Long Way Down (Calloway Sisters 4)

Rose starts to smile.

Connor says something to her in French, and I kneel next to Rose’s chair and whisper, “What’d he say?”

Rose glances at me like why the hell are you on the dirty ground? I’m on the grass, but to Rose, the cement, the dirt, the grass—it’s all the same.

I bat my eyes at her, hoping she’ll tell me. “Please—”

She whispers back, “He said that he’s proud of me.”

Lily makes an audible awww noise that has Rose rolling her eyes. Connor wasn’t even listed in Forbes this year, and that list, designed for the movers and shakers and millennials creating a difference, proved that Rose has inspired and impacted young women all over the world.

Rose waves the phone at Connor, only the lock screen showing, and she talks to him in French, the endnote sounding like a question. She must have told him what she just saw. His lips rise and he nods, as though allowing her permission.

It dawns on me.

This is about Connor.

“Gather ‘round,” Rose says to Lily, Willow, and me, since Connor approved of the public viewing. I wedge between Poppy and Rose’s chair, my bare knees digging into the soft grass. My yellow strappy dress is safe from stains, which would probably plague Rose the most out of everyone.

“Is it bad?” Lily asks, squinting at the phone that’s shielded by Rose’s hand.

“No,” Poppy and Rose say in unison.

Rose has that look again, verging on a snort and a grin.

Connor says something in French once more, and he procures his phone. All the guys begin to gather around him. Even Sully stands, walks around the table, and peers over Connor’s shoulder. Maria yawns awake at Sam’s movement, and she picks at her brownie.

Before Rose removes her hand from the screen, Sam and Ryke groan, finding the source of Rose and Poppy’s amusement on Connor’s cellphone before us.

Rose is peeved that they beat her, and Connor’s satisfaction mushrooms, practically gloating across the table. She mouths, I hate you.

He mouths, you love me.

I nudge my older sister’s shoulder. “Rose?” They distract each other more than anyone can possibly distract them.

She reveals the screen, lit up with a Celebrity Crush tabloid article.

Oh my God.

My jaw slowly drops.

Right below a photograph of Lily at the airport, carrying a wide-eyed Maximoff Hale, remains a photo of Connor Cobalt. He’s stepping out of his limo, dressed in casual black plants and a blue button-down. I recognize the outfit since he wore it on the private jet to Peru.

This must’ve been taken at the airport a couple days ago.

The photoshopped pic includes a yellow circle drawn in after the fact—right around Connor’s crotch. The headline: Connor Cobalt’s Penis Is Too Big For His Pants.

I bust out laughing. Lily and Willow instantly join in, my stomach in stitches.

They have a second picture, zoomed in on his crotch, the outline of the bulge really clear. It’s mostly funny because we know Connor well enough to realize that the photo won’t offend him or cross his personal boundaries.

Rose clicks into Twitter for a second, and I’m surprised to see Poppy’s feed full of Coballoway shippers freaking out about this pic. She must follow these accounts:

@rosecoballoway

@rosecobalt

@connorcalcium

@ConnorCockbalt

@connorcobaltx

@caball0way

@cobaltconnor

@rosescalloway

@RoseCallowoah

@rosecalIoways

@connrcobaIt

@coballway

@msrosecalloway

The overwhelming response from fans: I KNEW IT #myhusband

Lo lets out a long whistle. “First Ryke, now Connor. I’d feel a little self-conscious if I didn’t know you two had monster dicks.”

Sam straightens up. “That’s our cue to leave. Maria.” He gestures for her to stand.

“What? I’ve heard this all before, Dad.” She takes another bite of brownie.

“Great.” He shoots Lo a look.

Lo touches his chest. “I’m not the one who was caught on camera with a twelve-inch—”

“Okay, okay,” Sam cuts him off and then motions to Maria, though I see a flicker of a smile on his lips.

Maria turns to her mom. “Is twelve inches big?”

Uh-oh.

The table falls in utter silence, but Connor has his fingers pressed to his lips, his burgeoning, million-dollar grin a sight to behold.

Poppy is near-laughter, but Sam pinches his eyes in distress. “We’ll talk about this later, but we should get to bed. We need to wake up early tomorrow.”

Maria reluctantly stands, though she grabs her brownie plate and takes it with her as she leaves with her mom and dad. And then there were…still too many to count.

I like it that way. All of us here. Together.

“You’re not really that big?” Sully asks like come on, man, give it to me straight.

Connor says, “Would it really be a surprise if I was?”

“No,” about four people say, most of us under the same conclusion. Connor Cobalt is a god among men so he might as well have a godly penis too.

“Should I be annoyed about this for you?” Lo asks him, kicking his feet onto Sam’s empty chair next to him. It’s not much different than what we go through. They had pictures of my side-boob when I went without a bra in a weirdly cut dress.

I didn’t think anything of it at the time. I just made a quick CVS run for nail polish.

Connor shakes his head. “I have no feelings about it, but if you really want to feel something, I’d rather it be somewhere around awe and adoration.”

“I’m awed and adorated,” Sully chimes in.

“Adorated isn’t a word,” Connor corrects.

Ryke cuts in, “Fuck off.”

“So wait.” Sully collects his thoughts for a second and then points at Ryke. “This happened to you too?”

Ryke has to crane his head over his shoulder to see Sully behind him. “Yeah, only I was taking Nutty for a fucking walk outside the gated neighborhood.”

“In drawstring pants,” Lo adds. “No underwear. Python in full view.”

I remember the picture well. Th

e headline: Ryke Meadows’ Penis

It was as trite and to-the-point as he tends to be, which makes Connor’s egotistical headline even more comical.

“I don’t fucking care,” Ryke says, “but they should be fucking careful about what guys they do this too. Because some will care, and it’s not right for them to post this shit without consent.”

“Cheers,” Rose says in agreement, raising her glass of water.

We all pick up our drinks and clink again, the air buzzing with our better, more upbeat energies. I’m standing next to Willow’s chair now, my gaze roaming Ryke as much as his begins to roam me.

“Before we head in, I want to say something.” Lo rises with his water glass in hand. “Don’t worry, this isn’t a fucking surprise.”

Who would have thought Lo would be the one to keep lightening the mood?

I smile, and we all begin to quiet. The wind whips through the vast Peruvian lands, the only noise truly audible.

Lo gestures from his older brother, then to me. “I’ve heard that people spend a really long time finding their soul mates.”

I squeeze Lily’s shoulder. She’s been in her soul mate’s arms since she was little.

“It took you two long enough, didn’t it?” Lo says. “No thanks to me.” He pauses. “But I want you two to know—from the bottom of my black, decaying heart—I love you both, and the only perfect world has Ryke standing beside Daisy and Daisy standing beside Ryke. Anything less is fucked up. Remember that, will you?”

My eyes glass.

I’ll remember, Lo.

It’s impossible to forget the kind of love that rattles my bones and screams I am alive every single day of my life.

DAISY CALLOWAY

“I’ll be in the bridal suite by one, I promise,” I tell Lily and Rose in the hotel hallway, lingering by Ryke’s room.

Both exchange a wary look—like I’ll be zombie Daisy tomorrow instead of wide-eyed, fresh-faced effervescent Daisy, but they’re both forgetting something. “I’m used to sleeping short spurts, but you both aren’t, so don’t let me keep you up, please.”

I already spent thirty minutes chatting with my dad. He was mostly cordial and quiet, and he didn’t voice much dissent. So I know I’ll see him at the ceremony tomorrow.