Pure Connections

Chapter 19

      Three dresses and one tux deep into this fitting and Lisa was still not accustomed to the ridiculous force opening the large, floor-to-ceiling doors of her changing room required. Not that there wasn't a part of her that appreciated the ungarnished luxury of it—the illuminated full-length mirror mounted on one of four powder blue walls, the matching ottoman in one corner, pristine marble floors and more space than one person could ever require in a changing room. She repeated the routine of exiting into the private waiting area, cutting into whatever Blake and the attendee, Sofia, had found so hysterical, if their fading laughter was anything to go by.

      Blake withdrew the champagne flute pressed to his lips and placed it on the oval coffee table before leaning back in the suede armchair. His eyes narrowed, his thick dark brows drawing together as his expression turned scrutinizing, and he crossed one leg over the other.

      Lisa suppressed an eye roll. This wasn't the one—the tux. Everything from the tweed to the oversized double-breasted jacket left her swimming in the thing like a preteen playing dress up in their much larger parents' clothes. But her best friend was the type of groom that required a lot of humoring. If she didn't love him like a brother, she would've picked the tux she'd had her eyes on since the moment he'd sent her options months ago and politely asked him to fuck off with this entire process. But how many times would she get to see her best friend get married? For her peace of mind, hopefully just this once.

      "Hmm..." Blake tilted his head, scrunching up his face.

      "Maybe we should try the other dress options." Sofia paced, tapping her top lip with one finger.

      Blake's head bobbed in an enthusiastic nod. "I think you might be onto something, Sof."

      "B..." Lisa huffed, crossing both arms over her chest. "You told me you had your mind made up. Three options, tops. Wasn't that what you said?" In hindsight, she should've known better. Three options tops was a dead giveaway that nothing about this had been figured out, but there was a part of Lisa that wanted to believe that two and a half weeks from the wedding, Blake's neuroses—bless him—would be a little more under control. Silly her.

      "That's not the one."

      Lisa's head snapped up at the sound of Jennie's voice to find her by the entrance of the private fitting area. Their eyes locked for a charged moment. Remnants of last night and this morning sparked to the forefront of Lisa's mind, especially at the sight of Jennie still garbed in her work attire. The glimpse of cleavage left on display by the undone buttons of her top, meld of her pinstripe pencil skirt to her hips and ass, and—

      "You made it!"

      Lisa blinked, frowning as Blake crossed her line of vision to wrap his arms around Jennie, her climbing heart rate plummeting into a steady descent.

      Jennie laughed as she stepped out of their hug. "Thanks for letting me crash."

      "Oh, shut up. Obviously"—Blake waved a hand from Jennie's hair to the pair of red bottom stilettos on her feet—"having your input is no hardship. Besides, you're just on time." He hooked a thumb toward Lisa. "This one was getting cranky, and something tells me she'll be a lot more agreeable with you here."

      "Okay, will someone explain to me what is happening here?" Lisa had deciphered the gist of it. Jennie had all but explained, but there was still a missing piece or two. Namely, she and Blake were talking directly now? Since when?

      Jennie smiled, heels clacking against the tiled floors as she crossed the room to stand in front of Lis. Her gaze fell to the lapels of Lisa's jacket and she smoothed both palms over them in a motion reminiscent of the night before. Her bottom lip disappeared between her teeth for a fraction of a second, then their eyes met. "I messaged Blake. I don't know if it's because—" She glanced over her shoulder, as if to remind herself they weren't alone. "I just missed you, and I guess I thought it'd be a nice surprise."