Page 91 of Sweet as Sin (Bad Habit 1)
Chloe watched me watch him go. When I looked back at her, she was grinning from ear to ear. “It’s good to see you happy, Kat.”
I hesitated a moment before I answered her. I hadn’t breathed a word about the reality of Nico and Avery’s relationship to anyone, including Chloe and Grace. I never would; that information I’d take to my grave. But sooner or later I’d have to tell them about Nico’s proposal. If I’d been hiding it from the world, I’d been hiding it from them, too. In my heart of hearts, I knew it was fear that kept my mouth shut.
I was still waiting for that other shoe to drop. But the waiting was getting awfully lonely.
I blurted, “He asked me to marry him, Chloe.”
Her squeal was deafening. She leapt from the longue, dropped her iced tea, and grabbed me, hugging me tightly. “Ohmigod Kat that’s unbelievable, I’m so happy for you I could scream!” It came out in one burst, followed immediately by, “Where’s the ring? Is he having it made? Did you pick it out together? Oh God, I’m dying! Dying! This is the best news I’ve heard in years!”
When I didn’t respond, she pulled away and looked at me sharply. Slowly, horror dawned over her face. She sank back to the chaise, her blue eyes huge and round. “Please don’t tell me you said ‘no.’”
“I said ‘yes.’ But we’re not really telling anyone yet. Only his brother knows, and now you. We’ve agreed to keep it a secret for the time being.”
She looked relieved for a split second, then worried again. “Okay, it’s a secret. But you said ‘yes’! So why are you not happy?”
I looked at the spectacular house, at the shimmering pool, at the incredible view. Then I looked back at Chloe. “Because there’s a very persuasive voice in my head that keeps telling me this is all too good to be true.”
“That voice belongs to Grace,” said Chloe dismissively.
“I don’t know, Chloe, I just feel like . . . ” I took a breath. “Like life can’t be this good. Not for any extended period of time. Things like this aren’t meant to last.”
Chloe gazed at me pensively for a while, a little wrinkle appearing between her eyebrows. “All right. Let’s play this out. Say for some reason in the future—you and Nico have a huge fight, he gets hit by a bus as he’s crossing the street, whatever—your relationship ends.”
My stomach tightened. Chloe merely shrugged.
“Yeah, it will be painful. It will really suck. But it won’t be the end of the world, Kat. It won’t kill you. And it won’t lessen how wonderful it is now, or how wonderful it would be if you let it be. Relationships end. People die. But the world doesn’t stop turning. You know that better than anyone. So for now, just enjoy every moment of what you have with Nico. If it’s meant to end, it will end. You have no control over that. But you do have control over yourself. How you act, what you say, how you show him your feelings. Just live for today and be happy, because in a way, you’re right. Everything eventually ends. We all eventually die. That’s why every day we have is so special. The fact that we only have a limited amount of time is what makes life precious.”
Chloe leaned over and took my hands. “What you have with Nico is a gift, no matter if it lasts the next ten minutes or the next fifty years. Don’t screw it up with what-ifs. Your past is just that: past. Let it go and be happy. You deserve it.”
I stared at her with my mouth open. “Holy shit, Chloe.”
Her eyes sparkled. “Don’t let my blonde hair and bubbly personality fool you. I’m a Zen master, girlfriend.”
“Apparently. And here I thought Grace was the smart one.”
She pretended outrage. “Hey! Just because I’m a babe doesn’t mean I’m dumb!”
“Obviously. Though I had no idea Zen masters had such high opinions of themselves.”
Chloe adopted a yoga pose, legs folded beneath her, thumbs and forefingers in circles, eyes lifted to the heavens. “The truth has no ego, my unenlightened friend.”
I snorted, and she dissolved into laughter.
“Okay, Yoda, let’s go get something to eat.”
“Definitely,” she said, rising and tying her hair back into a sloppy ponytail. “Though, technically, Yoda was a Jedi master, not a Zen master.”
We gathered our towels and sunscreen, then linked arms, smiling like loons, and went into the house.
Which is when things got really interesting.
Apparently, whoever ordered lunch thought there should be enough food to feed a mob. N
ico laughed at the look on my face as I stopped short in the kitchen, staring at the platters taking up every inch of space on the island.
The island that was about the size of my dining room table at home.
“Are we having a party I don’t know about?” I counted twelve aluminum trays. There were sandwiches, cold cuts, tacos, fruit, lasagna, an enchilada casserole, and BBQ wings piled high, along with a basket of dinner rolls and a veggie and dip platter.
