Page 33 of Priceless
I wasn’t so sure about that. No one could argue that I didn’t have a good life, even if there were painful aspects to it. “Yeah. Just another week, and then it won’t matter.”
“Tell her to fuck off,” Rin said. “Seriously. The papers are signed. What is she going to do?”
“The papers don’t do much until the actual wedding. Until then, she can and will make my life miserable if I don’t give in on some things. It’s a wedding for a marriage lasting a year. I don’t have to have everything perfect for something that’s temporary. She can have some of it if it gets me to the finish line.”
Both my friends’ faces told me they didn’t agree, but they’d already made that clear while I told them the story.
“I’m ordering us cake,” Isolde said. “You had to leave before the wedding cake last night, and that’s a travesty.”
I laughed. “Was it good?”
“Delicious. And no, Warren did not smash cake in her face. They were painfully adorable.”
A cake. Fuck, I hadn’t even thought about a cake. It was a good thing they’d hired a wedding planner, because this was already overwhelming.
“Are we invited?” Trinity asked.
“Yes.” The answer was immediate. I might not be insistent on everything, but this was one. If I was getting married, even if it was fake, I wanted my friends there. “I don’t imagine it will be a big wedding, since it’s so fast, but I want you there. The only reason they’re probably going through the actual motions at all and not just having it at a courthouse is the public relations aspect. Please don’t tell anyone about that,” I added.
“We won’t,” Isolde said.
I looked at Rin and stared at her until she held up her hands. “Cross my heart, hope to die. I won’t tell anyone. And I won’t need to. I told Isolde because she needed the guys desperately. You’re literally marrying yours, so there’s no need to intervene.”
“It’s a fake marriage, Rin.”
Isolde raised an eyebrow as the cake was set down in front of her. “What was it they said? That they wanted it to be a very real marriage?”
“You know what I mean.”
Isolde nodded, cutting a slice of cake and giving it to Trinity. “I do. And I’m the first one to say that I’m with Rin, here. I put up a fight, and I was wrong. So I’m proud of you for saying yes, and I’m fully rooting for those Alphas to sweep you off your feet.”
That sounded… amazing. But I couldn’t believe that. They were from a completely different plane of existence on every level. I would just be a visitor for a while before being cast back down to earth.
“And,” Isolde added. “If you say anything against it, I’m going to be the one smashing this cake in your face. Got it?” She looked stern as she held out the plate.
I tried to hold it together and failed miserably, the three of us collapsing into laughter. God, it felt good to have time like this with them again. Like I could breathe even though everything was pressing down on me, including the corset.
Something flashed in my eyes, and I recoiled. “What the hell was that?”
It was already bright outside, and I didn’t see anything that would have reflected. Then I did. A man with a camera stood down the sidewalk, the lens pointed in my direction. “Fuck.”
Both Trinity and Isolde turned to look, and Rin jumped out of her chair. “Hey, fuckface.” She was gone before we could call her back. I couldn’t hear what she said, but it was loud, her hands waving, and the man looked scared.
I covered my mouth with my hand, stifling a laugh. “Should we help her?”
“No, I think she’s got it.”
Rin flipped the man off before stomping back to the table. “I know that asshole. Not like I’m friends with him, but I know who he is. He’s a paparazzo. So someone must know about you and the DuPonts.”
“How? This only happened last night.”
“You said you agreed on Thursday, though.”
The thought of calling them made my stomach flip with nerves. But if this really was for public relations, then the last thing they needed was a random headline. And they needed a picture of a fat girl laughing and eating cake even less.
So I pulled out my phone and found Micah’s number. They’d all texted me last night so I had theirs too. I swallowed as I held the phone up to my ear.
He answered on the second ring. “Hello, beautiful.”
