Page 36 of Dirty Plans

Vivian claps in front of her chest making her boobs practically bounce out of their holsters. “Oh, I’ve been wanting to go to Nocté! This is perfect. I kept trying to get Jordan to go, but we were always too busy having sex to make it happen.”

I blow out a puff of air and turn back to Tasia, trying hard not to make a face. Deep down, I know that wasn’t a dig at me, but it felt like it anyway.

Tasia reaches out and places her left hand over mine.

Of all the Dirty B’s, she knows how hard all of this has been on me.

For a moment, I think about telling Vivian to forget it. That I’m a grown woman and I can do hard things. But then I remember the magnetic pull that kept threatening to take me over last night.

Maybe it was all of the alcohol, but after Quinn left, being around London made me feel so nostalgic for those nights staring at the stars with him.

We would talk about all sorts of things—big things, little things. It always felt like we could solve the world’s biggest mysteries in those late hours.

I didn’t realize how much I missed that kind of connection until last night. When he dropped me off, I almost asked him to join me in my backyard to stargaze.

Thankfully, I sobered up enough to come to my senses.

There’s no way I should have asked another man over to stargaze in my backyard when my husband’s away on a work trip. I’m sure that goes against our wedding vows somewhere.

If nothing else, it sends the wrong message.

“Well, wanna come with me? I leave in—oh, geez,” I double-take at the clock behind Tasia’s head. “Is it already two-thirty?”

“Yup,” Tasia says without even checking the clock.

“Now,” I spin back around to Vivian. “I’m leavingnow.”

Vivian shrugs. “Sure. I was just helping Tasia design the new alcove, but I think I’ve got all the specs to get started.”

I throw a look over my shoulder at Tasia. She swore she wasn’t letting Vivian at the alcove. Her words were, and I quote,‘Over my dead Black ass.’

Tash just shrugs. “She’s doing it for free as long as I give her a testimonial. I figured why not? Now, stop worrying about what I’m doing and focus on whatyouneed to do.” She gives me a pointed look.

My heart hammers in my chest and I take a deep breath, trying to calm down. But the more I think about it—going to see London and now having to bring Vivian—the more I freak.

“Come on, Flower. Want me to drive?” Vivian asks, oblivious to my crisis state.

I barely register myself as nodding.

She takes me by the hand and leads me out the door in a haze, chatting away, even though I have no clue what she’s saying.

“You’ll be fine, Lily. Take a deep breath and relax,” Tash calls out before the door closes behind us.

“Relax,” I repeat, following Vivian to her pink BMW.

Oh yeah.Easier said than done.

CHAPTER9

London

“You look fuckin’ sick,” Cal says as he drops into his usual spot on the other side of my desk. “And I don’t mean in the dope kinda way, either.”

“I feel sick,” I admit, glancing up at him.

Last night went better than I could have imagined. Even with Quinn there, dinner with Lily made me realize how much I’ve missed in her life.

She’s still the same, quirky girl she was as a kid—but she’s also got a layer of hurt that wasn’t there before. It’s hiding just beneath the surface of who she wants everyone to believe she is, but I can feel it like it’s a palpable thing.

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