Lydia and Parrish
Lydia had learned to smile when she didn't feel it a long time ago. She'd often smiled at guys because she knew that they wanted to see it, and it made them feel good about themselves. But there was none of that in the smile she gave Parrish, which was warm, completely sincere, and reached her eyes. It was also the sort of smile that made her look a bit vulnerable. She closed her eyes for a moment as he kissed her cheek, then took his hands in hers.
"Thank you," she said. She knew she looked lovely, but it was still nice to hear it. She squeezed his hands and hopped up on her toes to kiss his cheek back. "And you look wonderful." What could she say? He did.
"What do you think of the place? I helped with the planning and decoration, of course."