Joelle Morrow has her focus set on the future. As an up-and-coming lingerie designer, she's overcome multiple setbacks on the road to achieving her dream of opening her own boutique but has yet to be knocked down, leaving her no time to think about...
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"Are you excited?"
Leaning back from the bathroom mirror, I twisted my mascara wand back into its tube and reached for a pale pink lipstick. "And a little nervous," I admitted, glancing over at Aimee. "It's been years since we've been to a trivia night."
"All the more reason to go," she replied. "Besides, after all the time I've spent planning my wedding, I need tonight."
"It was your choice to have a summer wedding," I pointed out.
"I mean, why wait?" She shrugged. "Besides, with Jack's schedule, summer is the only time I can guarantee he has off." I nodded, unable to reply as I applied my lipstick. "And now that we'll have Jack and Seb around to help us out with the sports questions tonight, maybe we'll actually have a shot at winning."
"You mean instead of giving up halfway through and drinking as many cheap beers as we can afford?"
"Exactly." Moving to stand beside me, she threw an arm around my shoulder, meeting my gaze in the mirror with a grin. "Besides, tonight we're celebrating."
A thrill of happiness tingled underneath my skin. Even after a couple of days, it didn't seem real. The offer I'd made on the boutique property had been accepted, and though the space needed work, it was now mine. Mine. Mine to fix up. Mine to craft as I pleased. Since the moment I'd gotten the call, the giddiness hadn't faded, realizing that soon enough my designs would be displayed for all to see. To buy. It was surreal, but I couldn't shake the pesky voice in the back of my head telling me there was still time for things to crash and burn.
And it was those thoughts which kept me from telling anyone else the good news. Including Seb. With him having been out of town as I balanced a work-heavy schedule, the right opportunity hadn't presented itself. Each time we talked, the words were on the tip of my tongue, ready to jump out, but they never came. Instead they were replaced with questions about how his own week was going as I veered the conversation away from myself.
"About that," I said, my smile turning sheepish, "you haven't mentioned anything to Jack, have you?"
Her brow quirked. "I might have, why?" As I tried to figure out how best to get the words out, my features must've shifted, giving away my thoughts before I could reply. "No," Aimee said in disbelief. "You haven't told Seb yet?"
I shook my head, tucking my hair behind my ear as a few pieces fell in front of my face.
"Why not?"
"I don't know," I said, stepping around her and out into the hall. "It just never felt like the right time, and I didn't want to tell him over the phone."
The words were only half a lie—a façade to mask the truth—and Aimee knew it, but she didn't push. Instead, she simply shook her head and pulled her phone from her back pocket as I slipped on my jacket.
