Avoiding Temptation (Avoiding #3)(86)

Chyna laughed and backed away when Lexi swatted at her again.

“I don’t know what you want me to say. You did the right thing. Jack was drunk and acting like…Jack. I know he hasn’t been that way for a while with you, but that doesn’t mean that the man isn’t still inside of him. I guess the divorce is just getting to him.”

“That’s the understatement of the century.”

“What are you going to do now?” Chyna asked, walking back to Lexi and sitting down.

“What do you mean?”

“I mean…now that Jack is getting a divorce…he’ll be free again,” Chyna said softly.

“So?” Lexi said, looking at Chyna suspiciously.

“Stop looking at me like that. I know you love him.”

“I don’t…”

Chyna leveled her with a stare that stopped Lexi right in her tracks.

“Don’t even try that with me. I know how you are with Jack. You two might have been friends since he got married, but that doesn’t mean you love that man any less. Whether or not it’s stupid is not the question. It’s completely idiotic, but that doesn’t change the fact, not one bit.”

Lexi bit her bottom lip. “I’m not going to do anything. I’m getting married at the end of October,” she whispered, pushing the ring out in front of her as if Chyna didn’t know or hadn’t seen it.

“I know. I’m your maid of honor, remember?”

“I know you are. Speaking of being maid of honor, am I supposed to be doing anything in these last couple of weeks besides planning the bachelorette party that you’ve already planned?” Lexi asked, batting her eyelashes up at Chyna innocently.

“No. Speaking of bachelorette party, what do you want to do for yours?”

“I don’t know,” Lexi said with a shrug. “Isn’t that your job?”

“Have you even found a dress yet?” Chyna asked, ignoring her question.

“For the bachelorette party?”

Chyna rolled her eyes. “Don’t think you can fool me. You still don’t have a wedding dress, do you?”

“Um…”

“Alexa, you need to get one. We’re only six months out!”

“Six months is a long time!”

“I had my designer on that aspect of the wedding, like, two days after Adam proposed. I wanted her to have enough time to do the dress justice. That was before I even knew I was going to be part of fashion week that year and had to add a six-month extension on to the wedding. She breathed a sigh of relief when I told her she had six more months for it. Eighteen months, chica. Not six!”

“Well, I’m not having a big-time fashion designer put together my dress. I’ll buy that shit off a rack and have them tailor it. Can’t take that long,” Lexi said with a shrug.

“Sometimes, I wonder how we’re friends.”

Lexi chuckled at the differences between them. They certainly had drastically different backgrounds, but it had never mattered to Lexi. They worked just the way they were. Lexi was sure Chyna wouldn’t want a friend who mooched off her, and just as likely, she wouldn’t want someone with as much money as her. Most of the other people in the latter category were even more self-absorbed than her best friend, not that she would have Chyna any other way.

“Do we need to go out and look for a dress for you?” Chyna asked, standing quickly at the prospect of shopping.

“Um…no. It’s not a big deal. I’ll find something.”

Chyna dramatically rolled her eyes. “Can we at least go look for a bridesmaid dress for me or something?”

“Aren’t I supposed to be here to help you with your wedding?”

“Yes, but my wedding is planned. You just need to show up.”

“Then, what am I doing here?” Lexi asked, exasperated. She had gotten out of work for this.

“Because you needed to get away from Atlanta.”

Lexi opened her mouth to protest.

“Away from that divorce, by the looks of it. Maybe away from Ramsey for a bit, too.”

Lexi sighed heavily and rested her head back against the couch. “Isn’t this supposed to be the happiest time of my life?”

“I think a lot of people find wedding planning to be insanely stressful. And while the day of is supposed to be spectacular since it’s one big party…it’s usually pretty nerve-racking and stressful, too. I don’t think it’s strange that you’re freaked-out by this,” Chyna said thoughtfully. “I mean, especially because you freak out about everything.”

“You must have me confused with someone else.”

“Try and tell me that half of this anxiety doesn’t come from Jack’s imminent divorce.”

“Not half—”

“And the other half doesn’t come from shit with Ramsey—the past of lies, that Elisa bitch…what happened last summer.”

“Let’s not talk about that,” Lexi snapped.

“Okay, fine,” Chyna said, throwing up her hands. “Live in your delusional life right now, but one day, you are going to have to face up to all of these anxieties. Wouldn’t it be better to just tell me about them, so you can move on, rather than sitting in your head and obsessing over everything? I’m here for you. I know the stupid shit you’ve done. You know the stupid shit I’ve done. I’m not going to judge you. What do you want, Alexa? What makes you happy through all of this?”