Page 8 of Marked

Motherfucker.

Yup. I was so done with men.

“You’re gonna knock the socks right off his feet, Jade,” Henley sniffled.

“She’s right.” I approached the pair where they stood in front of the full-length mirror. “Koen’s not gonna know what hit him.”

Technically, Koen and Jade were married six months ago. They’d done it in secret, without their friends and family in attendance for support; a wrong which they were setting to rights in a few hours.

The three of us, along with Koen’s mom and sister, were at Jade’s house getting dressed for the wedding, while the boys opted to use one of the rooms at the venue.

Jade shook her hands out at her side. “Why am I so nervous?”

“There’s no reason to be.” I placed my hands on her shoulders from behind and gave her a gentle squeeze. “You’ve done this already. Think of the ceremony as a gift from you and Koen to the rest of us.”

“Wow. Beautifully said,” she whispered.

“Seriously, Lanie?” Henley blubbered. “I’m having a hard enough time keeping the tears at bay without you diving deep in the feels.”

“Girl, you cried yesterday when you couldn’t reach your shoes to tie them.”

She glared in my direction. “You try growing a tiny human.”

She and Keaton were expecting their first child in about six weeks. He’d proposed to her before they found out about their little bundle of joy, then they—meaning Henley—decided to postpone their nuptials until the following winter. She said she wanted to give Keaton a fairy-tale Christmas wedding, which included having their son or daughter be a part of the ceremony. I suspected it had more to do with not wanting a pregnant belly in her wedding photos, but I kept my mouth sealed shut.

“No thanks. I’d much prefer to be the favorite aunt who gets to spoil them rotten, then hand them back to their owners for upkeep.”

“Jesus, Lanie,” Jade chuckled. “You make it sound like a transaction at a car repair shop.”

I shrugged. It’s not like I had anything against kids, per se, I just wasn’t sure I wanted them.

“I bet a certain someone would be able to change your mind about motherhood,” she singsonged.

Ignoring my best friend, I spun on my heel, busying myself by gathering our purses and anything else we’d need to take with us when it was time to leave. She meant well, they both did, but it was hard enough to keep my six-foot, blue-eyed obsession from penetrating my every wakingthought without them bringing him up. Hell, who was I kidding? He played a starring role in most of my dreams too.

“What are you afraid of?”

Henley’s soft voice startled me. I hadn’t expected either one of them to follow me across the room. Yet, when I turned around they were right there, sheer determination written on their perfectly made-up faces.

“Can we do this another day? Or I don’t know…maybe never?”

“No,” they spoke together.

“You’re the ones who encouraged me to date other men.” I pointed between them. “Christ, you even set me up.”

“No more deflecting, Lanie. The maid of honor handbook states you’re supposed to give me anything I want on my wedding day, and I want answers.”

For too long, I’d felt trapped somewhere between the truth and the wall of lies I’d made up to protect my heart. These two women—the sisters of my heart—were offering me an escape. Lowering my chin to my chest, I blew out a long breath and gave them what they wanted.

“I’m not scared. I’m petrified.”

“Oh, honey.” Henley wrapped her hand around mine. “No shit.”

My head snapped up to see both of them grinning like fools. It was not at all what I expected.

The question is”—Jade captured my other hand—“what are you going to do about it?”

“Nothing?” As soon as the words were out of my mouth, I felt a sharp nip on the back of my arm. “Ouch, Henley. You really need to stop pinching people. It’s rude.”

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