Page 24 of The Fiancée Farce
“Speak of the devil.” For all that her tone was light, teasing, Gemma had to dig deep to recall the easy-as-breathing manner inwhich she and Lucy used to banter, used to justbe. Now she had to think about it, had to do the math. Pray what she said came out the way she intended it to, pray that Lucy didn’t read into it something she didn’t mean. “You look like you didn’t sleep a wink.”
“Just what every girl wants to hear.” Lucy rolled her eyes, reaching around Gemma to get to the cabinet. “That they look like shit.”
Gemma tensed, shoulders creeping higher. Case in fucking point. “I didn’t mean it like that.”
Lucy sighed, eyes shutting. “Sorry. Ignore me.” She filled her cup and turned, cocking her hip and leaning against the counter. “You’re right. I didn’t get much sleep.”
“Jet lag?” Gemma grabbed the creamer from the fridge and added a splash to her cup. “Or Teddy’s racket?”
Lucy laughed. “Neither, actually. I was up late working on that.”
She threw a manila folder onto the counter. Lucy wasn’t the only one who was exhausted; Gemma hadn’t even realized Lucy had been holding something.
“Go on,” Lucy prodded. “I did it for you.”
Gemma eyed the folder suspiciously. “Did what for me?”
Lucy cradled her mug in both hands, staring at Gemma over the rim. “How much do you know about your fiancée?”
This was about Tansy? Gemma rolled her eyes. Who was she kidding,of coursethis was about Tansy. She should’ve known that Lucy’s underwhelming reaction to the news of her engagement was too good to be true, a portent of a worse reaction to come. The calm before the storm.
“Does anyone ever reallyknowthe person they’re marrying?” she mused.
“Gemma!” Lucy looked appalled.
“Calm down.” Excuse her for the attempt at existential sardonicism before she’d had her coffee. “Can you evertrulyknowsomeone?” Beyond the basics, beyond what even the most thorough background check could dredge up. What made a person tick, what they feared, what they were willing to risk to get what they wanted,who they were willing to risk. Maybe Teddy had the right idea after all, asking Tansy her deep, dark secrets point-blank. “That’s all I’m saying.”
“You know me,” Lucy said, nostrils flaring delicately. “I know you.”
Gemma tried not to cringe. Not this. Not again.
“Ido. You can deny it all you want, but I know you better than anyone.”
“Luce—”
“I’m serious.”
That was the thing with Lucy—she was always serious. Even when Gemma didn’t want her to be.Especiallywhen she didn’t want her to be.
“Look, Tansy Adams wouldn’t hurt a fly.”
Lucy’s lips thinned. “Just read the damn file.”
She wasn’t in the mood to fight. It was too fucking early. She flipped open the folder and was greeted with a photo of Tansy. In it, she was younger, her hair a little shorter, her cheeks fuller, her blue eyes strangely haunted for someone so young. A yearbook photo, from the looks of it. Beneath it were her birth date, home address, phone number, credit score, and nonexistent criminal history. She’d never even gotten a speeding ticket. “Do I want to ask how you got this?”
Lucy shrugged. “I don’t know. Do you?”
Gemma sighed and shut the file. “I already know everything I need to about Tansy.”
“You’ve known her . . . what? A week? Don’t you think it’s alittle premature to say you know everything you need to about someone after seven days?”
It was too early for trick questions. “So I didn’t know her credit score, sue me.”
She knew what counted—Tansy was willing and able to marry her. Moreover, Tansy was willing to marry her knowing Gemma wasn’t looking for love. Something Lucy had said she understood, but hadn’t. It had driven a wedge between them, creating a rift Gemma had made strides in bridging, strides that seemed to have been erased entirely when Gemma’s grandfather died and the conditions of her inheritance came to light.
“You’re making a mistake,” Lucy said, flipping the folder open and thumbing through the file.
Because she’s not you?Gemma almost asked, biting her tongue before she could do irreparable damage to their already precarious friendship. It was just...God, this entire conversation felt like déjà vu. They’d been through this before. Too many times to count.
