Brandon (Anderson Billionaires #3) - Melody Anne Page 0,93

moment. She also knew who was there—and they wouldn’t go away. No way, no how. Sarah and Brooke were her lifelines in any storm, and as much as she sometimes wanted to hide from them, the world would be such a dark place if they ever did allow her to do just that.

“The door is open,” she reluctantly called. Sarah was the first to walk in, with a huge smile on her face. Brooke was right behind her. Chloe couldn’t help but smile at them. As much as she didn’t want visitors, she didn’t mind her besties there. They loved her even when she was in the worst mood possible—which never lasted when they were around.

“We have a surprise for you, Chloe,” Brooke said.

“Yep, a big surprise,” Sarah added. They were practically bouncing on their feet in front of her. It really was pulling her from her thoughts.

“I can’t imagine what you two have up your sleeves,” Chloe replied. She didn’t trust the twinkle in her besties’ eyes.

“We have a full day of pampering scheduled for us. I know, I know—it’s not spa time yet, but since it’s the soft opening for this place we’ve all put our hearts and souls into, we have to get pampered like royals first,” Brooke said. “There will be a lot of people and a lot of smiling. We need to make sure our cheeks are soft, or we’ll get wrinkles.”

“I don’t have time for that,” Chloe said as she mentally went through her checklist that never seemed to end.

“Too bad, because I have a feeling Brandon has something planned tonight, and you need to look your best,” Sarah said. “And all work and no play makes you suck.”

Chloe laughed before she felt heat spread in her cheeks. “What plans does he have?” she asked, ignoring the work comment.

Brooke laughed. “We’re just hearing rumors that he’s seriously hooked on you.”

“I’ll admit things have been pretty wonderful with us, but it’s too soon for anything big,” she said. Was it, though?

Sarah seemed to answer her unvoiced question. “You’ve known each other for years. You’ve just fought the attraction. When you know something, you know,” Sarah told her. “And since when have you ever considered what anyone else has to say about anything relating to you? You’ve always been your harshest critic. It’s what you feel inside. You have to stop waiting for perfection, because it’s the imperfections in life that make it interesting. Yes, people will fail us, even those we love the most, but they don’t do it out of spite. It happens because perfect is impossible to achieve. The great thing is that perfection would be boring. That would leave no challenges and no room for improvement. When we reach every single one of our goals, where do we go from there? People like us always need to be striving for something else. Strive for forgiveness in yourself and others, and let go of the straight and narrow. Enjoy living on the wild side a little bit.”

“I don’t know how to let go. I don’t know if I can. All I know for sure is that I like how everything’s been between Brandon and me. I don’t want to do something that will damage what we have right now.”

“What do you have?” Brooke asked.

That made Chloe pause. “I don’t honestly know how to answer that,” she said after a bit.

“Maybe you have real love,” Sarah offered.

“I’ve been trying to avoid the word love. I don’t like to use it without meaning. And I’m so scared that if I do use it, I will think it’s a mistake and run.”

“Do you really think it would be without meaning?” Brooke asked. “I know it’s seriously scary to think of love and romance, because of the pain it can cause, but you can’t judge new relationships on the unrealistic goals you’ve always made for yourself or that your parents made for you. Also, you have to allow yourself to be vulnerable in order to have the sweet rewards that can be gleaned from just that.”

Chloe nodded. “It’s worked out great for the two of you, but I always circle back to that. What if things don’t work out, and then it makes it awkward with all of us?”

“Nothing would ever come between us,” Sarah insisted. “Not ever. And we want you to be happy. We’d never suggest you do anything that gives you less than everything you have never even dreamed of having. We use the