo of Jia contemplatively staring out at the ocean. “Ah. It’s you, Jia.”

“I know it’s me! Look at the comment from the motivational model.”

“What’s a motivational model?” Rhiannon asked.

“You know. A model who captions all his pics with inspirational quotes? Like, from Gandhi or Mother Teresa or the Dalai Lama.”

Rhiannon pursed her lips. “Lovely. I’m sure Gandhi would be delighted he went on a hunger strike so his words could caption thirst traps.”

Katrina took the phone from Jia and read the comment out loud. “Wow, the west coast really agrees with you. Your skin has never looked better.” She handed the phone back to its owner. “I’m sorry. I don’t see what the problem is.”

“You’re reading it wrong.” Jia raised the pitch of her voice. “The west coast agrees with you. Your skin has never looked better.” She scowled.

“That bitch,” Rhiannon commented, and took a sip of her juice.

“You’re saying that sarcastically, but let me assure you, this guy is the worst.” Jia sneered. “He’s implying my skin hasn’t always been flawless. How dare he?” She stroked her smooth cheek. “Look at this. Like a baby’s bottom.”

“Your face is like a baby’s bottom?”

Jia growled at Rhiannon. Their relationship had quickly settled into a sisterly squabbling. “You know what I mean. Trust me, I’m reading this exactly right. I have good instincts about this. I couldn’t sleep a wink, I’m exhausted.”

“You can’t tell. Ah, to be dewy and twenty-five again.”

“I’m twenty-seven,” Jia answered pertly.

“You’d probably sleep more if you didn’t stay up all night texting a guy.”

Jia’s flush confirmed Rhiannon’s guess.

Rhiannon poured a generous serving of syrup on her waffles. “Where in the world is your mysterious boyfriend now, anyway?”

Katrina gently kicked her best friend under the table. Jia had moved cross-country to expand her empire and get the kind of opportunities that were only accessible in close proximity to L.A. When Rhiannon had proposed adding her as a roommate, she’d told Katrina that Jia’s family had been worried about her moving here and living alone.

About ten minutes after meeting her, Katrina had understood Jia’s family’s hesitance. The girl was social-media-savvy and clearly brilliant, but she had the kind of sheltered, wide-eyed eagerness and innocence that came from not having been exposed to the worst of mankind yet.

Katrina wasn’t that much older, and not nearly as cynical as Rhiannon, but she felt about eighty years removed from Jia when it came to street smarts.

Which was why she wasn’t eager to crush Jia’s spirit. Especially when it came to this mystery guy Jia had been texting for the past month. A guy Jia hadn’t met or seen yet.

“He’s in Hong Kong this week,” Jia said blithely, unaware of or uncaring about Rhiannon’s sardonic tone. “He’s finishing up his business in Asia and then he should be in the U.S. in a few weeks.”

Rhiannon nodded. “Uh-huh, uh-huh, uh-huh. And what is his business, again? Or his name, for that matter? Asking for science.”

This time, Jia’s flattened lips told Katrina she’d picked up on Rhiannon’s disbelief. “Stop playing big sister, Rhi. I’ve got enough of those.”