by Jenni Wilder
Brian and Deacon just laughed and called, “Goodnight, Jillian.” I heard their laughter fade as they joined the party upstairs.
As soon as we were alone, Lincoln became even more persistent. He slipped his good hand under my shirt and tried to pull down on the cup of my bra.
“Lincoln…” I moaned in a halfhearted attempt to dissuade him. I shifted against the pool table until I was sitting on top of it, making it harder for him to reach me, but he simply pushed up my shirt and ducked down to lick my nipple before sucking it into his mouth.
White-hot desire shot through me, making me forget the reasons why we weren’t supposed to be intimate. All I could think about was how I wanted more. How I needed him closer. So I wrapped my legs around his waist and pulled him closer to me.
I gasped as Lincoln let out a painful grunt and pulled away from me, stumbling back several feet. He held his side and breathed slowly through the pain.
“Are you okay?” I asked as I adjusted my bra and shirt.
He nodded and ran a hand through his hair as he tried to calm his breathing. “It’s going to be a long four weeks.”
With cheeks puffed out, I blew out a long breath and flopped back on the pool table. “Tell me about it.”
~~~~~~~~
Two weeks later, I finally walked across the stage wearing my cap, gown, and multicolored hood to receive my diploma. My heart soared, and my cheeks hurt from smiling so much, and I could hear my friends and family cheering for me from the audience. Never in my life did I think I would have people other than my siblings and mother cheering me on, especially not a man who loved me. Lincoln cheered the loudest out of all my loved ones when my name was announced, and I could see his beaming smile in the crowd as the head of the biology department handed me my degree.
And, of course, ever present in the shadows was Brody, watching me from a distance. I thought the likelihood of Mackenzie trying to hurt me at graduation was slim, but what did I know?
Despite everything the police had done to catch Mackenzie and her pathetic little gang, Lincoln felt we still needed Brody’s watchful eye, and I couldn’t disagree.
When the police interviewed the girls, they all panicked and confessed to their crimes. The district attorney cut a deal with Kallie and Courtney despite our wishes. Unfortunately it was easier to make a deal than to take them to trial, especially once the girls saw the evidence against them. Since Jayda had hacked and destroyed my computer using the university’s network, she received a similar deal from the prosecutors but was expelled from the university. However, once she took the deal, she confessed to having messed with my e-mail.
She admitted deleting e-mail responses about job opportunities, although she claims she couldn’t remember how many she deleted. But it turned out that several labs had responded positively to my job inquiries. Unfortunately, since I never responded to their e-mails, they had given the jobs to someone else. That hurt worse than anything else she had done. Slashing my tires was annoying, but I could handle it. She destroyed my laptop, but Lincoln bought me a new one. My career, though? There was nothing anyone could do to fix this. I just had to start back at square one. Reapply and hope another opening became available. It was all I could do.
Once Courtney, Kayla, and Jayda pleaded guilty to a long list of accusations against them, they were shackled and taken away to a nearby women’s medium-level detention center. They received a reduced sentence for pleading guilty, but they would still remain behind bars for a while.
Detective Murray had been true to his word. Daisy got a fairly easy sentence from the district attorney. Community service and time served. Lincoln wasn’t real happy with that, but I was. I truly thought Daisy felt remorseful for what she had done, and I hoped she would get some help.
Mackenzie and Asher were the two problems left in our lives. Asher had never been found. We weren’t even sure if he was still in the city or if he had fled. Mackenzie’s father had bailed her out, and she had stayed out of public ever since. Every time the district attorney tried to speak with her, she would send her lawyers with a firm answer of no to any plea-deal offers. We weren’t sure what game she was playing at. If she held this off long enough for it to go to trial, she would definitely be found guilty, especially once the girls in her gang testified against her. Even though we didn’t like it, a plea deal made more sense for her.
The one great thing that came from this was that the tabloid reporters were ravenous over the juicy gossip of the fallen beauty queen. They dragged Mackenzie’s name through the mud, and it was awesome. There were times I felt a twinge of remorse for her because some of the things they were printing were downright cruel, but Lincoln was quick to remind me that she deserved it.
