Page 46 of Deathless & Divided

“So she ended up at his place,” Abriella finished with a wide grin. “The entire night and then D got Tommy to lie for him when Dino called as a backup about the club.”

Lily huffed. “You tell it like there’s a lot more under the surface, Ella.”

Abriella shrugged. “Don’t blame me for having an imagination, babe.”

“Well, there’s nothing to imagine.”

Evelina raised a single brow. “Nothing?”

“Is that so hard to believe?” Lily asked.

“No,” Evelina replied. “But you look like there’s something on your mind. Talk to me.”

“Us,” Abriella corrected.

Evelina hushed her friend. “Come on, Lily. What is up?”

Lily gestured at the wedding dress. “I don’t want to do this.”

“That’s not news.”

“But he is not what I expected,” Lily added.

Evelina’s expression turned stony. “Oh.”

“Yeah.”

“I like Damian,” Abriella said quietly. “He’s … I don’t know, genuine. That’s hard to find in the people around us. With him, you get what you see. He’s not out to purposely hide things.”

“You know what really sucks about the entire thing?” Lily asked no one in particular.

Evelina smiled but it didn’t ring true. “What?”

“I’ve only spent two meetings with the guy, one of which informed me he was my new fiancé, the second was when I acted like a fool and spent the night in his bed.”

“So?” Abriella pressed.

“Two meetings,” Lily repeated. “And I kind of like him. I don’t know how to deal with that.”

“I think that’s a good thing,” Evelina said.

“Maybe it would be. If I wasn’t so confused and screwed up about my opinions and thoughts, it very well could be. It’s like a fucking hurricane in here,” Lily said, pointing at her temple. “I’m attracted to him because he’s entirely different from what I thought he would be, at least he seems so. I’m bothered by the things he’s involved in. I can’t help but wonder what would happen if I just … let it all go.”

“But?” Evelina asked.

“Feels too easy,” Lily said.

“You’re making it too hard,” Abriella replied with a smile. “Lily, not every arranged marriage works out in a way where the woman gets what she wants.”

“I’m not getting what I want, though,” Lily tried to explain.

“All right, let’s look at it a different way,” Abriella said.

“How?”

“What if you had spent those two meetings with Damian under similar circumstances but with the engagement non-existent? What then? Would you still be attracted to him?”

“Probably,” Lily admitted.