Trust (34 page)

"I
can't believe you're engaged!  It feels like last week that you were asking me
who Chase Anderson even was!
"

"It
was six months ago, but I agree.  It's flown by so fast.  Anyway, the wedding
won't be for a while.  Chase is just going through the divorce with Mirana now
and we have to be careful not to get married right after or
we’ll
set off red flags I'm sure
."

"Doesn't
she have her G
reen
Card
already?"

"Yes,
but she just got it a couple of months ago.  I don't know if they can take it
away, but we don't want to take any chances.  I would hate for anything bad to
happen to her or Diego.  He's such a great ki
d.  And
s
he’s
such a wonderful woman as well.  The
shelter would be lost without her.  She really holds that place together."

"Well
I'm sure you do your part as well.  If I know you, you're working just as
hard."

I
shake my head.  "Only on the foundation
side of
it, not the actual shelter.  Honestly, Mirana is the glue that holds that place
together.  S
he’s
so strong with all of those women.  I don't know how she
does it.  All I do is push papers and make phone calls."

Evelyn
is looking at me with a rais
ed eyebrow.

"Okay,
I do more than that, especially with the expansion plans on taking the shelters
nationwide.  But my point is that we don't want to do anything to put her legal
status at risk.  So
we’ll
probably wait at least six months before we get ma
rried.  Maybe more.  It doesn't matter.  I'm happy as long
as we're together, no matter what form that is."

"Well
shit, with a ring that size I'd be happy too!"  Evelyn grabs my hand and
pulls it up to her face again.  "Wow, it really is gorgeous!  Did he
pick it out himself?"

I
nod.  "I would never have let him buy something so big if I had been with
him."

"So
you're going to ask him to return it for something smaller?"

I
yank my hand back and clutch it against my chest.  "Of course not!" 
We both fall
against her couch in laughter. 
"Let's not talk crazy..."

"Oh
Lila, I've really missed you."  Eve reaches for the bottle of wine and
refills both of our glasses with Chardonnay.  She has a heaviness about her
lately.  I've heard it on the phone when
we’v
e
talked and it was one of the reasons I
wanted to get out here and talk to her in person.  It could just be that her
job has kept her so busy that she hasn't had time to make any friends, and
we're 2500 miles apart.  She has her boyfriend of course, but s
he needs a friend too.

"I
know.  I'm sorry I haven't been out here to see you more."

"It's
more my fault.  I haven't been to Vegas at all since you moved there.  Between
work and Edward, I've been so busy.  But that's no excuse."

"Well,
I'm here now.  A
nd you have me for the whole
weekend."

"Perfect. 
And I made sure to stock up enough wine for an army.  So it should last us
until Sunday."

We
both laugh again.  I've really missed spending time with my best friend.

We
continue to talk and finish the bo
ttle of wine.  When
Lila returns with another, I ask a question that's been weighing on my mind. 

"Have
you spoken to Harry recently?"

"Are
you kidding?  After what you told me about his screwing around with those
hookers?  No fucking way.  I blocked hi
m on my phone
right after I sent him a message telling him what kind of a piece of shit I
thought he was."

Evelyn
always has my back, and I appreciate it so much.  I know she was friends with
Harry, hell she introduced us, but I
s
houldn’t
have ever worrie
d that she might take his side over mine.  Not that he really has a
side.  But I was just happy to not have her talking to him anymore.  That means
I no longer have any ties to him, and that is the way I want to keep it.

"What
about Chase and that Denise
bitch?  Do they still
talk at all?"

I'd
told Evelyn everything of course, and she has almost as much of a hate on for
Denise as I do now.  I shake my head, feeling tipsy as I do.

"No,
thank god.  He changed his cell phone number after she started trying
to text him again after the house closed.  But that was
months ago.  The last I heard, she'd moved on to someone new.  I heard that she
hooked up with some internet tycoon and the two of them moved to the Cayman
I
slands or something.  Good fucking
riddance
."

"Cheers
to that."

"I've
had it up to here with exes.  Well, Mirana doesn't count.  She was never really
with Chase anyway, and s
he’s
actually really nice.  At least I won't have to worry
about his ex-wife.  What about Edward?  Any lurking evil exes in
his past?"

Evelyn
shakes her head.  "He never really talks about ex-girlfriends, so I don't
think
there’s
ever been anyone special.  Certainly no
one else has come sniffing around him in the last few months, so if he did have
any
they’ve
moved on." 

"H
ow have things been going with you two, anyway?" 

Evelyn
sighs as she picks up her glass and drinks about half of it in a single
swallow.  "It's been good, but so busy.  I mean, I knew it would be, don't
get me wrong, but I've never been the assistant of
someone so... rich and powerful, you know?  I'm constantly running around the
city doing things for Edward that I barely get to see him until the end of the
day - and often by then we're both exhausted."

"So
you're feeling overworked and under-appreciate
d?"

Evelyn
smiles.  "Something like that."

"So
take a vacation."

"Ha
ha.  Edward would never leave the office for a few days, much less a week. 
Even a weekend to him means only working for a few hours on Saturday and
Sunday, although usually he at leas
t does that from
home."

"So,
who says you have to bring him?  Come back with me to Vegas.  You can stay at
our house and you and I can lounge around the pool all day. 
Wouldn’t
you like to leave this cold weather
behind for a bit?"

"Oh
Lila, it sounds lo
vely but I don't know.  We're so
busy at work.  I don't know if Edward would want me gone for very long.  You
should have heard how much he whined about it when I said I would be
unavailable this weekend!"

"What
if you were to tell him that you needed to
come to
help me out?"

Evelyn
shrugs.  "I don't really know much about the non-profit foundation
business."

"I'm
not talking about that," I say.  I can't hold back my grin any longer.  I
can feel it splitting my face in two as I stare at my friend, excite
d to see her reaction.  "I wanted to ask if you could
be my maid of honor?"

Evelyn
lets out a little scream and grabs my hand.  "Of course!  Oh my god, Lila,
that's so exciting!"  She leans forward and gives me a very tight hug.

"Well,
it does mean you'l
l have to see me more.  At least to
help pick out my dress and do some wedding planning."  I point out when
she finally lets me breathe again.  "
That’s
what I was thinking you and I could do
if you came to Vegas.  Between our pool time, of course.  Do you
think Edward would have a problem with letting you go long
enough for that?"

"Too
fucking bad if he does. 
There’s
no way I'm missing out on helping you plan your
wedding."

We
both lift our glasses and take another drink.  I've missed hanging out with Ev
elyn, but my life with Chase has been amazing. 
There’s
never a dull moment with that man, and
the fact that
he’s
started this whole non-profit foundation and given it over
for me to run has been like a dream come true.  It's busy, but we still make
time f
or each other.  I can only hope that Evelyn can
find the same balance in her life. 

"So
you'll come?"

"Honey,
I
wouldn’t
miss it for the world."  Evelyn
gives me another hug and I feel the smile threatening to split my face again. 
With Chase waiting fo
r me back in Vegas, the only
thing that could make things even better right now is having my best friend by
my side.  I squeeze her back, even harder than s
he’s
holding me.  I knew she
wouldn’t
let me down.

I
can't wait to get back and start planning my f
uture
with the two most important people in the world.

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