She Regrets Nothing
Page 35
“Champagne, miss?”
“Yes, please.” Laila smiled. The stewards had chic red uniforms, which were far more stylish than any of the rather dowdy alternatives she’d seen on their American counterparts.
“It’s well past cocktail hour where we’re headed, so why not?” the Frenchman sitting in the adjacent seat said, accepting the champagne. “My seatmate has the right idea.”
When the flight attendant glided away, he leaned over and introduced himself. “Maxime.”
“Laila,” she said. For the first time in ages, she didn’t automatically offer her last name. This was a new era in which she didn’t need it, would shed it and become the next version of herself. Her seatmate, she noticed now, was handsome, somewhere around forty. He wore a beautiful suit and a Maîtres du Temps timepiece on his wrist.
“What takes you to the Maldives?” he asked. Laila wasn’t much of a flyer, but she knew it was perilous to start talking to people when you had a long flight ahead of you, where breaking this first barrier nearly ensures that some level of intimacy will emerge in the hours ahead.
“For an adventure,” she said. She liked the look of Maxime; she thought perhaps he was a good omen. She might have been sitting next to anyone, but here he was: no wedding ring, clearly wealthy, clearly interested.
He let out a delighted laugh. “And what will this adventure consist of?”
“I don’t know yet; that’s why it’s an adventure.”
“First time?”
“In the Maldives? Yes.”
“Well, you will need a tour guide. Someone who’s been going there for a decade, before anyone else knew about this little paradise.”
“And where might I find one of those?” She was thoroughly enjoying herself now, and as they prepared for takeoff, she and Maxime continued flirting. In her mind, Laila rose above where she sat and looked down on herself: beautiful, young, unencumbered. This girl has only the brightest of futures, and where her past would be lies nothing. She is unstoppable and untethered. She loves no one—or at least, no one still living. Everyone has forsaken her, and she’s forsaken them in return. She has defended her own life and slipped from the grasp of those who would do her harm. She’s done only what she needed to in order to survive. She is the master of her fate, and she regrets nothing.
Acknowledgments
My deepest thanks to Sarah Cantin, who is an editorial dreamboat for the ages. You helped me bring this novel into being by pushing me to do better and supporting me every step of the way. You are the editor writers hope for when they dream of becoming authors. To my agent, Carly Watters, you are a treasure. I value your keen editorial eye, your steady hand, and your friendship. To my publisher, Judith Curr, I am so lucky to have you. To Albert Tang and Emma Van Deun, your covers are unfailingly swoon-worthy. And to everyone else at ATRIA BOOKS, for your smarts, your enthusiasm, and your hard work, in particular Haley Weaver, Ali Hinchcliffe, and Bianca Salvant.
Also big, big thanks to publicist extraordinaire Crystal Patriarche and her dedicated team at Booksparks, you guys are magic. For the many friends, bookish and otherwise, who have provided so much support to me over the last few years, I couldn’t do it without you: Sabrina Dax, Kristina Libby, Margaret Berend, Mo Perlmutter, April Neubauer, Kerri Hatfield, Geraldine DeReuiter, Laurie Frankle, Jo Piazza, Duncan Quinn, Sumako and Maya Kawaii especially. My deepest gratitude to the fabulous ladies of Bookstagram, who have helped me build my fan base, in particular Natasha Minuso and Alyssa Hamilton. To my fellow Seattle 7’s, thank you for the community and support. To all my extended family—Roberts, Youngstroms, Glastras, and Dunlops—your support bowls me over, and I’m blessed to have you all. And last, to my mom and dad, you two are the best parents anyone could ask for.
She Regrets Nothing
a novel
ANDREA DUNLOP
A Readers Club Guide
Questions and Topics for Discussion
1. What were your first impressions of the Lawrences (Liberty, Leo, Nora, Laila, Ben, and Petra)? Did your sense of any of their personalities change over the course of the book? How so?
2. Laila describes her tendency to transform herself into what she thinks people around her want as “mirroring.” Have you ever found yourself mirroring others? Using examples from the book or your own life, discuss whether mirroring seems like an effective tactic for building relationships, or reaching any other goal. Where is the line between trying to fit in and being manipulative?
3. While wealth disparity creates an obvious distinction in power and influence, She Regrets Nothing also portrays the way beauty and youth can be strong sources of privilege. What are some of the instances in the novel when the clout of wealth, beauty, and youth are at odds with each other? Do you think one holds more sway over people than the others?
4. There are several examples of the different timelines men and women seem to be given for settling down, from Reece’s surprise that her brother Cameron would be interested in having a family when he is “only thirty-six” to Petra’s insistence that Nora use a matchmaker to find her a husband since her “options won’t get better” now that she is twenty-five. When Nora insists that things have changed—that men don’t only want twenty-five-year-olds, and that women can find good husbands at older ages—Petra suggests everyone is only pretending things aren’t the way they were in her day. Do you agree with Petra, or do you think she is overstating the matter? What are some other examples from the book of the consequences of the divergent expectations for men and women?
6. On her way to Thanksgiving dinner with her cousins, Laila reassures herself by mentally iterating some of the glamorous facts about her current life, noting that “as she formed the words in her head, they felt true and not true.” What do you think she means by this?
