Page 212 of Damaged Mogul

“Breasties before testes.” I keep the game going.

“Dames before dudes.”

“Brains before bros.”

We laugh.

“Men come and go, the sisterhood is forever,” I say.

Nadine’s eyes bounce around the room. “And now the sisterhood has extended to more than the two of us.”

My heart swells at the mention of all the wonderful new friends I’ve made since arriving in LA. “It has.”

“That’s why when Gage concocted this last-minute birthday party idea and enlisted my help, I was on board.” Gage Hollingsworth is a brooding giant of a man with an enormous heart. “I was dying to see you again and I wanted to meet the sisterhood. When he offered to fly me to LA on a private jet—nice touch, by the way—I couldn’t refuse. I’m a sucker for VIP treatment. Even though my father is a former president of France, I’ve never experienced such luxury before. One of the downsides of beingla bâtardeis that your father always travels with his legitimate kids and his wife. Never with his bastard daughter and her mother. Thanks to Gage, I was able to cross an item off my bucket list.”

My eyes find Gage’s.

He shrugs.

He knows we’re talkingabout him.

His sixth sense is freaky.

“I’m taken aback everyone knew, except for me.”

“That’s the whole point of a surprise birthday party.” Nads winks.

“When did you get here?”

“Yesterday afternoon while you were having a picnic with your man.”

What?“So, yesterday, when I thought you were calling me from Paris, you were here in LA?”

“In my defense, you didn’t ask me where I was. So, I wasn’t lying.”

I narrow my eyes at her. “Lying by omission is still lying.”

“And I’d do it again in a heartbeat if it meant seeing you this happy.”

I blush.

“You’re beaming, Lily.”

“You mean, my face is the color of a tomato?”

She rolls her eyes. “You’re glowing. Own it.”

“Okay, you’re right. I haven’t had a drink yet, but I’m drunk with happiness—” Realization hits me. “Are you Enid?”

A huge smile spreads her lips. “It’s my code name. Enid is Nadine spelled backwards, minus the first two letters of my name. Gage didn’t want to spoil the surprise. This”—she swirls a finger in the air—“was well orchestrated, down to the minute details. Same for your full day limo tour of celebrity homes and other Hollywood iconic attractions today.”

The tour was a distraction?

“It wasn’t by chance the driver dropped you off on Rodeo Drive.” Her eyes lower to my new gold strappy heels for a beat. “After all, you can’t resist a shoe sale. Gage was made aware of all of your weaknesses.”

Sneaky best friend.

“I also told Gage about the songs on your playlist andfavorite cake.” Nadine keeps dropping bombs on me. “And I guided him in the right direction for the flowers, so he stayed away from your no-no list. No lilies. Ever. And carnations are a copout.”