Page 126 of Crash

“Only for a hot second!” She held up her hands in defense. “But now? Your skin’s all glowy, and your eyes are bright again. You look amazing.”

“Well, I feel amazing.” The words came out almost reverently. After so long of feeling horrible, it still felt surreal to wake up every morning feeling like myself again.

“So, the medications are working?” Scarlett capped the polish, the familiar scent of acetone mixing with the coffee brewing behind us.

“Like a dream.” I couldn’t keep the smile from my face. “No more symptoms, and my energy’s back. It kind of feels like I’ve been dragging an anchor behind me for the past year, and now it’s finally gone.”

“And how does Blake feel now that you have this diagnosis?” Scarlett questioned.

I frowned a little. “He seems great, but he’s still a little concerned that we don’t know all the triggers. He keeps saying he feels like he’s missing something. I’m recording everything I eat or drink, and I’ve gone down to the bare minimum again, just so we can start with a clean slate.” I met her eyes and managed a small smile. “We’ll get there.”

“So, are you fasting tonight then?” she wondered.

“Hell no. The bride paid for the most expensive meal in probably planet Earth history,and she splurged forKrug Grande Cuvée 172ème Edition. That’s like $450 per bottle. You can bet your ass I’ll have more than one glass of that champagne.”

Scarlett chuckled. “I love it. Learning to live with your condition without missing out on the good stuff.” She waved air onto my fingers to make the nails dry faster.“Speaking of Dr. Hottie.” Scarlett waggled her eyebrows. “Where is he?”

“Working.”

“Will he make it to the wedding?”

I frowned, trying to ignore the little pang in my chest. “Unlikely. But that’s okay. Today is a success story.”

She shook her head. “I still cannot believe you planned a wedding in seven weeks. How did you pull it off?”

“Some of it was luck, with vendors having openings from cancellations and things like that. Some of it was just …”

“Incredible business skills,” Scarlett cut in. “I saw your website. Making sure every vendor got their own landing page with contact info and glowing testimonials about pulling off a wedding in record time? Genius.”

I shrugged, but couldn’t hide my smile. “Anyone willing to work with us in such a compressed timeline deserved a shout-out.”

The elevator announced its arrival with a soft ding.

“I thought you said he had to work?” Scarlett’s eyebrows shot up.

“He did.” I slid off the stool and padded toward the foyer in my bare feet, noticing the conspicuously empty spot where the medical statue had stood before Blake and I … well, broke it, having sex. My cheeks warmed at the memory.

I stopped short at the sight of three people standing in the entryway. A woman with cotton-candy-pink hair held an elegant garment bag, a man with flowing silver-streaked hair carried what looked like a professional case of some sort, and another woman juggled two purple cases that practically screamed expensive.

“I’m sorry, can I help you?”

“Where should we set up?” the man asked, as if this was all perfectly normal.

“Set up for what?”

They exchanged knowing looks.

“Dr. Morrison didn’t tell you we were coming?”

The pink-haired woman’s smile widened. “We’re here to transform you into Cinderella for your ball.”

She breezed past me, setting her things down in the kitchen while I stood there, mouth agape.

“Blake sent you forme?”

“I have other options downstairs if this one doesn’t suit you.” She unzipped the garment bag, revealing an emerald-green gown that looked like it belonged on a red carpet. The silk caught the light, flowing like liquid jewel.

“Holy crap!” Scarlett practically floated toward it, her hand hovering over the fabric without quite touching it.