February 2016
He was not asked to model that year. Perhaps the market for eligible bachelors had worn thin.
"You're still not invited," Blair told him, when he called on the morning of the show.
"Relax. I was just calling to wish you guys good luck. Would you at least tell her that?"
"I have a major label to run here. It is not my job to clear up the mess you made."
"I took a call."
"There's such a thing as timing. Listen, I have to go, one of the models' eyebrows has rubbed off. Just talk to Jenny."
She had not been the same since Scott's death, working as hard as usual but partying hard too. He regretted his former complaints about her social restraint now that he was forced to run bi weekly pictures of her perched on the arm of the lead singer of some indie band who by the next week, the next club, had transformed into a bearded British writer who Nate had never heard of before.
Eventually they salvaged their friendship with business and crispy duck pancakes. He gave her an extraordinary amount of publicity in The Spectator after Fashion Week and in return she stood up a European footballer and turned up with Chinese at his office, confessing that she'd missed him and suggesting they both accepted that the romance thing would never work out between them. It was the closest they ever came to burying it and for a while they both believed their efforts had worked. She set him up with numerous fresh faces from the fashion world and in return he suggested her label to possible, interested investors.
The only people their newly christened friendship did not convince were their friends. Blair and Dan had taken to brunching especially to discuss the dysfunctional twosome.
"Your sister tried to set him up with a street photographer," Blair said, wrinkling up her nose. "I mean...urgh."
"Hey, you can take the girl out of Brooklyn..."
"Oh yes," Their eyes met over the pain au chocolat. "I know, but everyone can see it apart from the two of them."
"They wouldn't be the first to be too scared of a relationship to risk going after it." Blair dropped her gaze.
"That would be tragic."
"To miss your only shot at happiness and have to settle? Yeah. Yeah I should think so."