“We could stay in?” she asked hopefully. “Order sushi or pizza, no false eyelashes for me, you could ditch the tie,” she said, flicking a playful finger over the knot of his suit tie.

“A photo op in. Solid strategy,” he said. “Behind-the-scenes always gets big likes, right?”

“Actually, I could use a break from being @TheAudreyTate,” she said. “What if it was just us? Like it was before Instagram, before Elizabeth, before the fake engagement and Scandal Boy, back before things got…”

“Got what?” he asked, pulling her closer and registering that neither of them had stepped out of their embrace for the entire conversation.

“Complicated,” she said slowly, choosing the word carefully. “Things got complicated, and I want to go back to simple. I want to go back to us.”

“I want that, too,” Clarke said without hesitation.

It was true. He did want that. He was just afraid he was starting to want other things, too.

Later, as they sprawled on her couch, sipping red wine and picking at leftover lo mein, her calves draped casually over his thighs and his hand resting easily on her shin, Clarke had the fleeting thought that he couldn’t remember the last time he’d been this content.

And then he glanced over at Audrey and realized he could remember.

It was every time he was with her.

Chapter Seventeen

THURSDAY, FEBRUARY 20

Audrey figured if there was any place to have to confess to the city’s most exclusive wedding planner that there wasn’t going to be a wedding, it might as well be at the Plaza.

Alexis Morgan had called her that morning, her usually cool voice more animated than usual as she’d asked if Audrey could meet her at the Plaza at three today, assuring her that it would be well worth her while.

Truthfully, Audrey was a little surprised at the wedding planner’s insistence. It wasn’t as if Audrey had never been inside the Plaza or wasn’t aware of its reputation as the elite wedding venue in Manhattan.

It was just that Audrey didn’t really understand the point. Anyone who had seen Bride Wars knew that the place was booked up years in advance. Even if Audrey and Clarke were getting married for real, they wouldn’t be doing it at the Plaza unless they wanted to get married two years from now or on a Tuesday.

Ultimately, though, Audrey had agreed to meet Alexis, mainly because her confession was past due and she needed to free up the wedding planner’s time for someone who would actually be getting married, and she wanted to do it in person.

And, selfishly, she’d never seen the Plaza through the lens of a potential bride. She might as well have her final performance as the future Mrs. Clarke West at the reception site of her childhood bridal fantasies.