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She smiled grimly. “I know.”
But she shook her head and I just wrapped my arms around her. As hard as this was for me, I knew it was harder for her. I kissed her, and then I made love to her.
When she fell asleep in my arms, I brushed my lips across her forehead and ran my finger along her cheek. My whole world had shifted, and I didn’t know what to do about it. It was terrifying and exciting at the same time.
Chapter 19 - Veronica
After my first night with Carter, I caught a cab to the first studio and set up my camera. I had to get back to work, and focus on taking great pictures of the band. Lacie appeared in the dressing room, looking flushed and tired. I’d seen her disappear with Maddox at the airport, and I knew she’d had an evening similar to mine.
Once the band were in the studio doing their first interview, I leaned against the counter and studied her face.
“You never checked in to our hotel yesterday,” I said with a grin. I know exactly where you were.
“No,” she replied slowly, focusing on her makeup and hair supplies. She put the brushes and makeup away, clipping the case closed without looking at me.
“Stop avoiding my eye,” I laughed. “What’s going on with you?”
“I’m engaged.”
My jaw dropped, and Lacie finally looked at me. My eyes widened and I opened and closed my mouth until finally I could speak.
“What?”
Turns out Lacie’s night had actually been crazier than mine… And I hadn’t even told her about Seth!
“I said I’m engaged.”
“I know what you said,” I laughed, not knowing how else to react. “What I mean is, what?! How? To who?! Are you engaged to Maddox Freaking Knight?!”
“Sort of,” she replied. “I don’t know. I think so?”
I put up my hands, shaking my head as I closed my eyes and tried to understand what the heck she was telling me. When I opened my eyes, I put my hands on my hips and stared at my best friend. Had she gone fucking insane? Had this band slipped something into our drinks and made us all crazy people? What the heck was going on?!
“Lacie, babe, I love you. You’re my best friend. But will you please tell me what the fuck you’re talking about right now?”
Her eyes were bright as she stared at me. We stayed like that for a few seconds, until Lacie started giggling. She couldn’t stop, and I stared at her for a few moments.
Yep, she’s gone nuts.
I tried to frown, but her laughter was contagious. I shook my head as the giggles started to bubble up in me, too, until finally I gave up. We laughed and laughed until tears were streaming down our faces.
“I’m sorry,” Lacie said, wiping her eyes. “I know it’s crazy.”
“You’re fucking right, it’s crazy. What is going on?”
“I guess he needs a wife to get his inheritance or something. I don’t know, I don’t really get it. He said he’d pay for my mom’s medical bills if I married him.”
Uh oh.
I frowned. “Lacie, that’s fucking weird. That’s like… coercive. I’m not okay with that.”
“No!” She said, shaking her head. “It’s not like that. He said he’d give me the money either way.” She opened my mouth but said nothing.
My heart started thumping. This was even worse than a stalker ex-boyfriend. Why would Maddox want to marry her? Just to get some money? This had ‘disaster’ written all over it.
I leaned against the counter, folding my arms and staring at the ground to gather my thoughts. I didn’t want Lacie to get mad at me, but I wanted to make sure she was okay. Finally, I looked at her. She was shifting uncomfortably, looking at me as she bit her lip.
“And you’re okay with this?” I asked
