Page 65 of The Wedding Engagement

“Why, thank you, Miss O.” Maya turned to appraise her, giving a low whistle. “Wow. Looking gorgeous.”

Liv gave her a wink. “I can scrub up when I want to.” Her little black dress served her well, being dressy enough for a nice meal but casual enough that she didn’t appear overdressed. The length trod a very fine line regarding what was decent in terms of tomorrow’s washing being on display, but as long as it wasn’t too windy out and she avoided bending too far, then it was all good. Tonight she would pair it with red heels and her red coat, which she thought of as her Little Red Riding Hood coat.

Maya winked back. “You’re a sexy mofo, so you are. Have you got your contacts in? Your eyes look even bigger than usual. They’re beautiful. I feel like you’re hypnotizing me with your green-goddess eyeballs.”

Liv laughed. “That sounds weird. Like I’ve got an eyeball on the end of a string and I’m swinging it like one of those hypnotizing pocket watches.”

“Ew,” Maya said, screwing up her face. “Not quite as sexy a sentiment.”

“Indeed,” Liv replied as she climbed onto the bed and lifted her Kindle to continue reading her romance novel, allowing Maya to get back to applying her makeup.

“Thanks for letting me get ready in your room, guys,” Maya said. “When Arran and Nico turned up with that hip flask full of whiskey at my and Sam’s door, I figured the environment would not be conducive to the application of eyeliner.”

Elise emerged from their en suite. “No problem.” She settled into a seat at the desk to do her hair. “This is lovely. It reminds me of us getting ready together before we went out to the pub when we were teenagers.”

Maya was pulling the universal open-mouthedapplication-of-eyeliner face. “Ah yes. When Elise used to buy drinks for the underage Liv and Maya. It was cool having an older friend.”

Liv smiled as she flicked the page on her e-book. “Those were the days.”

Elise glanced at her in the mirror. “What’re you reading?”

“A romance,” Liv told her. “It’s about a couple who hate each other.”

Elise frowned. “How is it a romance if they hate each other?”

Liv grinned. “It’s a trope called enemies to lovers, and it’s the best one ever.”

Shaking her head, Elise took out her hair curler. “That makes no sense.”

“Course it does. I’m going to buy you some reading material so you can do someresearch.”

Elise laughed. “Okay, then. I’m normally into cozy crime, but I’ll give it a try. Aren’t they a little unrealistic, though?”

Liv raised her eyebrows. “And you think your whodunnit crime novels are realistic? Dead bodies all over a small town until there’s no population left, and the little old lady who owns the local café solves all the murders? Anyway, if I want realism, I’ll watch the news. Plus, men written by women are far superior to most real-life men.”

Maya raised her hand. “Except Sam.”

Liv pointed toward Maya. “Exception noted.” She paused. “And Arran.”

“And Harry,” Elise said, quietly.

An icy needle dug into Liv’s heart. “And Harry,” she added softly.

Elise shot her a smile in the mirror, then went back to adding some curls to her shiny blond hair. “That’s all the exceptions, though, as far as I can work out.”

“Nico too,” Maya said as she capped her eyeliner.

“Yeah,” Liv replied, at the same time that Elise said, “Nope.”

Maya laughed. “Come on, Elise. He’s a lovely guy. What’s your beef with him?”

Elise shrugged, sliding the tongs over her hair until a curl bounced up into place. “He’s a total pain in the arse. When we were at school everything fell into his lap with zero effort, while I had to work extra hard to be recognized for all the school prizes, which he still stole from me half the time.”

Liv raised her eyebrows. “Jealous rivalry between head girl and head boy?”

“You could say that.” Elise sighed. “But the problem is, the bar is lower for men. We’re held up to a higher standard so we have to work twice as hard for the same accolades. It’s not fair. One time we were paired on a science project and I had to cover for him when he didn’t turn in his fair share because he’d ditched study time for a hot date.” She rolled her eyes. “And he’s the same now, jacking in law to open a gym, where he no doubt swans around all day checking out the ladies. And only ever having short-term, no-strings relationships.” Her voice wobbled a little. “He doesn’t know what it’s like to have to juggle work and a child as a single parent.”

Liv’s heart squeezed painfully. She hadn’t quite put two and two together that for Elise, Nico represented all her struggles in life. The man who used to be her high school rival now had the “easy” life Elise wished desperately she could have. Though of course she wouldn’t change the fact that she was mother to wee Jack for the world. “I get that,” she told her gently.

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