Page 4 of Born Chaos

“And you said yes?” Elena asks stupidly, her expression shockingly unsure.

“Elena, you’re looking at the ring,” I point out. “Of course I said yes!”

“Oh my gosh,” she gasps again as she blinks hard and shakes her head. “You’re… you’re getting married!”

“I’m getting married!” I repeat, wishing it was only excitement filling me right now. But there’s still that little drop of fear in my mind, planted there by Archer and his stupid prophesy.

“When?” Elena demands, her eyes widening just a bit, and I can already see the wheels spinning in her brain.

“June twenty-first,” I confirm. “Though we haven’t talked about a single other detail.”

“Good, because I know the best in the business,” Elena says as she turns away from me and starts typing into her phone like a maniac. “She’s crazy busy, but I know she’ll make room for us. She owes me a favor anyway.”

Typical Elena. She might be a spitfire little thing, but she can be terribly predictable at times. And I love her endlessly for it.

“Know any good real estate agents, too?” I ask as I look around her over-the-top apartment. “I’m wanting to find us a new place to live. You know, something that’s ‘us.’”

“Are you kidding me?” she asks as she looks up at me with an arched eyebrow. “You want to plan a wedding, work as a doctor, and buy a new house and move? Even you can only handle so much, my dear.”

“Don’t tell me what I can and can’t handle,” I sarcastically snap at her. “I’m a very big girl. I can handle all the things.”

She chuckles and lays her phone on the counter. She crosses the space to me, putting her hands on my shoulders. “I know you can handle everything in the world. Maybe take baby steps? So you can actually enjoy life? Planning your wedding can be stressful. But it’s supposed to be one of the most romantic times between a couple.”

“Right,” I say, letting out a tiny breath.

“Juliet,” my best friend says, her voice quiet and soft. “What’s on your mind? You’re holding back. I can tell.”

Dammit. How the hell am I supposed to tell her the real reason for my hesitation? That a crazy man, tied up in a cemetery, told me that Sebastian and I were doomed?

“I just want to make everything happen all at once,” I say instead. It’s a skewed version of the truth. “Patience isn’t one of my best qualities.”

Elena smirks at me, because she does know me well. “No need to rush things, my little lamb.”

Both our eyes snap to the door when we hear footsteps outside. And just a moment later, the door opens, and in steps Mason.

“What’s wrong?” he asks as soon as he sees the blood dripping down Elena’s white top. “You’re never this sloppy.”

“Juliet here is just dropping bombshell news,” Elena says. And there’s a touch of dread in her voice. She warned me. She warned us. And things did get a little messy. “Why don’t you show him?”

Mason and I are in a good place. We really are. But still, there’s a little clamp of trepidation that grabs my stomach as I meet Mason’s eyes.

But I raise my left hand, displaying my ring. “Sebastian proposed yesterday. I said yes.”

And I’m so damn relieved when it’s only surprise that fills his face. “Oh, wow,” he says as he steps forward, taking my hand to observe the ring. “I mean, I guess I should have seen it coming. He’s obviously completely obsessed with you.”

“That’s a good way to put it,” Elena chuckles.

“Congratulations, Juliet,” Mason says as his eyes rise to meet mine. “I’m happy for you.”

And he means it. Because that’s just the saint he is. Once upon a time, we both had dreams that we might be the be-all, end-all for each other. It was easy to daydream about the future he and I might have. But in the end, it never would have worked. Mason and I come from completely different worlds.

“Thank you,” I offer with a soft smile.

“So, do you have any plans in three weeks?” Elena asks as she claps her hands together, fixing me with those devising eyes. “Because an engagement calls for an engagement party.”

CHAPTERTWO

“What are your plans today?”

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