Snatching the bag from my hand, he wrapped an arm around my shoulders and led me inside. “You ready for this?” he asked, hitting the button for the elevator.
“Honestly?” Seth nodded, encouraging me to go on. “No.”
“You’ll be fine. Elise is…well, let’s just say for a bride she’s pretty chill. It’s Jax who’s…”
“Who’s?”
“Just wait till you meet him.”
The elevator arrived and we climbed in. Turning to face the door, I caught a quick glimpse of the foyer and wished I had more time to spend there. Especially in the oversized, velvet chairs I spied in the corner looking out the windows and probably over the river.
“Can’t wait,” I answered honestly.
Jax was everything I imagined and yet so much more. I don’t know if they’d slipped Elise a Xanax or she’d had just enough of the champagne her crazy friend Dana kept pouring, but she was the most chilled out bride I’d ever encountered. Once we figured out what the hell it was I would attempt to do, she’d closed her eyes, asked them to turn up the music, and relaxed. She barely asked questions. Jax, on the other hand, I threatened to stab with a bobby pin if he didn’t step back and give me some room. He’d lasted all of fifteen minutes before Seth whisked him off to join the guys in their suite to give me the space I needed to work.
With one final spray of hairspray, I stepped out from behind the chair and held my breath. It was time to face the music. I’ll admit it didn’t look exactly like the picture Elise had shown me, but it was pretty damn close. And not bad for an unplanned, untried hotel room rush job. Normally a style like this would involve some trimming, a fully equipped salon, and a lot more time.
“Well, what do you think?” I asked hesitantly, praying she didn’t hate it.
“Holy fuck!” Elise exclaimed, turning each and every way in the bathroom mirror trying to get a glimpse of every angle.
Looking over at Dana who had a wicked smile on her face as she sipped her champagne through a straw, so she didn’t ruin her makeup, she gave nothing away. I was seriously on the verge of passing out unless someone put me out of my misery soon. I could feel my heart pounding as I struggled to breathe.
“Is that a good holy fuck or a bad holy fuck?” I whisper yelled to Dana, stuffing my brushes back in my bag. If this all turned to shit, I needed to make a quick getaway.
“Claire!” Elise called, and I swallowed the lump in my throat.
“Better get in there,” Dana encouraged as I hesitated.
With heavy steps and an even heavier heart, I crossed the room and stopped in the bathroom doorway.
“Everything okay?” I asked, my voice trembling.
“Claire, this is perfect. Thank you.”
Phew!
I let out the biggest sigh of my life. I hadn’t completely fucked her wedding day. I could breathe again. “Oh, thank God!”
“Claire, it’s fucking amazing. And if I wasn’t wearing so much makeup and I wasn’t scared I’d wreck your masterpiece; I’d hug the shit out of you.”
“I’m so glad you’re happy with it,” I admitted, feeling more than a little proud of myself. Fuck it felt good to hear her praise. I might not have my fancy salon yet, or the certificate confirming I knew what I was doing, but hearing Elise tell me she loved it, made my heart soar and convinced me to push even harder to make my dreams come true. No one else was going to do it for me. It was all up to me. And seeing how happy Elise was with what I’d done gave me the final kick in the arse I needed to fight for it.
“Happy? I’m fucking ecstatic. Not only did you save me at the last minute, but you’ve done such an incredible job. I can’t thank you enough, Claire.”
“My pleasure.”
With one final look in the mirror, Elise smiled at her reflection before turning back to me and putting her hands on her hips. It didn’t take a rocket scientist to know this was her I-mean-business pose. “Now, you need to get out of here so I can get dressed and go and get your own dress on.”
“Huh?”
“Go get ready, Claire.”
“Ready for what?”
“Ready for my wedding, silly.”
“Oh, I’m not going. I’m just here to give you a hand,” I explained.
“I know, but since you saved the day, you deserve cake,” Elise confirmed.
“That’s very generous of you, Elise, but honestly, it’s completely unnecessary. I’ve had my fairy godmother moment. Now I need to let Cinderella go and get her prince charming.”
The door to the room was flung open, and the three of us froze where we stood. Dana wearing only her underwear.
Breezing through the door like he owned the place, Jax interrupted, “Excuse me, ladies, but there’s only one fairy in this fairy tale, and I already called dibs!”
