Platinum (All That Glitters #3)(36)

“Do you need to get that?” Mel asked.

“No,” Trihn answered immediately. “It’s not important.”

She sulked over to Mel, the weight of her mother’s phone call resting on her shoulders. She needed to forget about it.

“So, you’re a fashion designer, is that right?” Mel asked as she reached into the refrigerator and started removing ingredients.

“Yes. Well, a design major.”

“I love that. Fashion designers are artists, like musicians, actors, painters, sculptors. You assess what best drapes the human form. It’s fitting since you look like you could be a model.”

“I was,” Trihn admitted. “While in high school, I modeled some.”

Mel raised her eyebrows. “Oh, wow. That’s incredible. Fashion design and modeling. Damon mentioned you’re a dancer as well.”

Trihn nodded. “I was in a ballet company in New York.”

“Such a talented person for so young,” Mel said. She glanced at Trihn with a smile. “Sounds just like Damon. I see why he likes you.”

“He’s really great. We just started dating, but I feel like I already know him well. He’s so easy to talk to.”

“Gets that from his father,” Mel said. “Here.”

She handed Trihn a potato peeler, and they moved into A rhythm around the kitchen. Trihn’s mother was an exceptional cook, and the familiarity in something so basic made her ache with homesickness.

It wasn’t that she regretted coming to Las Vegas. She loved her school. Her friends were here. She wouldn’t have met Damon. But things would have been a lot different in the city.

“Trihn, I know I don’t know you all that well, but is everything all right?” Mel asked.

Trihn blinked up at her through a teary blur. Shit. Am I crying? How had that happened? She didn’t even have onions to blame it on.

“Yes. Sorry.” She wiped at her eyes and looked away, embarrassed.

“Call them mum instincts, but you seem very down for a woman with so much going for her.” Mel gave her a concerned smile. “It might be awkward for you, but if you want, you can talk to me. I’m a good listener.”

Trihn blew out her breath and wiped at her eyes again. “I’m not normally this much of a mess, but I just got into an argument with my sister. So, my mom has been calling me nonstop, and I know she’s just going to yell at me about it.”

“What started the argument?”

“My sister is getting married.”

Mel tilted her head. “Not a good thing?”

“No, he’s a jerk. But my mom and sister are really close, and my mom would never understand why I refused to be there for my sister.”

“I bet your mother is more intuitive than you give her credit for. She wants you to be as happy as your sister is, and I doubt she wants to see her daughters fighting. Damon is an only child, but I hated him having arguments with anyone. I couldn’t imagine if it were with another sibling.”

“Yeah. It’s just complicated.”

Mel nodded. “It always is. Maybe you should just hear her out, and if you don’t like what she has to say, I have a bottle of wine we can open. It’s five o’clock somewhere.” She pulled out a bottle of wine and set it down in front of Trihn.

Trihn laughed. “Can we open the wine anyway?”

“Way ahead of you.” Mel reached for a corkscrew in a drawer and held it in front of her face for Trihn to see. She poured each of them a glass of a pinot grigio.

Trihn took a sip for good luck and then stepped out of the room to call her mom back. She didn’t even bother listening to the messages. She would rather go into this blind.

“Trihnity,” her mother, Linh, said in a huff.

Trihn glanced over her shoulder and took a few more steps down the hallway, away from the kitchen.

“I’ve been calling you for an hour. Where have you been?”

“Hey, Mom. I’m great. Doing just fine myself. How have you been?”

“Take this seriously.”

Trihn rolled her eyes and moved further out of earshot into an empty room. “For your information, I’m out with this new guy that I’m dating.”

“A new guy? What happened to Neal? I really liked him,” her mother said, forgetting for a moment why she had called.

“He broke up with me a month ago.”

“You didn’t tell me,” Linh said. She sounded sad.

“Yeah, well, sorry. I’ve been busy,” she said lamely. “Did you want to talk about why you called?”

“I spoke with Lydia.”

“I’m sure you did.” Trihn ran her hand back through her hair and closed her eyes, waiting for the blowup to happen.

“Do you want to tell me why you’re upsetting your sister about this entire thing? She won’t tell me anything, except that you won’t come to New York for the wedding and that you won’t be your sister’s maid of honor.”

Trihn took a deep breath. Here goes nothing. “I can’t support Lydia and Preston because he’s cheated on her.”

“That’s absurd.”

“And that’s the reason I haven’t told you.”

“Okay,” Linh said. “If he did cheat on her—and I’m not certain he did—then Lydia must not know.”