“Oh, little witch…” I sigh. “I am very much in this for more than just your body. Okay? I mean, don't get me wrong. I fucking love your body. Every inch of you is absolutely incredible. But I like you for more than the sum of your parts. The fact that you didn't know that already makes me think that I am doing something wrong.”
She puffs out her cheeks for a moment. “Are you going to apologize for staring at Kalindi?”
I nod very slowly. “I apologize. Especially for making you feel less than you are. Because you are incredible. That's an absolute fact.
She gives me a tiny smile then presses up on her tiptoes, catching my lips with her own. I respond in kind, dominating the kiss, grinding my lower body against hers. Backing her against the wall of the spring, I trap her and enjoy her soft sighs of pleasure. And before I know it, we are lost in each other for some time, forgetting the entire world exists.
26
Pippa
“And so I told him, why don't you just buy both houses? I know it's the most basic rich girl thing to say, but honestly. I was just tired of hearing about it. Lake house, ski lodge, who cares?”
Nika throws her arms up in the air, looking frazzled. I walk down the sidewalk beside her, peering at Margaotto see her reaction. Margot does in fact look a little bit puzzled, even though she's by far the richest one among the three of us.
Her face wrinkles. “I assume that Erik set you straight. Normal people don't go around buying houses left and right, you know.”
Nika shoots her a look. “He said something similar, as a matter fact. I told him that it didn't matter to me which house he bought or whether he bought any house at all. We can live on an abandoned oil freighter for all I care.”
I snort. “I don't think that Erik took you very seriously, Nika. Of the three of us, you are the one who was raised with unimaginable wealth.”
Nika sighs. “I know, I know. I just couldn't hear one more word about where we were going to vacation. It's like… rent a house, buy a house. I really don’t care. Just don't bother me with it.” She pulls a face. “Anyway, thanks for letting me vent. I know it's silly.”
Margot leans over and brushes a fleck of dust off of Nika's long wool jacket. Her breath fogs a little in the air.
“It's quite all right. We all need to vent about the man in our lives now and then. Don't we?”
The last it is definitely directed at me, which she lets me know by pointedly staring at me. My cheeks flush and I look ahead on the street, not really wanting the conversation that Margot is seeking from me. “Um…”
“Oooh! Look!” Margot pulls her attention away from the conversation, pointing across the street. Where she points there is a large shop with a beautiful glass display case, filled with wedding dresses of every style imaginable. My eyes widen but Margot already has her begging face on.
“Oh, please, please! I know that you'll probably get your wedding dress designed by someone famous, but please say you'll let us pick out a silhouette together? It's basically like the perfect moment to do it, and I do still love playing dress-up.”
I open my mouth to say no, my mind reeling. The last thing I want is to be plied with gorgeous white dresses right now. After all, the girls still don't know that the whole engagement is completely fake. But before I can say a word, Margot yanks me across the street, a determined look on her face.
“That's what we have to do,” she mutters. “We have to make sure that Pippa falls in love with the dress and the wedding as much as anything else. That's how you can trick someone who's both a clothes horse and a commitment-phobe into planning their wedding with you.”
“I really don't think…” I tried to butt in. But the two women shushed me, pulling me into the fancy shop.
A bell tingles as we walk into the store. My eyes widen as I take the shop in at a glance. I have there are ten mannequins all done up in their wedding dresses and gorgeous veils and pretty stands of pearls. I'm attracted to the first one I lay eyes on, a skintight lace number that feels good underneath