Page 74 of Lie With Me

“You know, most brides don’t want their bridal parties tosparkle. They stick them in unflattering dresses and pick plain hairdos.” I laugh.

“Lenni would sparkle in a paper bag. I have the means now to buy her something pretty for her birthday, so that’s what I want to do. She’s wearing red, for fuck’s sake. There will be nothing boring about her. I want her to shine.” Ginny points at a pair of earrings that look like little flowers.

“Excellent choice. The cluster collection has a matching bracelet and two different necklace options that we have ready to go.” The associate starts putting pieces away, leaving out the ones that match the earrings.

“Why don’t you get heronepiece, and I’ll get the others so that Jackson doesn’t have a heart attack when he hears how much you dropped on a woman he can’t stand,” I tell Ginny, pointing at the more delicate of the necklaces and nodding to the lady.

“Fine. But Jackson adores Lenni. He just has a weird way of showing it. I think he’d be kinder if he weren’t afraid she’ll break your heart.” Her words are leading as she looks at me out of the corner of her eye. “But I have a feeling that after your weekend in the Keys, whatever was holding her back isn’t an issue anymore.”

My lips stretch so wide they hurt. We’ve only been back for a few days, but those days have been nothing short of magical. Lenni hasn’t explicitly said she’s ready to give a real relationship a shot, but it’s exactly what we’ve been doing. She’s no longerforcing a wedge between us when she thinks we’re getting too close. She’s been amicable with Mother at family dinner.

She talks about the future like we have one together.

“Did I tell you the guy called me crazy when I offered him triple what that house is worth? I told him Iamcrazy and that I won’t leave him alone until he sells it to me.”

Ginny and I hand over our Black Cards as she rolls her eyes with a smile. “You and Jackson really are crazy. He did the same thing with the Central Park penthouse. Do you understand how gross that is?”

“Jackson wants to take over the city. What better way to keep an eye on his kingdom than from the top of it?”

She groans. “I suppose. God knows I love that man, but I can’t imagine raising kids with that kind of mentality. That everything can be bought. You know? Maybe you don’t. You’re trying to buy Lenni a beach house you guys will only visit a few times a year. I think youloooveher,” she singsongs.

The space between us fills with a pregnant pause. Another couple walks up to the counter next to us—the woman has stars in her eyes and the man looks like he’s terrified while they look at the jewelry. “When did you know you were in love with Jackson?”

A warm smile spreads across her face as her hand drifts absentmindedly to her stomach. “I told him, forthe first time, after your mother’s birthday party. But honestly, I started falling in love with him on the anniversary of his father’s death.” She looks at me knowingly. “When did you realize you’re in love with Lenni?”

The associate makes her way back to us and begins wrapping up the pieces. I snort a laugh and let out a long sigh. “New Year’s,” I say quietly, turning my back so only Ginny hears me. “Though, I could argue I knew it when she crawled on top of my piano the first night we met.”

“I’m craving sweets. Do we have any more caramel sauce?” Lenni asks as she rummages through my fridge.

I love that she saysweas if this is now her home, too. “Pretty sure we depleted all sundae toppings on your birthday.”

Even though she hates Valentine’s Day, her birthday, I couldn’t let the day pass without trying to make it somehow memorable in the same way she changed New Year’s for me. We spent the night eating sundae toppings off each other's bodies before fucking in the shower just to do it all over again.

I had cherries in places a man should never have cherries.

“Guess I’ll have to wait till I get to Ginny’s,” she sighs. “She’s been having a craving for minicupcakes. I don’t know why she doesn’t just get large cupcakes, but she keeps saying that if she eats a whole pack of mini ones, she doesn’t feel as guilty because they only add up to two large cupcakes.”

“Girl math.” I laugh, typing away on my Macbook as I finish a report. “What are you ladies going to do tonight on this last night of freedom?”

“Jackson arranged for us to have a spa night, so a whole lot of relaxing and eating tiny confections that Sadie and Rylee sent up from Sugar and Scotch. What about you guys? I’m a little surprised you’re not throwing a bachelor party.” Lenni crosses the kitchen to wrap her arms around my neck, leaning into me just to be close.

I relish these moments when she’s openly affectionate without me initiating it. Since we got back from Florida, it’s almost as if she can’t go long without touching me in some way or another. Like she’s constantly marking me as hers.

“We are ordering pizza. Jackson is bringing his best bourbon, and we plan on playing video games for the majority of the night. At least until he has to go to bed so he can get his beauty rest and not have bags under his eyes for photos tomorrow. Jackson said he wasn’t interested in any kind of party that would give any females the impression he was looking to get lucky before being tied down.”

“Good for him. And for you. If you got caught by the paparazzi like he did that one time, I’d go to jail for murder. Oh! I have eye masks here. Rememberwe did a mini spa night? I have all sorts of things you guys could do.”

“Viv, seriously?” I deadpan, even though I’m secretly preening at how possessive she sounds over me.

“What? Oh, come on! No one will see you guys. And you’ve done it with me before. I made that photo my home screen.” She pulls her phone out to show me the photo of us with our hair pulled back with fluffy pink headbands that saygorgeous, pumpkin masks smeared on our skin, and gold-carat gel patches under our eyes.

“Why do I pull off that headband so much better than you?” I tease.

Her eyes widen as she smiles and smacks my shoulder, placing her phone on the counter by my laptop. “I’d say rude, but you’re kinda right.”

As she walks away down the hall to my room, her phone lights up with a text from Ginny. “Ginny just sent you a message!”

“What’s it say?” she calls back.

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