Page 98 of The Rogues

“Josie!” Cleo exclaims loudly, her enthusiasm bright despite the long show we had last night. “We’re going dress shopping!”

My brows shoot to my forehead. “We are?”

“Yes!” she says without missing a beat, her smile beaming so bright that it nearly blinds me.

I look behind her to Nicola and Lark, the former smiling just as vividly while the latter looks like she is joining just for the sake of it. She shrugs and says, “They’ll have mimosas.”

“At the dress shop?”

“Yes!” Cleo says again, and her flushed cheeks make me think that she’s already had a few. “It’s very exclusive, but I told them that Nicola was getting married! So we’re going to try on bridesmaids’ dresses.”

“But she’s not getting married,” I point out.

“Not yet,” Nicola adds on with a hopeful gleam in her eye. “But why not? We’re only in Vegas once.”

“We’re in Quebec,” Lark corrects with a laugh. “We’re literally in Canada.”

“Tomay-toe, tomah-toe.”

Cleo laughs. “This is going to be so much fun.” She turns to me, an expectant look in her eye. “Come on! Come have fun with us.”

I can’t bring myself to say “no,” not when she’s looking at me with such expectance. And even though her happiness might be artificial and curling, it’s still nice to see her so animated and buoyant that I can’t stand the idea of crushing her.

“Okay, let me get my purse.”

I pull out my phone as I turn to the living space, a text already waiting for me in my inbox.

Remi: I was about to go to your door but your friends came out of nowhere!

Josie: Yeah, I’m so sorry. I can’t make it today. They want to go somewhere in the city.

Remi: Oh, cool! Where?

Josie: Emergency dress shop crashing apparently lol

Remi: Okay! Let me know when you get back, maybe we can still do something later.

Josie: will do :)

Remi: I love you

Josie: I love you too

I send the text and any regret I feel washes away. He loves me, he loves me, he loves me. The mantra plays in my mind as I go to get my purse and a hat. Remi isn’t mad at me for canceling; he doesn’t want me to feel guilty.

I sigh. Hopefully, I can get some time in with him later today, but right now, I need to be with my girls.

The dresses are a lot more fancy than I was anticipating. Rather than having fun, I’m nervous that one of us—mainly Cleo or Nicola—will accidentally spill their mimosas all over the shop’s merchandise, which is apparently all couture and not thrift-friendly.

“Be careful with that,” I mutter quietly, grabbing Cleo’s glass seconds before it splashes on the dress she’s wearing.

“Don’t be a sponge.” She laughs, but it grates on my nerves. We might be able to afford to fix these dresses, but I definitely don’t want to when it can be prevented. I look over at Lark, who hasn’t had nearly as much alcohol despite it being the entire reason she came.

“She’s not a sponge,” Lark reprimands our friend as she takes the glass from me. “What’s the end goal here? Are you going to buy a dress?”

“No, probably not,” Cleo says, spinning as she looks at herself in the mirror before she turns to Nicola with a wobble in her step. “I mean, unless you think the wedding will be sooner rather than laterrrr.”

She sings the end of the word, but Nicola’s smile is weak in response. “Probably not. I have no idea when he’ll ask me.”