Page 158 of Boardroom Mask

She laughs and pinches my ass. “With all the Pilates and Barry’s you’ve been doing, that would be a breeze. Have I told you lately that you’re a bombshell?”

“You’rethe bombshell,” I insist. I grab her hand and make her do a twirl. “Look at you! A dream come true. Brides across the world hear your name and instantly wither and die of jealousy. If Lukas wasn’t a hell of a lot stronger than me, I’d consider marrying you myself.”

She grins and giggles. The carefulness has mostly faded. We’re not all the way back to stealing fries and finishing sentences, but we’re close. Close enough.

“Now,” I say, “enough chit-chat. You’re stalling. On we go!”

I lift the dress off the hook and hold it open at her feet. She steps in, gripping my shoulder for balance, and I pull it up over her hips. She turns around and gathers her hair to one side. I start on the zipper.

“Suck in,” I order.

“I am!”

“Yeah, well, pretend the dress is Lukas’s dick and suck harder.”

“Jillian Rose Pierce!” She swats my arm.

“Sorry. A little vulgar, I know. Anyway, you’re perfect. The dress is the problem. Aaaand there we go. Voila.”

The zipper glides up the last two inches and settles happily at the top. I fasten the tiny hook-and-eye closure and smooth the fabric across her shoulder blades. Then I step back. Rae turns to face the full-length mirror propped against the wall. Her hand goes to her mouth.

“Oh,” she breathes.

“Yeah,” I agree. “That’s what I’m sayin’.”

She’s stunning. Glowing. Best friends look like this in your dreams, not in real life—except for she really does. She’s proud, posture erect, eyes bright, smile undimmable. God, I love her. I’m so happy for her, too, in the true, from-the-bottom-of-your-heart way you can only be happy for your real ride-or-dies. Despite everything she’s been through, she’s still here. Beautifully so. A few steps away from a happily-ever-after ending that she has more than earned.

My throat gets tight. I press my knuckle against my upper lip and breathe. Rae catches me doing it in the mirror. “Don’t you dare, missy! If you cry, I cry, and then the makeup is done for.”

“I’m not crying,” I lie shamelessly.

She turns from the mirror and takes both my hands. Her fingers are warm. Mine are freezing, per usual. I’m always cold these days. The fire in my life is gone.

“Jill…”

“Nope,” I say, shaking my head. “Don’t do the voice.”

She ignores my request as she squeezes my fingers. “You deserve this, too, you know.”

“Proper circulation in my extremities?”

“A person. Someone who sees you.” Her eyes search my face. “Someone who stays.”

I have to look away. Out the window, the garden below is strung with white lights. Chairs stand in neat rows. Lukas waits at theend of the aisle in a dark suit, hands clasped, looking up at the window like he can sense Rae through the glass.

“I’m good, Sunshine,” I tell her. “I really am.”

She squints at me suspiciously. “Are you?”

“Mhmm. I have my job. I have you. I have my health. What else does a girl really need?” I tuck a stray piece of hair behind her ear. “Not everyone needs a person. Some of us are perfectly fine solo.”

Rae doesn’t argue. But she clearly doesn’t believe me, either.

That’s fair, honestly.

Ibarely believe me.

The ceremony is beautiful. Rae floats down the aisle on her brother Gideon’s arm, and Lukas watches her approach with an expression I’ve never seen on any man’s face before. I’ve known for a long time that a Lazarev man is willing to do terrible things to get what he wants and protect what is his.