Page 54 of Marrying a Spy

Chapter Eighteen

After lunch, Kari dragged Sophia to a lingerie store.

Kari pulled open the door and waved Sophia inside. Sophia wanted to run the other way, but the look on Kari’s face told her she was going to give Sophia a fight if she didn’t comply. So she hesitantly slipped into the store. Once inside, she just stood awkwardly by the entrance, watching Kari pick up different pieces of lingerie and hold them up for her to see.

“You’d look amazing in this one,” she said, waving a particularly scandalous black item.

Sophia grabbed it—her face turning red—and hung it back up. “Are you serious, Kar?”

Kari laughed and picked up a dark blue nightie with lace trim. “Okay, geez. The teddy is the wrong direction. What about this one? It’s modest but sexy.” She held it up and waved it in front of Sophia’s face.

Sophia studied it. It was similar to what she normally wore to bed, but much, much shorter.

“Ooo, you can wear it with this,” Kari said, holding up a black thong.

Having had enough of standing by while her best friend picked out things she would never wear, Sophia turned and made her way to the other side of the store. She rifled through some cotton underwear.

“What’s wrong?” Kari asked, stepping up next to her.

Sophia sighed. It felt like the weight of the world was pressing down on her. She’d gone from pure happiness last night to a wrecking ball beating at her heart this morning. Noah was changing right before her eyes, and there was nothing she could do to stop it. Noah had promised her that he wouldn’t lie to her, but from his distant behavior, she knew that was a promise that he could no longer keep.

“Nerves, I guess,” Sophia said as she absentmindedly picked up a pair of underwear just to set it back down again. She grabbed the strap of her purse as she wandered over to the bras.

“Nerves? You’re worried about marrying Noah?”

That was only half true. She had been completely ready to jump into a marriage with the Noah from last night. Now? She could already see him halfway out the door. With the appearance of her father, everything had changed. “Yeah,” she breathed out, wishing she could tell her best friend everything. She needed an outsider’s opinion. Was she acting crazy? Was she just displacing her own fears onto Noah?

Ugh. This was all her father’s fault. He blew into her life and immediately screwed everything up.

Kari glanced over at her. “What happened? You two seemed so perfect at the party last night.” She grabbed onto Sophia’s arm. “He doesn’t have a secret wife, does he?”

Sophia snorted but then paused. Could he? Noah didn’t get to where he was today by being a saint. Then, she shook her head, feeling stupid for even entertaining those thoughts. Noah wasn’t capable of sticking around long enough to get married. The Noah she knew ran at the first sign of something real. It was only a matter of time before he used some lame excuse to claim he couldn’t be here any longer. Her father showing up was his perfect out.

“Hey, ladies,” Rebecca said from behind them.

Sophia’s face burned as she turned to see her standing there with a few bras in her hand.

“Hey Bec.” Thankfully Kari wasn’t stunned into silence by embarrassment. She could still figure out how to form sentences.

Sophia nodded as she willed her body to cool down. It was just her luck that Noah’s ex-stepmother would see her picking out lingerie.

“How’s the wedding planning coming?” Rebecca asked, giving Sophia a sympathetic smile.

Sophia shrugged. Here was yet another person she’d lied to. She wanted to say that everything was slipping from her grasp. That she was pretty sure her dad and Noah would disappear before the wedding even took place. But, if she said that to anyone, that would open the door to a whole host of questions she couldn’t answer.

If James and Noah left, not only would they abandon her, they would leave her to clean up their mess without really being able to talk about it.

So she forced a smile and nodded. “Great. Really great. I can’t wait until Sunday.”

Rebecca studied her for a moment. “I look forward to it as well. You two are perfect for each other.” She smiled as she patted her items. “Well, better go pay for these. My lunch break is almost up, and Suzanne will kill me if I’m not back to relieve her.”

They said their goodbyes, and Rebecca made her way over to the register.

“Awkward,” Kari said as she returned her attention to the black lace teddy she’d picked earlier. “You’re getting this,” she said, pulling it from the rack.

“What? No. Kar,” Sophia started, but Kari just waved away her words.

“It’s my bridesmaid gift to you. You have no say.” She clutched it in both hands as if she expected a fight.

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