Page 71 of Sweet Temptation

“You guys are beauty wizards,” I said, grinning as I turned away from my reflection to look at the two girls. They were finished with their own hair and makeup and already dressed in their clothes for the night. They looked gorgeous. Then again, they always looked incredible.

“Tell me something I don’t know,” Cress said with a wink.

I laughed and glanced at myself in the mirror again. It was so weird seeing such a different reflection staring back at me, but it gave me a boost of confidence. The face I wore tonight felt like a mask, and the girl behind it could be anyone. I didn’t have to be the sad girl who’d had her heart stomped all over by her ex, and the feeling was somewhat empowering.

“Now, go put this on,” Anna said, holding out a dress that looked short enough to be a top. “I want to see the whole look.”

I took the dress without complaint and headed into the bathroom across the hall. Anna had taken one look at the outfits I’d packed for the weekend and told me none of them would do. She’d insisted I borrow one of her new items from today’s shopping spree, and since I had no idea whatwasappropriate to wear to a club, I hadn’t had much leverage when I tried to argue that my own clothes were fine.

I squeezed and shimmied my way into the tight black dress. It was sparkly and short, which highlighted my legs. When paired with stilettos, they looked impossibly long.

“You look hot,” Anna said as I stepped out of the bathroom. She was standing by the bedroom door like she’d been waiting for me. “Fair warning, Wes is definitely going to offer to be your rebound again when he sees you like that.”

I rolled my eyes. “I’m sure he won’t.” My heart fluttered a little at the thought.

“He definitely will,” Cress said as she appeared in the doorway next to Anna. “Damn, we’re good.”

“The best,” Anna agreed. “I think all our hard work calls for a little champagne.” She pulled a bottle out from behind her back and wiggled it in the air.

“Where did you get that?” I asked.

“I raided the Farley wine cellar. There was no lock on the door, so I assumed it was all fair game.”

Cress lifted her eyebrows.

“What? It was a champagne emergency!”

Cress laughed and snatched the bottle. “You think everything is a champagne emergency.”

“Well, it is!” Anna replied. “Now, you two get in close so I can get a picture. You both look gorgeous.”

Cress skipped over to me and wrapped an arm around my shoulders. Anna pointed her phone in our direction before I could object, and Cress and I grinned.

“Cute. But you need to smile like you’re having fun.”

“We are having fun.” I laughed.

“And we’ll be having even more fun once this champagne is open,” Cress replied. She popped the cork on the champagne, and the bubbles fizzed out the top of the bottle. The two of us squealed as it erupted into the air before we burst into fits of laughter.

“Anna, did you shake the bottle before giving it to us?” Cress asked.

“I swear I didn’t.” She was grinning widely, so I wasn’t sure whether to trust her. She must have seen the uncertainty in my eyes because she continued. “What? I would never. That’s like champagne blasphemy. Such a waste.”

“Champagneispractically her religion.” Cress poured the drink into the elegant glass flutes already in the room. I was guessing Anna had helped herself to them too.

“Sure is.” Anna wasn’t looking at us as she spoke. Instead, she was staring at her phone, her lower lip sucked between her teeth as she concentrated.

“What are you doing?” I asked.

“Just showing the rest of the world what they’re missing…” She turned the phone to us, and I could see she’d posted one of the pictures she’d just taken to Instagram. It was the moment the champagne had erupted, and Cress and I were laughing. It was fun and cute, and even I had to admit we both looked amazing in the picture.

She’d captioned the photo “Girls night with my BFFs,” and my heart warmed to think she counted me as one of her best friends. I felt like we’d grown close, but it almost had me tearing up to know she felt the same way too.

“Oh, I love it,” Cress said.

“Me too,” I agreed with a smile. And I loved these two girls. How did I get so lucky?

“Ha! It’s already blowing up,” Anna said as she checked her phone again. “Sawyer’s posted about a million flame emojis. He also says they’re on their way and to stop having fun without them.”

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