She laughs. “No. It’s Seth. He wants to know if you can go to lunch tomorrow, since it’s your free day.”
Before I can give her an answer, she unlocks my phone and runs her finger down my screen, scrolling through my conversation with him. “He’s been texting you, but you’re ignoring him.”
“I’m not ignoring him. There’s been a lot going on!” I throw her a look. “Also, ever heard of privacy?”
She rolls her eyes. “You’re ignoring him.”
“Whatever. Tell him I’d love to go to lunch.” I know that wouldn’t have been my reply if Olivia hadn’t made me feel bad about ghosting him, though.
Olivia texts back and forth with him a few minutes and then she laughs again.
“What’s he saying?”
“Well, Judd’s texting you now. He’s issued a challenge.”
“Reindeer-pooing sweater Judd?” Sara asks.
“Yep, same one,” Olivia says.
“What’s the challenge?” I ask.
“He has a list of things he wants you to do while you’re at Underground Christmas. But you have to have photographic proof. He said it would be like a scavenger hunt.”
Judd is officially nuts. “Let’s hear the list.”
Olivia almost can’t stop laughing long enough to read it. “Okay, first, and I quote…‘A video of you eating a piece of food that was sitting on the naked skin of someone else. Bonus points if it was on the buttocks.’ His words, not mine.”
I lean my head back against the headrest. “The fact that these things are even possible is freaking me out.”
“Man, I wish I was going with you,” Olivia says.
Sara lets out a sigh. “Me too.”
“You look stunning,” Addie says as I spin around in front of the mirror attached to the closet door. The dress is incredible. I don’t know what kind of material it is, but it’s soft and fits me like a second skin. The dress is long, skimming the floor, and the pewter color has a little bit of a shine to it so it sparkles when the light hits it.
“But quit pulling at your top,” Olivia says. The dress is strapless and I have the never-ending feeling that it’s two seconds from slipping down. “It’s not going anywhere.”
Addie hands me a pair of heels and I slip them on. She came back with us to Nonna’s to help me get ready. I hadn’t realized how much I missed her until she opened the door. There had been a half-dozen dresses for me to choose from in her sisters’ closets, but the second I laid my eyes on this one, I knew it was the one.
“Are you sure Gabby won’t mind if I borrow this?” I ask.
“No, not at all.”
I hear the sound of a picture being taken and spin around. Olivia holds up her hands. “Settle down. I’m just sending it to Margot.”
“And then every other member of our family will have a copy within ten minutes.”
“Well, at least this outfit doesn’t blink,” Olivia says. “Okay, my bad, I may have accidentally posted it.” The way she’s smiling tells me it was no accident.
“Olivia!” I grab her phone. The photo shows the dress from the back, which is almost as pretty as the front. We decided to leave my hair down and Olivia curled it into loose waves. In the picture, my face is turned to the side and I’m looking at the mirror so you can only see my profile. The light from the window is pouring in, making the dress really shine.
“See how beautiful you look,” she says.
I can’t help but smile. Then I see the caption—Cinderella getting ready for her big night out!—and groan. “Really, Liv? Cinderella? Does that make y’all the mean stepsisters?”
“Only if that means we get to go to the ball, too,” Addie says.
And then the comments start coming in. Most of them are about how pretty I look, but I notice Griffin has been tagged twice already. I groan again.
