Page 26 of Fearless to Love

Lily’s eyes watched me for a few moments. Probably checking to see that I was okay with the knowledge of what she and Franca had been scheming. “At seven. She has the whole upstairs reserved for us.”

“Us? Who all is coming?” If it was only the three of us, we definitely didn’t need the entire floor.

She shook her head and smiled at me. “I’ve already ruined one surprise at least let the guests be a surprise.”

“Fine, but I don’t really have any friends,” In college, I was the weird guy with the accent everyone made fun of, and after Michael, my ex-business partner fucked me over it had been hard to let people into my life. That was until Lily.

Resting her head on my shoulder, she nuzzled into my neck. “Well, it’s safe to say you’ve got some now. I think you’ll be happily surprised to find out who all will be showing up for you.”

“As long as you’re there, that’s all I care about.”

“I will most definitely be right by your side for the entire evening, but right now I need to go answer your sister’s message and start getting ready.” Giving me a chaste kiss, Lily sprung up out of my lap and was up the stairs before I could blink. Did she really need three hours to get ready?

* * *

“Act natural,”Lily said out of the side of her mouth. Her hand that was wrapped around my bicep tightened.

I couldn’t help but laugh. “You’re the one that’s not acting natural. My sister’s going to know you spilled the beans the moment she lays eyes on you.”

Her head jerked up to look at me. “Are you serious?”

“Probably. She’s really good at reading people. From day one she told me not to trust Michael, and I stupidly didn’t listen to her. You better put on your game face because here she comes.”

I was actually somewhat excited to see how this was going to play out.

“Didn’t you get my message?” Franca swatted me on the arm. “I’ve been calling for almost an hour.” She looked over at Lily and her eyes lit up. “You look gorgeous tonight.”

“Thank you, Franca. What seems to be the problem?” Lily asked in a stilted voice. She was the worst at acting. At least I knew she would never be able to lie to me and pull the wool over my eyes. Not that I thought she would.

“Someone locked themselves in the bathroom upstairs and won’t come out. I don’t have the keys and didn’t know what to do.” She feigned distress, but she was a much better actress than the woman on my arm.

“Well, I guess it’s a good thing I’m here now then, isn’t it?” Lily squeezed my arm tighter. I guess I wasn’t that good of an actor either. “Do you know if whoever’s in there is hurt?”

“Just drunk and can’t figure out the lock.” Franca shook her head like it was a sad thing. I wanted to laugh, but I knew if I did, I’d be giving away that Lily had told me all about the party.

I followed behind, letting Lily use me as her anchor. She’d gone all out with a pair of red high heels I wanted to rest on my shoulders while I fucked her all night long. Her dress was short and tight, hugging her in all the right places. The combo made it difficult for her to navigate the stairs, and it made me hard every time I looked at her. I couldn’t wait to get her alone so I could ravage her.

As we walked past my office, there was no one in sight. Either we were early, or no one had shown up. I told Lily I didn’t have any friends and I was right. Pulling out my master key, I unlocked the door to the bathroom and was shocked to find all of Lily’s friends from her dinner party hiding out in the bathroom.

“We got him good.” Taylor cackled as she came up to me and gave me a hug. I hugged her back awkwardly. I didn’t know we were at that stage of our friendship yet.

One by one, the girls wished me a happy birthday as they left the bathroom and gave me a hug. The guys gave me a pat on the back or shook my hand as they went by.

Once the bathroom was cleared out, Franca wrapped her arms around me and gave me a long hug. “I know you hate celebrating your birthday, but I thought it was time to change that. You’ve got amazing people in your life who care about you and it’s time to start living.”

Hugging her back the words barely slipped passed the lump in my throat. “You’re right.” Stepping back, I kissed her on the cheek. “Thank you for doing this. I love you.” Blinking away a tear, she whispered she loved me too before trailing after the guests.

Once my sister was out of hearing distance, Lily stood in front of me with wide eyes. “I had no idea you were such a good actor.”

“I wasn’t acting. When I didn’t see anyone up here, I thought no one showed up. I didn’t think they’d all wait for me in a bathroom.”

Leaning into me, she smiled up at me. “It’s a very nice bathroom so I’m sure it was no hardship. Plus, I let them know we were downstairs, so they weren’t waiting in there for long.” Lifting up she kissed the corner of my shocked mouth before grabbing my hand and pulled me toward the party.

Franca was behind the bar when we found everyone sitting around on a few couches that had been rearranged to make a ‘U’ with a table in the middle. Lily sat next to Alex and immediately they were giggling together while I sat at the end with my arm around her waist.

Luke leaned around the girls. “Your club is great. It’s like being in LA or Vegas.”

“Thanks, man. I appreciate that.” Hearing him say that made me realize all my blood, sweat, and tears had been worth it.

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