“No probs. This is my area of expertise,” Cassie said, following after her.

Before she forgot, Lillian grabbed out the card Reed had given her and handed it to Cassie. “Just, nothing too wild.”

Cassie raised her eyebrows. “I can’t promise anything,” she said as she took the card.

Lillian turned and headed toward the front door. Once outside, she took a deep breath and glanced down the sidewalk. She found the sign for Serenity Salon. When she got to the door, she hesitated but then took a deep breath and went inside. It was time to stop worrying about this and jump in with two feet.

She was marrying Reed Williamson and that was it. There was no going back.

Chapter Six

Reed stood in his apartment in his suit, staring at Lillian’s boxes that had been piled against the far wall. There were only a handful. Apparently, Bernard must have felt that most of Lillian’s belongings weren’t valuable, because Reed had no idea how an entire apartment could fit in—fifteen boxes. He hoped she wouldn’t get too upset to see that very little actually made its way over to his place.

He sighed as he glanced down at his watch. Where were they anyway?

After he’d dropped Lillian off at Jezebels, he went and got the ring only to be texted by Cassie saying she’d take care of Lillian until their reservations at seven. It was now half-past six and they were nowhere to be found.

The host, Pierre, at The Barbette was not fond of latecomers and was known to give away tables if someone was even a few minutes late.

Groaning, he pulled out his phone and pressed on Cassie’s number. Just as he began to write,where are you,there was a knock. In three steps, he was at his front door, pulling it open.

He parted his lips to ask his sister where she’d been, but no words came to mind when he was met with Lillian’s bright blue eyes. Her hair was half pulled up and ringlets framed her face. She had on a dark blue dress that went to the floor. It hugged her curves and wasn’t revealing—something most women in his social circle weren’t too concerned about.

“Wow,” he said. Just as the word left his mouth, heat raced to his cheeks. “I mean, wow, why are you so late?” He turned to see the smug expression of his kid sister.

She had her arms folded as she studied him. “I was taking care of your future wife,” she said, blowing past him as she waved her chauffeur into his apartment. “You can bring her clothes to the master bedroom.” She waved toward the hall that was to the left of the kitchen.

“Um.” Lillian stepped forward. Her eyes were as wide as saucers.

“Guest bedroom, Cas,” Reed said, shooting her an exasperated look.

Cassie raised her eyebrows. “Silly me,” she said. Then she turned to her chauffeur. “Second door to the right down that hall. She pointed to the hallway just off the main living-room.

“I’ll go with him,” Lillian said as she trailed after the man carrying more bags then any human should have to.

Once she was out of earshot, he turned to his sister. “What was that? Geez, way to make this girl feel weird.” Why was Cassie acting so strange? He’d already told her that this was all arranged. There was no hope of any relationship emotional or physical between them.

Cassie shrugged and made her way over to the kitchen where she grabbed a few grapes from the bowl on the counter. “I like her. You picked a good one,” she said, pointing at him.

Was it wrong that his heart picked up speed at the thought that his sister liked Lillian? Yes. It was wrong. He shook his head clear it and then walked over to her. “Yeah, well, you’re going to scare her off with all your master bedroom talk.”

Cassie shrugged. “Just promise me you won’t blow this.”

Reed raised his eyebrows. “First of all, I don’t blow things and second of all, she’s kind of contractually obligated to stay, so. . .” He shrugged as he grabbed out a bottle of water from the fridge.

Cassie took it from him before he could even untwist the top. “Well, leave it to you to chase off a woman who is legally bound to marry you.” She took a swig and then placed the bottle down on the counter. “I need to go. There’s a party downtown that isn’t going to start without me and I’m so far behind on getting ready.” She gave him a wink and made her way out of the kitchen. “Sawyer, come on!” she said as she pulled open the door. Seconds ticked by before he appeared in the hall.

“Sorry, just helping Ms. Lillian get situated.” He made his way out into the hall that led to the elevator with Cassie following behind him.

“Don’t mess this up,” she sang out as she shut the door.

Thankful that she was no longer in his apartment to embarrass him, Reed took a deep breath. Before he could gather his wits about him, Lillian appeared. She looked unsure as she glanced around. Her eyes were wide. Compared to her apartment, his flat had to feel huge with thirty-foot ceilings and giant picture windows.

His mother insisted he hire her decorator who had a flare for the modern. Half his furniture was either white or black. Most times, he felt as if he lived in a black and white movie. It was decorated well, but never really felt like his own.

“Everything okay?” he asked, shoving his hands in his pockets. He wasn’t sure what to do and felt exposed standing there.

Lillian’s gaze fell to him. “It’s like this is a dream,” she said.