“C’mon, Blu. Of course I love them. They are beyond gorgeous. But I am making some changes in my life and am not sure I’ll be needing clothes like this.” I reached into the bag that Blu had tried to squirrel away as punishment for my lack of enthusiasm and pulled out my would-be clothes. The silk pants did feel pretty damn heavenly. I s
tood and held them to my waist.
“Girl. You are gonna slay in those pants. I might even get myself a pair,” he said, snatching them from my hands and holding them up to his own waist.
I plopped into my desk chair, and Blu buried our treasures back in the Barneys bags.
“So what’s up with Devon?” he asked.
“We’ve met with lawyers, and now I’m just waiting. If not for the prenup—”
“WHAT! You signed a prenup? OHMYGOD.”
Oh shit. I hadn’t meant to tell him that. “Yeah. I did.” I held my hand up like a STOP sign. “And I don’t need to hear about it from you,” I added.
I looked down at my chipped manicure. I needed to get my act together. “He keeps digging at me about getting a car. I never knew the man I married could be so cruel.”
Blu studied me. “You never drove again after Lisette was killed, did you?”
Those words still stabbed at my heart. Maybe they always would. Actually, I hoped they would. I felt like I deserved a cross to bear. Killed my sis, suffer the rest of my life.
Seemed only fair.
“You know, someday you’ll stop blaming yourself. It was an accident. The same thing could have happened to you, had she been driving.”
I thought back to my dream, where we’d gotten in the wreck, but she’d survived. It was like I was punishing myself, over and over, even in my sleep. I couldn’t stop.
And now, this betrayal by Devon.
I couldn’t get involved with Sumner, Chase, Gio, or Ash. I was a fucking mess.
“I know that intellectually,” I told Blu. “But my broken heart doesn’t seem to listen. And then with Smith dying…”
“I’m sorry, baby. You’ve been through a lot of shit.”
That was all I needed to hear. The tears started streaming down my face, carrying mascara and makeup with them.
Blu ran over with a tissue.
“Ugh. Sorry,” I croaked.
“Girl, how many times have I seen you cry? And how many times have you seen me? This is what besties are for.” He held a tissue under my nose, and I blew.
Which struck me as really funny. “Besties are for helping you blow your nose?” I asked with a big sniffle.
Next thing I knew, I was shaking with laughter, and Blu joined me after he decided I wasn’t losing my mind.
“You know it, sweetie,” he said, gasping for breath as he laughed with me.
Chapter 28
CHASE
While we continued to try to talk Avril out of abandoning Kink Lab and the gallery, we had one more party on the calendar, and she agreed to go ahead with it. It promised to be a good one.
Word had gotten out in the business community that we’d lost Smith, but no one had linked his accident to our parties. It wasn’t that we had anything to hide, but it was for the best that it remained quiet. One of the biggest selling points and attractions of our gatherings was our strong security, which delivered the privacy our guests paid so dearly for.
“Hey, doll,” I said, having arrived while the team was still setting up.