Claire finally found her voice. “You’re getting married. At the Plaza. In a month?”

“To Clarke?” Naomi added, for good measure.

“Yup,” Audrey said, taking a sip of her iced tea.

“Isn’t that taking things a bit… far?”

“If we were just doing it for the reasons we got engaged—to thwart his mother, to get back at Elizabeth, to tell Scandal Boy and all of social media to suck it—then yes. That would be going a bit far,” she said with a smile.

“So if not that, then why?”

“Oh my God,” Naomi said, reaching across the table and giving Audrey’s arm an excited squeeze. “You finally figured it out.”

Audrey frowned. “Figured what out?”

Naomi opened her mouth, then jolted and glared at Claire. Audrey looked between Naomi and Claire, then narrowed her eyes at the latter. “Did you just kick Naomi under the table?”

“Certainly not,” Claire said smoothly, reaching for a roll from the bread basket. “But, seriously, do tell us what’s going on.”

As if I know.

One moment Audrey had been trying to figure out how to tell Alexis Morgan that they wouldn’t be needing her services after all, and the next she’d been watching Clarke hand over his credit card to reserve March 28 for his wedding date.

Their wedding date.

She was marrying Clarke.

It had been nearly a week since she’d agreed to his spontaneous suggestion, and she’d deliberately not told anyone, thinking—assuming—that she’d come to her senses, that she’d wake up one morning and realize how ridiculous it was, that she’d call him and they’d laugh at the insanity of it.

Instead, every day, things felt a little clearer.

She could see it. And not just the wedding, though that would be spectacular.

But she could see the marriage. She could see them having coffee together every morning. Planning the day ahead, giving each other pep talks when necessary, sharing a cocktail at the end of the day, arguing over what kind of takeout to order.

Claire and Naomi were waiting impatiently for an explanation, but all she could do was smile and say, “I don’t know. I don’t know how to explain it.”

“Is it a marriage of convenience,” Claire asked around a bite of bread, “or a marriage of…”

“Lust?” Naomi supplied hopefully.

“Definitely not the latter,” Audrey said.

“Well, then what’s the point!” Naomi said, throwing up her hands. “Why would someone get married if not for constant access to sexy times. Claire, tell her.”

“It’s a definite perk,” Claire said slowly. “But you don’t have to be married to have regular sex.”

“Well, that’s true,” Naomi admitted. “I suppose I know that firsthand. But are you and Clarke doing the nasty?”

“No,” Audrey said emphatically.

“So, you’re, what, saving yourself for the wedding night?” Naomi asked skeptically.