Page 68 of Off Pitch

“She totally is!” Lucia exclaims. “Who do we think it could be, Lo?”

“Well,” I say. “I think we can safely eliminate Lane. She doesn’t seem to want to play out her own romance book trope.”

“I think I hate you both,” Rory says, laying back on the couch and covering her face with a pillow.

Lucia and I both laugh while my mind starts to wander. Maybe Knox wasn’t just caught up; maybe it really was something. But more importantly, who does Rory have her eye on?

“We look fucking hot,” I say, looking at myself in the mirror and then glancing at Lucia, Rory, and Ella.

“You might kill Knox with the top of that dress,” Lucia chuckles.

I’m not sure she’s wrong. The neckline comes halfway down my torso, but the structure of the top means my cleavage has never looked better. Not to mention the thigh-high slit on the side.

Rana was spot-on about the color as well. This shade of pale blue complements my complexion perfectly. My eyes look bluer than they ever have. With all that and the strappy silver heels I’m wearing, I’m not sure I’ve ever felt sexier.

“I really love that color on you, Rory,” Lucia says. Her olive green dress has a V-neckline, small flowy sleeves, and a knee-high slit. The gown flounces around enough to hide all of Rory’s insecurities, namely the shape of her body. Lucia, Ella, and I talk her up, but that only does so much.

“Yes,” I say, agreeing with Lucia. “That dress was made for you, Ror.”

“Thanks,” she replies shyly. Rory is always so bubbly and boisterous that seeing her like this is a little jarring. So Lucia, Ella, and I will continue to do our part to make sure she believes us when we tell her how good she looks.

“Now, what do you ladies think of this?” Lucia asks, hands sliding down the cherry-red gown. It’s strapless, with a corseted top and flowing skirt. “I think red is my color.”

“Red is definitely your color,” Rory says, handing her a tube of red lipstick. “You need this, too.”

Lucia applies the shade of crimson to her lips, puckering them to ensure an even application. When she goes to return it, she calls back to me, “Lo, what color do you want for tonight?”

“Oh,” I say, thinking it over. “I think a peachy pink would go well with the dress. It’ll also tie in well with the rest of the makeup since I went for a softer look.”

Lucia grabs the shade I requested and crosses the room to hand it to me. “I haven’t said anything, Lo, because I didn’t want to make a big deal out of it, but your makeup has been much softer lately.”

“Uh, yeah. I guess it has been.”

Rory walks over to join us with the dark nude lipstick she’ll wear tonight. “I’m loving the new look, Lo. We missed your freckles.”

“Speaking of freckles,” Ella adds as she finishes pulling on her strapless light yellow satin dress. “Isn’t that what Knox has been calling you for the past couple of months?”

I blush at the mention of the nickname. I didn’t think I’d like it, but he has me starting to love my freckles again.

“Yes, he started calling me Freckles the night after we went public. When I read all those comments online, I had cried all my makeup off. He said that was the first time he even realized I had freckles since I always covered them up.”

“So are you doing this for Knox then?” Rory asks. “Because it’s not like you at all to do something like that for a man, minus that fuckface ex of yours.”

“No, I’m not doing it for Knox,” I reply honestly. “I’m doing it for me. But I wouldn’t be as comfortable with them as I am now if he didn’t make it a point to tell me how wrong Derek was about them—how wrong he was about everything.”

They all smile at me. “I know we’ve spent some time teasing you, Lo,” Lucia says, “but I really do like him for you.”

“This is the happiest I’ve seen you in two years,” Rory adds.

“I am happy, guys. I’m really happy.”

And I am. Derek manipulated me, messed with my head, and tore me down until I was well and truly fractured. I’d never feltmore broken. But I feel happy again. I feel likemeagain. And it’s so good to be back.

There’s a knock on Lucia’s door, so we all head back to the living room. Knox wants to pick me up so we can arrive at the dinner together, so I’m not surprised when I see him walk through the door as Lucia lets him in. What is surprising, though, is how fuckinggoodhe looks right now.

I’ve never seen Knox in a suit, but this man is standing before me now in a deep navy blue suit, perfectly tailored to his body. He has a light blue button-down shirt underneath his jacket, with the top few buttons undone, no tie. His pants hit just above his ankle, and he’s wearing a pair of camel-colored loafers without socks.

Dear God, no one has ever looked so perfect before.

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