Page 88 of The Ex-Best Thing
“In my defense, my full name is Brianne, but I’ve gone by Bree my entire life.”
Sierra nods slowly, her gaze flicking to my sisters, then back. “And you want to film an apology music video inmyflowers?”
“The paparazzi found her, so we need to stay far away from public places for a while,” Benny says. “Colby thinks your flowers will have a good aesthetic.”
Sierra continues to nod numbly. “Yeah. Of course. My house is your house.Mi casa es tu casa.”
“Hurry inside before she busts out French,” Colby says, giving her a quick side hug as he passes into the house.
Everyone files in, Nancy leaning in to kiss her cheek, leaving me last. Benny glances back at me but must sense I want a moment with Sierra, because he heads inside.
“I’m sorry for lying,” I tell her.
“Hey, I get…okay, Idon’tactually get it, but I can understand why you did it. You didn’t know who you could trust. I can’t believe I didn’t figure it out.” She narrows her eyes slightly, some of her shell shock abating with Zoey and Olive’s departure. “Your voice was disguised too, right?”
“Yeah, a little.”
“Bree Belacourt,” she says, her cheeks coloring. “And you let me say all those things about Jaida.”
“I couldn’t really stop you. A heavy defense might’ve given me away.”
“I have a million questions, but I don’t want to hold Colby up.” She looks over her shoulder, as if searching for the guy. Ben had mentioned something about their weird relationship, hadn’t he?
“Thanks for being so understanding.” I pass her, going into the house, where she has flowers cut all over the kitchen table like she was in the middle of making arrangements.
Colby stands at the kitchen counter, setting up his video camera. “Do you have a wedding?”
“Yeah, at the community center tomorrow.”
“These are beautiful,” Zoey says, leaning down to smell the blooms.
“Congrats on your engagement.” Sierra looks at me, eyes wide. “Am I allowed to say that?”
“They aren’t royals,” Benny says, laughing. “No one’s going to send you to the guillotine for a misstep.”
“Handle hair and makeup touch ups now,” Colby says. “We head out in five.”
Olive pushes me gently into a kitchen chair and immediately pulls out brushes and mascara. She’s a force, and she’s alsofantastic at this kind of thing, so I’m glad she’s here to make sure my eyes pop the right kind of way.
When we go out back, we’re immediately transported into what I imagine an English garden must look like. There’s a fountain lined with shrubbery and roses of every color. To the right of that is an open greenhouse-looking structure with no roof and vines climbing each of the thick posts.
The magic really arrives when we follow the path to the field beyond.
Row upon row of flowers in every color bloom in a veritable floral field. It’s stunning, some of the stalks rising to mid-calf while others are closer to the ground. The base color is green, which will be great against my brown eyes, and the cacophony of color—though there are a lot of shades of pink—means my white dress will be perfect here.
“Colby, you brilliant man,” I breathe, inhaling the fragrant air.
He sends me a smile. “How do you want to handle the music?”
“I recorded the guitar last night so we can use it to keep time,” Benny says, pulling out his phone.
“I’ll sing. It helps me keep on track. Then you can dub the final audio over it once we have it, right?”
“Yep.” Colby films something, then messes with the buttons on his camera. “If we can pull it off, I thought the bench swing in my backyard would be a good foil to this place, too.”
“Great idea,” Benny says.
“But noBirdsschoolhouse,” I say, sighing.
