Page 159 of Beautiful Lies

“I hope so, too.” The words slip out without hesitation. “He loves you so much. And you love him. This would be perfect.”

Her eyes soften. “It would. I’d love to end the year with both of us happy with our men.”

My stomach twists, part of me wanting that future… and part of me terrified of believing in it. “Mia?—”

“Nope.” She lifts a finger, shutting me down before I can talk myself out of hope. “Just let me have this wish. There’s nothing wrong with seeing what happens.”

My heart stumbles. “No, there isn’t.”

Footsteps approach behind us. When Mia’s face brightens, I know who’s there before he even speaks.

“Ladies…”

I turn, and Knox is there. A dazzling smile brightens his handsome face as he walks toward me with that slow, deliberate stride that always makes my pulse misbehave.

He’s dressed casually, the sleeves of his biker jacket pushed up and hair a little messy.

His eyes are completely locked on me.

Mia gives Knox a little wave but laughs under her breath when she sees how focused he is on me. “Yep. That’s the look of a man who’s a goner.”

I flash her a quick scolding stare, then look back at him with a smile. “Hey, there. You’re home early.” He was supposed to be hanging out with Dorian.

“Something came up. Something good.” His gaze flicks to Mia in greeting, then snaps right back to me.

“Can you share what this good thing is?”

He stops next to me and grins wider. “Sure, it’s to do with you.”

Mia and I trade eager glances.

“Tell me.” I can’t help my excitement. “What is it?”

Knox glances from Mia to me. “Let’s just say I thought it may be more fun if you two moved your lunch date to Neiman Marcus.”

In Mia’s world, Neiman Marcus is her version of heaven, so those simple words have her hooked and make her sit up straight like a hunting dog catching a scent.

“Lunch at Neiman Marcus?” She leans close, her eyes glued to Knox.

“And shopping,” he answers. “But only if my wife here agrees.”

“She says yes,” Mia cuts in before I can answer.

“No. No shopping.” I wave my hands.

“Are you insane!” Mia gasps, staring at me as if I have indeed lost my mind.

“Knox, we’ve talked about this.” I intensify my stare, looking him straight in the eye.

This is him trying to treat me again. I still haven’t spent any money on that card of his, so he’ll find any excuse to get me something crazy expensive.

I’ve been coming home to find endless gifts waiting for me. I have every kind of designer bag a girl could dream up. Shoes, clothes, makeup, and scented body items from all my favorite stores. Either he buys them himself or gets Sheila to do it.

To make matters worse, he takes care of Mom, too—paying all her bills and stacking her home with food and literallyanythingshe wants. And he does the crazy things with her as well. Just the other week, she complained of a backache. So, he sent her to get a deep tissue massage at a spa.In Switzerland.

“We have spoken. But this is for a special occasion. The kind that requires shopping. And since I know you won’t spend like you should, I think Mia should go with you… and treat herself, too.”

“Oh my God. Knox, I always liked you.” Mia presses a hand to her heart. “Thank you so much. You’re one of the best men I know.”