Page 108 of Escorting the Mogul

“I have to make a call right now.” Cole scowled as he marched off to a quiet corner of the lounge. On the way to the airport, he’d apologized, saying he had a deal about to go sideways that would require his attention. As I’d just secretly repeated every detail of his business conversation to his scheming, blackmailing father, I could hardly be mad.

James turned to me. “Hey, Jenny.”

I smiled at him, happy to distract myself from my tortured thoughts. “Hey, yourself. And congratulations!”

James grinned. “Thank you. And thanks for agreeing to be Audrey’s maid of honor. It wouldn’t be the same without you.”

“Aw, thanks.” His words touched me. “I’m getting emotional just thinking about you guys getting married. I’m happy for you.”

“Thanks, Jenny.” James smiled, but it wavered as he watched Cole. “How is he?”

“Cole? Um… He’s good.” I nodded. “He seems good.”

“He was a mess without you,” James said quickly. “He wouldn’t want me to say that, but it’s true. He was a wreck.”

“Huh.” I didn’t want Cole to be upset. I wished that things were different—that I was different, a different person. “Well, he seems okay now,” I said, brightening my voice.

“Good,” James said. “Ah, here she is.” His face visibly brightened as Audrey appeared in the terminal, hustling toward us, an enormous stack of magazines in her arms. She wore a pale pink sheath dress that showed off the vestiges of her tan and pulled her hair back in a low bun. She looked classy, beautiful, and elegant.

I grinned at my best friend. “You sure clean up nice, girl!”

“Jenny!” She practically threw the magazines to James and pulled me in for a big hug. “Oh my God, I missed you so much.”

My eyes filled with tears. I clutched my friend, inhaling the scent of her familiar perfume. “I missed you, too.”

“How many bridal magazines did you get?” James asked, teasing. “I didn’t realize they made this many.”

Audrey’s cheeks flushed. “I thought Jenny and I could look at them on the flight.”

“And you should.” James beamed at her. “Do you want me to hold on to these?”

“No! We’ll take them,” Audrey said, grinning at him like a kid in a candy shop.

I glimpsed the cover ofBrides, which showed a model in a long, formfitting gown. “Ho my frickin’ God, Audrey, you wouldah-mazing in that dress!”

“You think so?” Audrey’s eyes lit up. “I saw another one in here that was pretty, too…” She started whipping through the pages.

James took that as his cue to leave. “I’ll let you two catch up. See you onboard.” He gave Audrey a firm kiss and a hug, then fled the bridal magazine bonanza.

Audrey and I hunkered down in two seats, spreading the glossy magazines between us. We had serious business to attend to. “I’m so glad you asked me to go on this trip,” I admitted.

“Me too, Jenny. I’m glad it worked out.” She glanced over at Cole, who was barking into his phone. “How’s it going?”

“It’s going,” I said. I snapped my fingers and pointed atBrides.“But we’ll talk about that later, all right? I’ve been waiting to pick wedding dresses with my BFF since I was a kid. And I’m not getting any younger!”

We spenta lot of time working our way through the magazines, dog-earing pages, and talking about strapless gowns versus backless ones. We boarded the plane, still engrossed in a conversation about color palettes. James and Cole wisely left us alone, sitting off by themselves so we could have an area to spread out. By the time the flight took off, Audrey’s skin was flushed, her eyes wide. She motioned to the pile of magazines before us. “I can’t believe this is real. I’m getting married.”

I squeezed her hand. “I can,” I said. “I knew it all along—you were always going to get your happily ever after. Nobody deserves it more than you.”

Audrey turned to me. “Thank you, Jenny. It’s all a whirlwind, but that’s not what I’m currently worried about.”

Uh-oh.I knew my friend would get around to it eventually. “You shouldn’t be worried about anything,” I said, keeping my voice light. “You should just be happy.”

“Iamhappy. But I’m also worried about you. “

“I seem to be doing okay for myself. Cole took me out on hissuper-yacht yesterday,” I shared.

Audrey’s eyebrow shot up. “What’s a super yacht?”

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