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I scoffed. “I don’t want anything from you.”

“You followed me into a restroom, sis. Let’s not do this.” She smiled.

My jaw tightened. Why did I follow her? Maybe I just needed to get a look at the kind of woman Cardez had been with before me. No woman had ever made me feel inferior before, not even stank-ass Patricia, but this was different. She’d fucked my man, and a ring on my finger wasn’t gonna change that.

“How long?”

“Does it matter? He never brought me around his friends. We’d meet up for drinks and end up at my place or a hotel.” She picked up her clutch from the counter. “You’ve been in his life for a few months and here you are.”

I pushed off the wall. “You knew he was engaged and you tried flirting with him anyway, because you don’t think this is real. You saw a Page Six announcement and figured it was business or I was some woman he’d be done with by spring.” I stepped closer. “You wanted to see if you still had it.”

Something flickered across her face.

“You don’t.” I opened the door and held it for her. “He’ll be fucking me tonight. And it’s my birthday too?” I shivered. “Enjoy your evening, Harmony.”

She walked out and I applied a fresh coat of lip gloss in the mirror before I went back out.

My drink was still waiting for me, and Dez pulled my chair a little closer to his.

“Are you having a good time?” he asked.

“This is the best birthday I’ve had in years.”

35 LA’BELLE EVANS

TWO WEEKS LATER

I was standing on a little platform in the middle of a bridal boutique in SoHo in my fifth dress of the afternoon, while Lorelei and the bridal attendant circled me with intense focus. Siani was behind them in a velvet chair, champagne in hand, looking more over it than I was.

The wedding was in thirty days, which felt like no time and plenty of time depending on the day. The venue had been booked. We’d done tasting with the caterer. My hair and makeup were scheduled. But I’d been pussyfooting around the one thing that made the wedding real—the dress. Once I picked it, I was going to be somebody’s bride for real.

Dez and I were finally in a good place. He’d given me my own black card, and all the money I’d given to Gideon had been replaced in my accounts. He wouldn’t budge on me going back to work at Luxe, so I decided to start Pilates instructor training instead. I figured I could overcharge Patricia and the rest of them old bitches for private sessions.

“What do you think?” Lorelei asked, looking up from her tablet.

I glanced at myself in the three-way mirror.

The dress was an ivory, drop-waist ballgown that had a sheer corset top with flower appliqué embellishments. It was beautiful, but a small part of me still felt like I was betraying myself by getting married. The thought of being legally bound to a man made my stomach twist in knots, even if it was Cardez.

“It’s nice,” I said as I turned in the mirror.

“They’ve all been more than nice, Lala,” Siani said. “They’re stunning. You want to have some kind of ‘this is the one’ moment and it’s not happening.”

“Ouch,” I said.

“Someone’s gotta keep it a buck with you, friend.” She stuck her tongue out at me. “Belle, look at yourself.”

I looked at myself in the mirror.

The dress was gorgeous. My boobs somehow looked fuller, but weren’t spilling out of the top. It was delicate—the kind of dress that looked effortless and timeless. And the ivory looked so good against my skin tone.

“It is beautiful,” Lorelei said.

“It really is,” the bridal attendant agreed.

I turned slightly again.

The small part of me that believed all of this was a sham was getting quieter.