Chapter 2

On Saturday at noon, Andrew asked me out for lunch.

I figured he wanted to talk about the trending post, so I went downstairs ten minutes early to wait for him.

When the car pulled up, the passenger window rolled down, and Sophie flashed me a smile. "Lily, Drew was worried you'd overthink it, so he asked me to come along. You don't mind, do you?"

I opened the car door and slid into the back seat.

Andrew caught my eye in the rearview mirror but stayed silent.

When we got to the restaurant, they sat side by side across from me.

While we were still waiting for the food, Andrew pushed a jewelry box toward Sophie. "Go ahead, open it."

Sophie let out a delighted gasp and carefully opened the box.

Inside was a diamond bracelet, the exact style I'd been wanting for so long. I'd been waiting for it since before it hit the stores. Now, it was clasped around Sophie's wrist.

She waved her wrist, grinning at me. "Lily, does it look good?"

I nodded, my throat tight. "It looks good."

Andrew finally looked at me, his tone casual, like it was no big deal. "About that luxury brand deal you turned down last month? I recommended Sophie for it.

"She's getting started. She needs the exposure more than you do."

I swallowed hard, forcing back my tears.

My phone kept buzzing on the table, so I got up and went out to the hallway to answer it.

It was my dad calling. "Lily, the guy our family set you up with is coming back next month. It's time for you to get serious."

I lowered my gaze, staying quiet for a few seconds. "Dad, I agree," I said. "I'll take care of things here as soon as I can."

When I got back to the private room, Sophie was already sitting close to Andrew. Both looked pretty intimate.

Her plate was stacked with food Andrew kept serving her, and she was all smiles. "Lily, this place is so hard to book. I picked it after searching for ages," she said.

She scooped up a spoonful of food, blew on it, and offered it to Andrew. "Drew, try it. Does it taste as it used to?"

Andrew took a bite straight from her spoon, a smile playing at his lips. "Yeah," he answered.

I sat back down, staring at a table loaded with spicy, oily dishes. All of them had chili, and not a single one was something I could eat.

I'd been allergic to chili since I was a kid. The tiniest bit would make me break out in a rash all over.

Sophie suddenly looked like she remembered, covering her mouth with a little gasp. "Oops, Lily. I totally forgot you're allergic to spicy food.

"But when Drew was ordering, I asked him what you liked, and he said whatever."

She looked at me, her voice all innocent and sweet. "Would you like some clear broth instead?"

Andrew didn't look up, said flatly, "If she's not eating, let her watch."

I gripped my utensils, and my throat burned as if I'd swallowed chili. It wasn't the heat but the bitterness.

Sophie lowered her head, a smile she couldn't quite hide tugging at her lips. "Lily, Drew didn't mean it that way."

"He thinks you've been dieting lately, so eating less is good for you."'

I forced a smile and set my utensils down. "Yeah, I'm not eating. You two go ahead." I got up to grab my bag.

Andrew finally looked up, his eyes icy. "Sit down. Don't make it look like we're picking on you."