Page 71 of Honor

“We’ll drive up on Friday night.” She takes a sip from the cup of lemonade I bought her. “I mean, someone will drive us since I don’t know how.”

“I do,” I say. “I don’t have a car, though.”

She lets out a small giggle. “From what I’ve been told, it costs more to park a car in this city for a year than it does to buy a car.”

She’s probably right about that. I’m all for public transportation and the occasional rideshare or taxi, so I’ve never researched parking rates or car prices.

“Anyways, Randall will make all of those arrangements for us.”

Of course, he will. Randall is proving to be fiancé goals. I can only hope that when a man drops to one knee and asks me to marry him, he’ll be as on top of every small detail regarding our engagement as Randall is.

I sip from my lemonade. “Sounds like I need to go bikini shopping.”

I expect she’ll pick up the teasing tone of my comment, but she winks at me instead. “No need. I’m great at guessing sizes, so I ordered you a bunch from Liore.”

I’ve only stepped foot in a Liore Lingerie store once. It was days after I arrived in the city. I went in to pick out a few new bras and panties for my life in Manhattan, and left with a bag of their merchandise that had been marked down for final sale.

I suspect it was all clearance because the new season’s offerings were on their shelves, but even with the deeply discounted prices, it still cost me a few hundred dollars.

I haven’t been back since.

“You didn’t have to do that,” I say, although I’m forever grateful she did.

My personal swimwear collection consists of two mismatched bikinis and a yellow one piece I’ve had since I was a teenager. None of that looks great on my body.

“Liore just launched their newest swimwear line,” she tells me. “I was at their spring show in London. I got to see it all from the front row.”

Despite my mom’s constant reminders when I was young that jealousy is unbecoming, I can’t help but feel a stab of envyknowing Lottie was at a fashion show in London just a few months ago.

“When I started looking through my swimsuits for our beach getaway, I remembered all of their cute suits, so I went on an online shopping spree for us.”

“Thank you, Lottie.”

This time, she gives me her full attention. “You’re welcome. I think you’ll love what I picked for you.”

“I know I will,” I say honestly. “I’ll pack a few sundresses and sandals.”

“Don’t forget sunscreen.” She glances at a group of kids running on a path. “I had no idea I’d love Central Park this much, or New York, for that matter.”

“It’s easy to fall in love with this city.”

She glances in my direction. “It’s also easy to fall in love in this city.”

“You’re the expert on that.” I tap my plastic lemonade cup against the side of hers. “You not only fell in love in this city, you’re getting married here soon.”

“So soon.” Her smile lights up her entire face. “Speaking of that, let’s go shop for wedding shoes.”

I slide to my feet at the exact moment she does. “You already bought us shoes to wear for the wedding. It was in Paris, remember?”

She taps a finger in the middle of her forehead. “Right. I forgot. Let’s buy shoes for the rehearsal dinner.”

“I have shoes I can wear.” I take hold of her hand. “You’ve already done so much for me.”

“They’re just shoes, Evie.” She grabs me for a big hug before stepping back to look into my eyes. “Let’s compromise.”

I smile. “Compromise? How?”

“I’ll look for shoes for the rehearsal dinner, and you’ll give me your honest opinion on which ones you like best.”

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