Page 113 of The Plus One Pact

This is an easy conversation for her. I try to match her energy. I take a deep breath and exhale slowly. All true so far. Here goes the big move. "I was going to say no. Especially when he focused on the business. I mean, I appreciate what he's going for, but I'm not married to the idea."

"Or to him. It's only been a few months. You should be able to sit back and enjoy the sex."

"Right." A laugh spills from my lips. That is certainly something I enjoy. "Then he told me something else… that he was worried his brother had the wrong idea about you two."

"What?"

"Yeah." I take a deep breath. "He worries Daniel thinks you still have feelings for him. Or he has feelings for you. I'm not sure exactly."

"No," she says.

"Yeah."

"But that's…" In the dressing room, she stops moving. "That explains a lot, actually."

"And I thought it was silly until I saw you two together." I play with my purse. I guess I am nervous to hear what she says. Because what if she does have feelings? What if he doesn't realize his? "You have so much chemistry. And you are gorgeous. And I… I guess I felt it too, that same worry that Daniel must feel. You have this rapport."

"You have rapport too."

"Maybe, but we'll never have history the way you two do. I'll never be able to compete with that."

"Huh." She lets out a low sigh from behind the door. "We haven't, I never… I mean, we have kissed. I don't know if he told you that. Probably not. I never told Danny. But we did. When we were young. It was my idea. I did like him. But it was fucked up, honestly. He was always a consolation prize to me. That's why I never talked about it. Because I always wanted Daniel, and I didn't use Rome to get to him or anything. I just…"

"Were young and he's beautiful," I say.

"And they look very similar," she says. "And I let myself imagine it was Danny. But he's just not. We weren't. It didn't work. There was no magic, you know?"

"I do."

"Can you get my zipper?" She unclicks the door.

I push it open.

She's standing there in a long gown with a square neck. It's beautiful and simple and positively bridal, except for its vibrant purple color.

I pull the zipper up her back. "Sorry if I overstepped."

"No. It's a fair question. And Rome and I never talked about it. I was embarrassed. I used him. And I felt bad about it. So, we just pretended like it never happened and… I don’t know. Do you think I should tell Danny?” She turns and looks at me. “Or would it feel like a secret I’ve been keeping?”

“Has he ever asked?” I ask.

“If anything happened with me and Rome?” she asks. “Not in so many words.”

“I don’t know,” I say honestly. “Would you feel better if you told him?”

She nods.

“How do you think he’d hear it?”

“I don’t know. He might hear the secret. Or he might hear, ‘I’ve known I only wanted you for a long time.’”

“You’ll have to take that risk.”

She bites her lip and looks down at the dress. She doesn’t say and I'm supposed to get married in a few days, but it hangs in the air anyway. "How is it?"

"Beautiful." I step into the main room.

She follows.