Page 28 of In It to Win It

“Men.” I roll my eyes.

We’re shown to a table for two outside, right next to the water, boats bobbing in the marina only a short distance away.

“So? Ready to join me next weekend for a class?” I ask Lacey when we’re settled.

She smiles. “I have to work next Saturday.”

“Phhht.” But I grin. “You should just quit your job at Jolie.” Lacey sells cosmetics at the big beauty supply store.

“I can’t quit my job!”

“I think Théo can afford to support you.”

“I don’t want to be supported.” She gives me an affronted look. Then she shrugs. “Actually, Imayquit my job at Jolie if things keep going well with the movie gigs.”

A few months back she got a job helping with the makeup on a Hollywood movie, and since then she’s worked on two more.

“You like doing that, don’t you?”

“I love it.” She smiles. “It was really cool doing the makeup for Blake after the explosion . . . all the blood and dirt and gore.”

I grimace. “Fun.”

She laughs. “No, really!”

“I know, I know. So you and Blake Lively are best buds now, huh.”

She chuckles again. “Right.”

We order beers, and popcorn shrimp and spicy fries to share.

“Okay, what is going on with you and JP?” Lacey leans forward.

“Whatever do you mean?” Then I snort. “Okay, I made a big mistake.”

Her eyes bug open wide. “What?”

“I slept with him. The night before the wedding.”

“Oh.” She blinks.

“And the nightofthe wedding. During the wedding.”

“Whaaaat?”

“Yeah.” I whoosh out an exhalation big enough to sail a boat across the nearby basin. “I don’t know what got into me.”

“Apparently, he did. More than once.”

“Ha ha. Yeah. He was flirting with me and it was fun, and I was there alone and so was he . . . Heisgood-looking . . .”

She wrinkles her nose.

“Come on! He looks a lot like Théo. Only better.”

“What?” Her spine straightens. “Take that back.”

“It’s in the eye of the beholder. You think Théo’s better-looking because you’re in love with him.”

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