Page 128 of Role Play
Epilogue
Ash
One yearlater…
I tugged at the sleeves of the monkey suit I wore, cracked my neck to each side, hating how the stupid bowtie was just a tad too tight around my neck. A tray of champagne floated past me. I tucked the wrapped jewelry box beneath my arm and grabbed a flute, downing it one gulp as sweat pushed from my pores, then placing it quickly back on the tray before making my way up to the women’s dressingroom.
I paused in front of the door marked Bridal Suite and took a deep breath before lightly knocking on the door with the backs of myknuckles.
From inside, I heard giggling, the clinking of glasses, and heels clicking across the floor. When the door cracked open, two big brown eyes peered at me from behind rectangle frames. “Ash?” Lucy asked through the crack in the door. “What are you doinghere?”
I grinned and held up the wrapped box that contained a diamond necklace. “Special delivery for thebride.”
Lucy arched a brow and checked over her shoulder. “Everyonedecent?”
A choir of ‘yes’s’ chimed in from behind her and she opened the door wider. “Marly,” she said. “There’s a delivery foryou.”
I stepped slowly into the room, closing the door behind me and my eyes slowly descended Lucy’s body. The sleek gray evening gown hugged her curves in the most deliciously perfect way and I found myself wishing I wasn’t in a room full of Marly’s friends, but alone with mygirl.
Movement caught my eye as she licked her lips, ending with a nibble on that bottom lip of hers. “Ash,” she whispered, her blush creeping across her cheeks. She tucked a non-existent stray hair behind her ear. “Stopstaring.”
“I can’t,” I whispered in return and bent, taking her lips in a heated kiss that I felt in every inch of mybody.
She ended the kiss with a playful smack against my shoulder. “You’re not here to seeme. You’re here forMarly.”
I grinned and released my hold from around her waist, pausing momentarily to drag my fingers across the simple gold and platinum twisted chain she wore around her neck. Simple. Understated. Lightweight. The perfect piece of jewelry for a girl who hatesjewelry.
Lucy’scollar.
She followed my touch, placing her delicate hand at her sternum and touching the necklace,too.
I wasn’t sure I’d ever get over how gorgeous she was. It wasn’t that she was perfect—hell, neither of us was perfect. But she didn’t need to be perfect; because she was mine. Faults and all, she was all mine and I loved everything abouther.
Fisted in her hand, I saw her eyeglass case and I felt my brows drop, falling heavily between my eyes. “Are you wearing your contactstonight?”
Something pinched in my chest. I loved Lucy in her glasses. She was just as beautiful wearing them as she was wearing her contacts—but it was her choice. Always her choice how she wanted to dress up and presentherself.
“No,” she said, opening the case and pulling out a pair of tortoise shell glasses I’d never seen before. She switched her lenses, blinking from behind the cat-eye shaped frames. “These are new and I was debating wearing theminstead.”
Holy shit, she was sexy in those. Like a hot librarian from the 1950s. My eyes widened and I nodded. “Definitely wear those,” I said, my voice thicker, raspier than momentsbefore.
Her grin widened, her eyebrows twitching. “Yes, Sir.” Then her gaze slid to where Marly was standing in front of a floor-length mirror in her gown. Her best friend, Omar towered over her, helping set her veil in place. “Go,” Lucy said. “You’ve got best man duties to attend to and I have bridesmaid tasks at hand,too.”
She blew me a quick kiss, then went back to helping Andrea button the back of her gown as well. It was amazing to me that all these women from our little film became such good friends—Marly, Andrea, Lucy, and evenKelly.
I made my way across the room, and smiled at Marly, bending to kiss her cheek. “You lookgorgeous.”
“You clean up well, too, Ash,” she said in return, and smoothed her palm over the bodice of herdress.
From behind her, Omar cleared his throat and I looked up, clasping his hand in a handshake. “You look good, too, Omar,” I said with agrin.
Jokingly, he threw up his hand. “Well it wouldn’t hurt you to say it now andthen.”
Marly’s eyes dropped to the box I held in my hand and her eyebrows wiggled in a knowingly giddy way. “That forme?”
“Maybe,” I said. “But, when I give this to you, all your bridesmaids are going to flock around you to see you open it, right?” I dropped my voice to awhisper.
“Very plausible,” shesaid.
