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I look up at her, squinting against the sunshine haloing her head. “What is going on?”
“Nothing!” she insists. But her eyes shift nervously towards the kitchen.
My heart stutters. I trust Jorden. She’s my friend, but…
If the last week has taught me anything, it’s that I’m not nearly as safe as I think I am. What if Jorden is working with Ivan’s enemies?
I try to shove the idea down, but it won’t budge. “Jorden,” I say evenly, sliding to the edge of my chair, “if you know what is going on, you need to tell me.”
Her gaze darts past me to the kitchen door. The voices are still soft. I thought it was because they were deeper in the house, but now, I realize whoever is inside is whispering.
My heartrate ramps up. “Jorden…”
“It’s fine,” she insists. Her cheeks are flushed. It’s rare to see her this rattled. “Everything is fine.”
If someone is in my house, it either means the guards let them in or there are no longer any guards. Neither option is great, but there’s nothing I can do about it now.
“You know what? I’m not going to sit here and wait for someone to bust in and—”
I’m shoving past Jorden just as the double doors to the kitchen burst open.
And Anya and Francia burst out.
“SURPRISE!”
I stumble back into Jorden, who wraps her arms around my waist in a tight hug. “Sorry.”
Relief washes through me. “I thought—I don’t know what I thought.”
“They wanted it to be a surprise,” she explains.
Anya grins. “Was it a surprise?”
“She heard you all squeaking around in the kitchen!” Jorden reprimands. “I could barely keep her out here.”
“Waswhata surprise? Why did I need to stay out here?”
Anya skips over to me and plants her hands on my shoulders. She walks backwards, leading me through the kitchen doors and towards the private staircase on the right. “I had big, grand plans for you, Cora. There were going to be multiple attendants, endless bottles of champagne—”
“And those little finger sandwiches with the cream cheese and cucumber.”
Anya chuckles and rolls her eyes. “Niles can still make those for us. I’ll put in a request.”
Jorden cheers behind me, but Francia doesn’t say anything. Aside from the initial surprise, she hasn’t said a word.
“Anyway, it was going to be an affair in the most lavish hotel room money can buy. But plans change and I am nothing if not adaptable. So here’s the backup plan.” Anya pushes open my bedroom door and ushers me inside…
To a room of wall-to-wall wedding dresses.
Movable clothing racks are arranged around the perimeter of the room, each one stuffed with lace and silk and velvet, all in varying shades of bridal white. Heels are lined up under each rack. I don’t even need to check to know they’re in my size.
“Wow.”
It’s all I can say. The only word I can muster as I stare at the room overflowing with dresses that I’ll never wear to the wedding I’ll never have.
As it turns out, Anya ordered dresses in everyone’s size so we could all try things on.
“I knew Cora wouldn’t love being the center of attention, whereas I live to be the center of attention.” Anya laughs at her own joke. “So we’re all putting dresses on. It will be fun!”
