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“What, why on earth would you do that Ryan?”
“Stella, it’s better for them to think you’re a fire-breathing dragon. Then they’ll get their act together long before they realize you’re a soft, pudgy iguana.”
I hear a choking sound. “Are you okay there? You sound like you’re trying to cough out a ball of hair.”
“You’re a jackass, Ryan.”
“I know.” I chuckle. “Stella?”
“What?”
“Thank you for doing this.”
“Whatever.” She disconnects the line, leaving me the way she always does. Rock hard and throbbing.
Chapter Fifteen
Stella
I take a long, noisy slurp out of my icy margarita, not oblivious to the three pairs of narrowed gazes aimed at me. Okay, two pairs, since Bonnie is on my side, literally. She sits next to me while my other two friends, Brooke and Sabrina, attempt to castrate me with their eyes.
We’re at the VIP section of Empire, Xavier’s swanky nightclub, and as it’s our ritual, we meet once a month to catch up on each other’s busy lives.
I’d been absent from the last two meetings. Two months ago, I was out of town on a last-minute gig. And last month... Well, last month, I made up an excuse because I couldn’t face these ladies and lie through my teeth. They’d smell bullshit from a mile off.
“So, Stella,” Brooke begins her eyes like gray flints, “What’s up? Anything new happen recently?”
“Oh God, you guys, just let me off the hook already! I know I messed up.”
“Really?” Sabrina cocks her head in disbelief. “Considering the last time one of us did what you’re doing right now, you cut them no slack.”
“Okay, ladies,” Bonnie throws her hands up in my defense. “I get it, Stella fucked up, but I’ve been there, and I can tell you sometimes some wounds are so deep it’s hard to talk about them. Brooke, I know—”
“Hold up, hold up,” Sabrina says. “What’s so wounding about marrying Ryan Fairchild?”
Bonnie whirls on me, her body turning so fast I almost hear the air around us whoosh. “Back. The. Fuck up. You what?”
I put my head on the table, knowing there’s no easy way out of this. I didn’t tell Brooke or Sabrina about Vivian or Harriet. And I didn’t tell Bonnie, my new best ally, about my wedding.
Brooke supplies, her voice tight with hurt. “Two weeks ago, Stella crashed Ryan’s wedding, and they ended up getting married the following day.”
Sabrina’s black ponytail swishes as she shakes her head in confusion. “I’m lost here. I didn’t even realize Ryan was getting married, and I saw him at your wedding Bonnie.”
Bonnie and Ethan had settled straight back into their lives claiming they were “too swamped” for a honeymoon.
“Yeah, Ryan was engaged to Vanessa at the time,” Brooke replies, “Their wedding was meant to be the week following yours Bonnie.”
Bonnie half yells, “To Vanessa! The bitch that wants to bang Xavier?” I swear the woman has no filter.
Brooke gives Bonnie a stink eye. “Thanks a lot, Bon, but yeah, the same one. Anyway, Stella showed up, and bam, Ryan made his choice, because isn’t that what you do when you have two women vying to marry you?”
The look Brooke gives me says she knows about the pregnancy but she’s choosing to be quiet. I throw her a grateful look but she instantly looks away, a sign that she’s not ready to forgive me yet.
Sabrina is still slowly shaking her head. “But Stella, why would you even want to marry Ryan? You guys can’t stand each other.” Out of the four of us, Sabrina is the one with the least amount of information. Probably because, between her twins and her busy gallery, she spends the least time catching up.
“Yeah, they’ve been ‘standing’ each other lately,” Bonnie answers for me, having gotten over her shock pretty fast.
“‘Stand’ him as much as you like, Stella, why on earth would you marry him?” Brooke’s tone is a mix of worry and irritation.