7. As a young, pretty Midwesterner, Laila is seen as naive and unassuming by the more urbane New Yorkers around her. Although at times she takes advantage of the impression people have of her, Laila does express frustration at not understanding the rules of the new social world she is in. What are some of the moments in the book when the reader sees her ignorance? Ultimately, to what extent do you think Laila feigned the role of a clueless small-town girl, and to what extent was that really who she was?
8. The novel seems to distinguish between characters who wear their privilege and status well, and those who do not. What are the hallmarks of each type of person? What are both the external circumstances and innate qualities that seem to make some individuals—Liberty, Reece, Blake—more redeemable than others?
9. Laila is in many ways a fiercely ambitious and emotionally independent woman, and yet repeatedly finds herself financially dependent on the men in her life. Is there power in being a “kept” woman? Which do you think grants greater freedom: working a job that isn’t your passion and supporting yourself, or never having to work again but being tethered to a man you aren’t in love with?
10. In chapter 18, Leo and Nora imagine leading idyllic “normal” lives outside of Manhattan, conjuring cinematic images of an upper middle–class existence. What would your perfect life be like? Do you think there is an ideal level of wealth that provides comfort and opportunity, but avoids the types of problems Leo, Nora, and Liberty believe having an abundance of money creates? If so, what would that look like, and is it different from the fantasy life you initially imagined?
11. Do you think Laila deserves a portion of the Lawrence fortune? Did Liberty deserve the money? Why, or why not?
12. In the epilogue, Laila envisions herself as a “beautiful, young, unencumbered” girl with “only the brightest of futures . . . unstoppable and untethered. . . . She is the master of her fate, and she regrets nothing.” Do you think Laila really has no regrets, or does she just wish to be the girl she is describing?
Enhance Your Book Club
1. Put the “club” in book club—consider having everyone in your reading group come made up in their “Manhattan socialite” best. Put tog
ether an outfit fit for an exclusive nightclub in New York City, crack a bottle of champagne to share, or bring some New York-style cheesecake bites to add a flare of luxury to your discussion.
2. At the end of She Regrets Nothing, Laila is on a flight to the Maldives to escape New York and make a fresh start. Imagine what will happen in her new life. Will she live with Maxime or find another way to survive in the Maldives without any money? Will she settle down or keep moving, leaving another life behind? Will she ever find a way to maintain the luxurious lifestyle she craves? Will her actions in New York catch up to her, and will she ever regret her choices? Consider writing a denouement that addresses some of these or your own questions about Laila’s future, and share with your reading group.
3. Consider reading the New York Times opinion piece, “What the Rich Won’t Tell You,” (https://www.nytimes.com/2017/09/08/opinion/sunday/what-the-rich-wont-tell-you.html). What are some parallels between how the interviewees discuss and/or justify their wealth, and how the characters in She Regrets Nothing view their own abundance? What differences do you see? The New York Times article takes a strong position on the rhetoric and behavior of the upper class—do you agree with the author’s point of view? How might some of the Lawrences respond to reading this?
4. Visit Andrea Dunlop’s website at www.AndreaDunlop.net to learn more about her and her books, and consider reading her debut Losing the Light or her enovella Broken Bay for another darkly seductive read.
About the Author
ANDREA DUNLOP is the author of Losing the Light and Broken Bay, a novella. She lives with her husband in Seattle, Washington, where she works as a social media consultant.
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For more "compulsively readable" (Courtney Maum, bestselling author of Touch) stories from Andrea Dunlop, make sure to check out . . .
On a study abroad trip in France, two young women are pulled into an irresistible world of art, money, decadence, and ultimately, a disastrous love triangle that consumes them both. And of the two of them, only one will make it home.
Losing the Light
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In this novella, a relaxing bachelorette weekend trip to an island off the coast of Seattle goes awry when the bride-to-be mysteriously disappears.
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Also by Andrea Dunlop
Losing the Light
Broken Bay (a novella)
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Washington Square Press
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This book is a work of fiction. Any references to historical events, real people, or real places are used fictitiously. Other names, characters, places, and events are products of the author’s imagination, and any resemblance to actual events or places or persons, living or dead, is entirely coincidental.
Copyright © 2018 by Andrea Dunlop
All rights reserved, including the right to reproduce this book or portions thereof in any form whatsoever. For information, address Washington Square Press Subsidiary Rights Department, 1230 Avenue of the Americas, New York, NY 10020.
First Washington Square Press trade paperback edition February 2018
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Cover design by Rachel Willey
Cover photograph by Tom Hull/Gallery Stock
Author photograph by Matthew Land
Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data
Names: Dunlop, Andrea, author.
Title: She regrets nothing : a novel / Andrea Dunlop.
Description: First Washington Square Press trade paperback edition. | New York : Washington Square Press, 2018.
Identifiers: LCCN 2017006868 (print) | LCCN 2017011097 (ebook) | ISBN
9781501155987 (pbk.) | ISBN 9781501155994 (ebook) | ISBN 9781501155994 (eBook)
Classification: LCC PS3604.U5554 S54 2018 (print) | LCC PS3604.U5554 (ebook) |
DDC 813/.6--dc23
LC record available at https://lccn.loc.gov/2017006868
ISBN 978-1-5011-5598-7
ISBN 978-1-5011-5599-4 (ebook)