Chapter Twenty-Two
The Saturday after graduation, Kennedy, Emily and I spent all day getting ready for the Governor’s Ball. It was a formal fundraiser for the Governor’s reelection campaign. Lincoln’s parents were required to attend, which meant Kennedy, Lincoln, and Carter were expected to be there.
Carter had, surprisingly, asked Emily to be his date for the evening, and I secretly hoped they had figured things out. When I asked Emily about it, she simply shrugged and said there wasn’t anything going on between them since it was impossible to know what Carter was thinking. He was such a closed book. Kennedy agreed with her. Even his sister couldn’t tell what that man was thinking, but she also found it encouraging that he had asked Emily to accompany him to the ball. She said he’d always gone stag before.
Despite Emily’s reluctance, the three of us had fun getting ready while Rebecca watched. Kennedy, and I suspect Lincoln, had paid for a beauty technician to come to her house to do our hair and makeup while the guys took the kids to the zoo for the day.
I painted my toenails a pale pink while the beautician worked on Emily. Rebecca sat on a chair in the corner of the master bathroom, talking about current red carpet fashions, while Kennedy sat balancing precariously on the edge of the tub, painting her toenails.
I smiled to myself as I looked around the room at these women that I loved. I never went to prom in high school, but I imagined this is what girls went through to get ready for it, or maybe even a wedding. These three women and Tabitha were who I would want with me on my big day if and when Lincoln ever asked me to marry him. Yes, okay. I admit it. I thought about it a lot.
“I hope you’re having as great a day as I am. <3” I sent Lincoln as I waited for my toenails to dry.
“It’s all right. Can’t wait to see you, beautiful.”
I smiled at his reply. I could wear rags, and he would tell me I looked good.
“Can’t wait to see you either. Seeing you in a suit makes me so hot. I can’t imagine how sexy you’ll be in a tux.” I giggled as I sent my uncharacteristic slightly naughty text.
“My suits make you hot?” came the instantaneous reply.
“Very. You look so delicious. They make me ache for you.” I wanted to add that I didn’t care if his ribs were still sore and that there was technically one more week to his doctor’s ban on physical activity. We saw each other every day, but I missed him. I missed his hands on my body. I missed his lips on my skin. I wanted him tonight.
A sharp, yet gentle, smack on the top of my head pulled me out of my daze. Kennedy had hit me with a magazine.
“Are you sexting my brother?”
My face got hot, and I quickly set my phone down. “No,” I said but then decided to admit to it. “Yes.”
“Gross,” Kennedy complained.
Rebecca laughed and agreed. “Plus we’re supposed to be having a girls day. No boys.”
Emily snorted. “Oh, please. Leave her alone. If I was dating a guy as hot as Lincoln, I’d be blowing up his phone too.”
“What about Carter?” I asked her. “I bet he’d love some naughty texts from you.”
Emily rolled her eyes. “No. I can one hundred percent guarantee he wouldn’t.”
“She’s right,” Kennedy said.
“Mom and dad have him wound so tight, worried about his career. An errant nudie pic could kill a political career. He’d never risk it. Not that I want to think about nudie pics of either of my brothers!”
“We weren’t sending nudie pics,” I said with a laugh. “We were just flirting.” I held my phone up with my texts from Lincoln, displayed so she could see there were no pictures. My phone chimed, and Rebecca grabbed it out of my hand.
“Rebecca!” I cried as I scrambled to my feet to get my phone back. I never wanted to hide anything from my sisters or Kennedy, but some things were private.
My sister leaned away from me and kicked her foot out to keep me back. “I ache for you too, Princess. Constantly,” she read in a staccato voice as I clawed at her, desperate to stop her.
“Rebecca,” Emily chimed in. “That’s private.”
I was grateful for her opinion, but since the beautician was fixing her hair, she wasn’t of much help.
“What should we text back?” my evil sister asked Kennedy.
I made another lunge for her, resulting in a kick to my thigh. “Nothing! Give it back!”
