Page 64 of That Secret Something

Lily’s eyes widened. “What?”

Anger gripped my chest. I tried to squash it down, but the feeling was too strong. “Rebecca’s not self-involved. She’s always thinking about you. How she can help, how she can make you smile. She’s—”

I stopped talking when I realised Lily was staring at me. “Since when have you been her number one fan?”

If only you knew.

“And why are you defending her?” she continued.

Had I said too much? I took a deep breath in. Damage control. “I’m just saying…don’t be so hard on her. She’s trying too. I can promise you that.”

Lily continued to eye me; I could see the cogs turning in her head. She sighed. “Alright, I’m sorry. I guess…it is a lot of responsibility.” She pushed herself up and collected her glass. “For her, anyway. Refill?”

“Please.” I chose to ignore the last dig and downed the last mouthfuls of my drink before handing it back to her, not missing the surprise on her face.

Lily went into the kitchen, and I whipped out my phone, sending a text to Rebecca.

Jess: Your sister is at my place

Rain check?

Adrenaline pumped through my veins, my fingers still jittery from the confrontation. That was too close. Much too close. My phone vibrated.

Rebecca: Booooo

I miss you

She always has the worst timing

I smiled at the screen. She was too cute.

Lily returned with the drinks, and we moved to the sofa. She held her glass up in a toast. “To the new Lawson wedding. Now this one is going to blow the old one’s socks off… And Erica Lundwood’s.”

“Lily—”

“I’m joking. I’m joking!”

We sipped from our glasses, and conversation quickly turned back to the wedding, the alcohol helping untangle some of the unease inside. I couldn’t say for sure if it was my imagination or not, but I swore Lily kept giving me the side eye.

We’d had too many close calls tonight.

I wasn’t sure how many we had left.

Twenty-Two

For someone who didn’t want a hen party—and who’d made me pinkie promise not to throw her one—Lily was having the time of her life. What started out as a sophisticated bridal shower quickly descended into one where Lily was fired up on prosecco, doing a handstand as her colleagues handed her more orange jelly shots.

What made it worse was that this chaos was unfolding in the confines of my small apartment, which was enough to send me jittery on a good day. This apartment was my safe place when the world got too loud and confusing. The idea that with every passing second something of mine could break filled me with dread—but at least Lily was having a good time. So much so she hadn’t realised her sister was still missing from the party.

I dodged a swaying woman as she pawed at her friend for another swig from her wine bottle. This dental practice sure knew how to party hard.

I pulled out my phone and checked my messages. Nothing. Rebecca was supposed to have picked the cake up half an hour ago; I desperately needed something to sober up these party animals, and they’d already demolished the spread I’d put out for the supposedly civilised bridal shower. Ugh, where is she?

I tried to quell the frustration bubbling away as one of Lily’s aunts jumped onto my sofa and started wiggling her hips.

“We want the stripper!” she yelled.

Ah, yes. Another thing I couldn’t wait to witness. A half-naked man gyrating in my living room.

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