Page 47 of Nothing to Fear

Remaining defiant, Roxie held her posture. “I will not argue against the merits of lingerie, it has its place, and everyone has to earn a living. Maybe I’ll swing by some time, Savanna, and you can take a shot at changing my mind.”

“Have you had something custom made for the wedding?” Alice said. “If not, we can help with that too.”

“Actually, now there’s a good point. I have no idea where we are on lingerie.” Roxie tapped a finger on the table. “I’ll have to get Jane over here.”

“Jane?”

“Our wedding planner.”

“And one of Roxie’s dearest friends,” Alice explained.

“She’s making all of the wedding decisions.”

“Except the honeymoon.”

“Except the honeymoon,” Roxie agreed and Alice laughed. “She’s laughing because Z already took me on a rehearsal honeymoon. And what a commotion that was. I think we’ll need another after that palaver.”

“Tell Savanna,” Alice said, squeezing Roxie’s hand. “You can trust her.”

“With everything?”

“We want her to put her faith in us, we have to put our faith in her.”

Secrets. She could handle keeping secrets. She was an expert at it actually. Though most of her secrets weren’t deliberately held, she just didn’t trust many people.

“Where do you want me to start, Momma B?”

“At the beginning.”

“We’ll be here all night.”

And going home, she’d be a changed woman. Already that was obvious. Something about the women’s spirit, their dynamism, enlivened her with a curiosity and confidence of her own.

FIFTEEN

IT WAS WRONG that he was on her mind from the minute she got in the cab. Maybe it was before then. Being with Alice, and with Roxie, strong, powerful women, who held it together… Why was she always falling apart?

Kicking her shoes into the bedroom closet, and pulling the clip from her hair, she didn’t even bother to change before calling.

It was wrong. To be so reliant on him. Two nights in a row. When would it end? Maybe never.

“Hi.”

Oh, the sweet rapture of his attention. “It’s late again.”

“I told you to call whenever you wanted,” Jacob said, the smooth comfort of his voice encircling her. “Did you have a good day?”

“You know how some people inspire you?”

“Yeah.”

“You want to be better because they show you it’s possible?”

“You met someone?”

Unzipping her dress, it fell to the floor. She didn’t bother to pick it up, just hopped onto the bed and lay across the width of the end.

“I’m not a dynamic woman, or the kind of person people notice. How do people do that? Fill the air with positive energy?”

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