Page 27 of Marry Me, Right Now

r, had been the best sleep of my entire life.

M I A

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GIRLS NIGHT

I realized the only way I could possibly sell this entire situation was to carefully behave as I would naturally, while still selling our story. I was also impossibly curious as to what my friends would say about my dazzling new life. I invited my best friends Rayanne and Lauren to my new home, and they were both surprised and confused when I texted them the address. They both double checked it with me, assuming that I had made a mistake.

I’d known them both for at least five years, and we’d all been through crappy jobs, lousy apartments, and loser boyfriends.

They arrived together, and I ran to answer the door when I heard them tap tentatively.

“Ladies!” I screeched, hugging them hello. “It’s been way too long. I’m sorry that I suck. Come in.”

They both came in slowly, looking around as they slipped off their shoes on the marble tile of the foyer.

Rayanne’s shaggy shoulder-length hair had recently been dyed purple, which looked smashing with her usual all-black outfit. Lauren was more of a hippie, and her dirty blonde hair glowed from the yellow and orange swirls on her blouse.

“What the actual hell?” Rayanne asked. “You live here?”

“Did you become a princess and didn’t bother to tell us?” Lauren laughed loudly.

Jacob came down the hallway, and both of their mouths fell open. “She is certainly a princess to me,” he said sweetly, wrapping his arm around me in a little half-hug as he gave me a kiss on the cheek.

He looked back and forth at the two of the. “I’m going to take a wild guess… Rayanne?” He extended his hand, and she shook it while nodding, obviously amused.

“And I’m Lauren,” she said with an almost girlish tone as he shook her hand.

She turned to raise her eyebrow at me. “Well, this explains why we haven’t seen you very much over the past few months.”

“I know, I’m terrible,” I said. “Come on in.”

I led them to the huge couches, where snacks were already laid out.

“May open a bottle for you ladies?” Jacob asked. “We have everything, pretty much, so what would you like to start with?”

They both shrugged. “We’re fine with anything,” Rayanne said as we all sat down.

Jacob snapped his fingers. “I’ve got it. Do you all like slightly sweet white wine?”

“Of course,” I said.

He opened a bottle that looked very expensive, old, and French. “This is something that my friend Logan gave me. He bought a case of it, but it was too sweet for his girlfriend.”

He brought three extremely full glasses to sit down in front of us.

“So, Jacob,” Rayanne asked, “This is your place?”

“Our place now,” he said, shooting me a little grin.

“And what do you do for a living?”

He sat down beside me. “Getting straight to the point. Making sure that I am good enough for your friend. I get that. Basically, I run an investment company. I crunch numbers and move money around as best I can to help it grow.”

Lauren nodded. “A financial wizard.”

He shrugged. “I don’t know about the wizard part, but everything is going pretty well so far.”

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