Page 35 of Blinding Lights

“Pretending?” Surprise widens my eyes. “Are you sure?”

“I’m sure. She told me she was going to tease you about it, and I probably wasn’t supposed to tell you that. Whoops.” She scrunches her nose as she tucks a loose strand of hair behind her ear. “Guess she’ll be annoyed at me now.”

“I can’t imagine that ever happening. But just in case, I’m happy to play along when she confronts me about it.”

“How very kind of you.” The corners of her mouth lift into a thankful smile, and when it reaches her eyes, making them sparkle, a breath catches in my throat. And that little reaction makes it harder to keep lying to myself.

I like Lily. A hell of a lot more than I should.

Chapter Ten

LILY

I wake with a smile on my face and butterflies in my stomach as the blinds rise in our luxury hotel room. Ava’s bouncing on the end of my bed, the remote in her hand while she watches with wonder as the outside world comes into view. A new novelty for her.

The early morning sun sits low in the sky, yet I’m wide awake and ready for the day to begin.

My friends are getting married.

And at twenty-eight, I’m surprised to say, this will be the first wedding I’ve ever been to. I didn’t even get to see my best friend walk down the aisle.

I internally snicker at my own joke while giddiness runs through me. Who knew I’d be this excited?

As Ava runs to the window, I stretch my arms and legs, relishing in that satisfying ache before I get up.

“Are you ready to be a princess today, Ava?” I smile her way and she spins to face me, running back to dive in my arms. “I’m not a princess. You are.” She stands up and points to the satin dress hanging from the top of the open closet door, bouncing on her toes.

“Why can’t we both be princesses?”

“Ummm.” Ava hesitates, a flash of confusion marring her features. “Do we need a prince?”

“No. Not all princesses need a prince.”

“Okay.” She nods a few times, her expression thoughtful. “I don’t want one. But you can have one if you like.”

“I don’t need one either.” I bop her on the nose as Beckett’s handsome face springs to mind. I may want one. One in particular. That doesn't mean I need one.

My beautiful anti-princess jumps back onto the bed, angling her body to mimic mine, half lying, half sitting. She glances away in thought once more, then her eyes meet mine.

“Is that because you’ve got Dad?”

“What?” I almost choke, quickly recovering. “What do you mean?”

“You don’t need a prince because you have Dad, right? He said he helps you with everything but you still won’t move there.”

He what? Jesus. We’re going to be having words. I thought things were going well between us. That we had a good system. Maybe I’m the only one that feels that way.

I smile, holding back a sigh as I pull Ava into my arms. “Your dad helps a lot with you, and I’m grateful for that. But he’ll never be my prince, and New York will never be my kingdom. I love it here. And⁠—”

“Good. I love it here too. Can I go and see Nana?” She changes the topic so fast that a laugh bursts out of me. That’s Ava. She got a response, so she doesn’t need any further information.

“Of course. If you knock on the connecting door to her room, she should be awake.”

“Yay.”

Ava rushes off and I fall back onto the pillows, processing all that she said as the smile slowly falls from my face. Is she unhappy with Travis? Was she saying “good” about New York never being my kingdom? Have I been missing something?

My hand itches to grab my phone at the same time it alerts me to a text. Henley.