With a wicked grin, Kennedy took the phone from my sister and started typing on my screen.
I pounced at Lincoln’s sister, but Rebecca stood and grabbed me around the waist, holding me back.
Tap. Tap. Tap. Tap.
“Priapism is no joke, Lincoln. You should see a doctor for erections lasting longer than four hours.”
Emily, Rebecca, and even the beautician howled with laughter, and I felt my face get hot. Rebecca’s arms loosened around my waist, and I broke free of her grasp. I grabbed my phone out of Kennedy’s hand and pushed her backward in the process.
She screamed as she lost her balance on the ledge and fell into the empty tub. The last thing I saw as I stalked out of the bathroom was Kennedy lying in the bathtub, holding her stomach and laughing uncontrollably. I tried to hide the smile on my face. I couldn’t stay mad at these girls.
My phone chimed in my hand as I went to get a bottle of water. Lincoln had sent two question marks, and I giggled to myself. He was probably so confused.
“Sorry. Our sisters are jerks.” I replied.
“Ah. I see. That was from Kenny?”
“Yeah. She thinks she’s funny.”
I took a long drink of water as I waited for his reply.
“You’d think she’d know by now that paybacks are a bitch. :)” he texted, and I laughed to myself.
“Something tells me she’s going to find out.”
“You know it, baby. Have a good day. I’ll see you later.”
I sent him one last kiss before returning to the girls with my own evil grin on my face.
A cloud of hairspray enveloped my head, and I coughed slightly as I stood in front of the giant bathroom mirrors. The beautician had weaved the top part of my hair into a romantic swirl, leaving a few curled tendrils loose to frame my face. The bottom half of my hair fell freely down my back, but she had curled it into long spirals that bounced when I moved.
I had asked her to go light on my makeup since I normally didn’t wear a lot. Somehow she had listened to me while still making over my face. My pores, freckles, and (very small) wrinkles had disappeared. She made my eyes pop without needing a heavy, smoky, eye shadow, and she had gone very natural with my lipstick, but somehow my lips still looked full and shiny.
Lincoln had sent me shopping last week with Kennedy, and we both found gorgeous dresses. I ran my hands over the waistband of mine as I admired myself in Kennedy’s full-length mirror. The strapless, light gray, floor-length dress fit me like a glove. The sweetheart neckline covered enough to be a little revealing while still being sophisticated and elegant. The satin material crisscrossed over my bust until it met a band of silver sparkles at my waist. From there down to the floor, the dress was covered with a black crinkly lace. It hugged my hips and butt without being too tight before opening up at the knees for a bell-shaped hem.
It was beautiful and elegant and made me feel gorgeous, and I couldn’t wait for Lincoln to see me.
“Ready to go, Princess?” Kennedy asked me as she threw her arm over my shoulders. She and Rebecca had been calling me by Lincoln’s term of endearment ever since they hijacked my phone. Brats.
Kennedy looked amazing in her cherry-red dress. It was much more risqué than mine. Her neckline plunged to a depth I would be uncomfortable with, and the slit on the side came up so high that it would have revealed my scars had I been wearing it. I wasn’t sure it was appropriate for a political function for her father, but I shut my mouth. My friend liked to push the envelope, and she looked a-freaking-mazing tonight.
“Brian is going to be speechless when he sees you in that.”
“I hope so,” she said, suddenly looking sad. “He loves me so much.”
This was an atypical side of my friend. She was normally so strong and defiant.
“What’s wrong?”
She let out a small, humorless laugh and shook her head. “Nothing.”
“Ken.” I touched her arm and tried to make eye contact with her. “You can tell me anything.”
“I know I can,” she said as she hugged me. Rebecca was helping Emily into her dress in the other room, and Kennedy lowered her voice to not be heard. “I made a mistake a long time ago. I don’t know how or why, but somehow Brian forgave me. I was so stupid, but I will spend the rest of my life making it up to him.”
“Oh, sweetie. If he forgave you, that should be the end of it. Obviously, I don’t know the details, but I’m sure he doesn’t want you to feel guilty for the rest of your life.”
She sighed deeply. “I know.” Giving me a small smile, she shook her head. “Don’t worry about it, Jillian. We’ll be fine.”
“All right. But I’m here if you ever need to talk.”
She gave me a genuine smile and hugged me again. “Okay. Let’s not worry about this tonight.” She turned us toward the mirror. “Jillian, we’re fucking hotter than hot. Our men are going to have to scrape their jaws off the floor.”
And just like that, my sassy friend was back.
Emily and Rebecca joined us in front of the mirror as we checked ourselves out. Poor Rebecca was dressed in jeans and a white-and-black peasant top since she wasn’t attending the ball, but Emily was decked out in jewels that matched her teal metallic satin empire-waist gown. It was an old dress of Kennedy’s, but it fit Emily like a glove.
“If Carter doesn’t pull his head out of his ass after he sees you in that, then he’s a bigger idiot than I thought,” Kennedy told my sister, causing her to smile shyly.
Rebecca scrunched up her face in a frown. “I wish I was going.”
“Aww…” I flung my arm around her shoulders and pulled her forward in front of the mirror with us. “Next time, Bec.”
“I cannot tell you how much I appreciate you staying here with the kids,” Kennedy said.
Rebecca shrugged. “Well, I have to watch Tabitha anyway, and our kids get along so well.”
“Well, I still appreciate it.”
“All right!” Emily exclaimed with enthusiasm. “Let’s do this!”
As Kennedy predicted, our men were dumbstruck when they saw us. Brian enveloped his wife in his arms and whispered into her ear, causing her to smile and kiss him.
Carter’s eyes grew big as he appraised my sister, and he swallowed hard a few times. I thought I heard him call her a goddess before his cell phone rang and he excused himself to answer it. Emily’s face fell as Carter walked away from her, and I frowned at Carter’s lack of manners. Poor Emily.
I didn’t have time to worry about my sister though, as Lincoln suddenly stood in front of me, commanding my attention.
Despite his awkward disabled arm, Lincoln looked incredibly distinguished and debonair in his tux. He was mouth-wateringly handsome, and I found myself having a hard time looking away from him. It wasn’t just his appearance. He just looked… happy and relaxed, and it was irresistible. I h
adn’t realized the toll the stress of my situation and his career had taken on him. Now that our problems with Mackenzie were almost behind us, he looked so carefree.
We stared at each other for a long while, neither one of us speaking. I tried to commit to memory exactly how he looked in this moment, and I felt like he was doing the same.
Carter must have returned from his phone call, because I heard Kennedy announce it was time to go. The room cleared out, and Lincoln and I were left alone, our gazes still locked on each other. Finally he offered his uninjured hand to me, and I placed mine in his. He clasped my fingers and brought my hand up to his lips, placing a small kiss on the back of it.
“If I died right now, heaven would be a disappointment compared to how beautiful you look tonight.”
Tears prickled in my eyes. “Oh, Lincoln. That’s the sweetest thing I’ve ever heard.” Just when I thought I couldn’t love this man any more than I already did, he says something like that.
He leaned in and gently placed a kiss on my lips. “Ready to go?”
I smiled as I tucked my small clutch purse under my arm and slipped my hand around his elbow. “You look amazing too, you know. So handsome.”
He gave me a crooked smile. “I’m just a guy in a penguin suit who’s lucky enough to be your date.”
I stopped short and pulled at his elbow so he would turn to face me. “I’m the lucky one, you know.” I locked my gaze with him, trying to ensure he knew how serious I was. “You’ve changed my life.”
He brought his face close to mine and cupped my cheek. “And you’ve made mine worth living.”
Chapter Twenty-Three
The fundraiser was held on the rooftop of the Passade Hotel in downtown Chicago. As the elevator doors opened, we stepped out to join hundreds of people, all in ball gowns and tuxedos, mingling around large round tables set for a fancy dinner. The warm May weather was perfect for an evening of dining and dancing under the stars.
