She links her arm in mine and giggles. “No, but it makes for a damn good time along the way. Come on, I’ll call Spike and tell him we’re going out tonight. In the meantime, we’re going to charge a bottle of champagne to your room, raid those shopping bags of yours, and get ready to go out and party with our men.”
Chapter 14
“Will you let me see now?” I whine.
“Nearly finished. Be patient,” Lottie chastises me like a child. She has insisted on ‘dressing me up’, and she’s making me nervous with the amount of time she’s taking. I know she has great taste, but I’m hoping that after the amount of time she’s spent on my hair, makeup and nails, that I don’t look like a two-bit hooker on a Saturday night.
“Just a little gloss, here…” she slicks the brush across my lips. It smells of berries and I immediately want to lick it off. “Don’t!” she snaps as my tongue touches my lips. “Do not undo my good work. Now…go look,” she says proudly, bouncing on the balls of her feet as I stand and walk to the full length mirror at the bottom of the bed.
I don’t recognize the image looking back at me.
She has curled my hair into loose ringlets, then twisted and pinned each side up. My makeup is barely there but accentuates all my good features and hides the ugliness of my bruise. My eyeslook huge framed with long mascara coated lashes and a hint of sparkle in the eye shadow.
“Lottie, you’re an absolute pro. Where did you learn to do makeup like this?” I turn to face her and find an unusually shy Lottie nibbling at her nails. “Seriously, you should get a job doing makeup for photo shoots or film sets.”
“Don’t say stupid shit, Ari. It’s just a bit of fun. You don’t get to look like this…” she circles her face with her finger, “…without a lot of practice. Now, let’s get you in that awesome dress of yours and go knock those boys dead.”
Her sharp tongue and bravado is a mask, a protective layer. I hate how she changes the conversation so quickly and I also hate how deep down she second guesses everything she does, even though she appears to have an endless amount of confidence, I know different, and I wish she would take some of the advice that she so often dishes out to me.
“You can cut out all that deep thinking crap tonight too. We’re going to have some fun,” she quips before filling our glasses with the remainder of the champagne. She raises her glass. “To having my best friend back, and to moving forward.” Her glass chinks against mine and I toast, “To new beginnings.”
I step into my new favorite dress—a midnight-blue, knee-length, figure-hugging dress. It has long sleeves and a plunging back, so Lottie has dusted a shimmer powder across my shoulders and down my spine. I love her attention to detail and make a note to see if Beth knows anyone who would like to take her under their wing. Even though she’s had no professional training, she would be great behind the scenes of a photo shoot or fashion show.
I step into gold jeweled heels and wrap the long straps around my ankles. I’m good to go. Lottie has disappeared into the bathroom and emerges not ten minutes later, completely transformed. She has on a sleeveless, emerald-green dress whichsits above her knees; skater style with peep toe ankle boots. Her makeup is a heavy smoky eye with bright-red plump lips. It compliments her cropped fiery hair which she has ruffled into an orderly mess. I love her quirky, unapologetic style.
“Lottie, you look hot! How do you even do that in ten minutes flat?”
She shrugs. “Practice, I guess.”
“Are you ready to hit the town?” I ask.
“Arianna, is the town ready for us? That’s the real question.”
We exit the bedroom and I stop in the lounge to gather my phone and some cash to put in my purse. Just as I am dropping my phone in, it dings.
Denham - You look beautiful x
Me - How do you know? Do you have a secret camera watching me? ;)
Denham - No, but that’s a good idea. I know you look beautiful. You always do x
I smile down at the screen. He says the sweetest things.
“Let me guess…lover boy?” Lottie quips. She checks her cell too. “Nope, nothing,” she mumbles, looking disappointed.
“Come on,” I encourage. “They’ll be waiting for us downstairs.” I have butterflies in my stomach as we ride the elevator down to the foyer, and I try to resist from picking at my fingernails as Lottie has taken so much time in painting them. I’m excited. I’ve never had excited butterflies before.
“Ari…” Lottie nudges. “Step out.” She gestures to the open door of the elevator with a huge grin on her face.
I step out blindly and hit that familiar wall before I have a chance to look up. I know who it is. I can smell him. The length of his index finger comes to rest under my chin and tilts my head up slowly until his golden flecked eyes meet mine. His other hand rests on the swell of my hip and his fingers tighten to hold me in place.
He looks at me intensely. “How long did it take you to get ready?” he asks.
“Long enough, why?” I question, confused by his question.
“Because I want to suck off your lip gloss and tangle my hands in your curls” he says, his voice breaking with huskiness. He watches my reaction and gently twists a lone curl around his finger. Lottie clearing her throat behind us at the same time that Spike stifles a snort. “But I have a feeling Lottie will kill me if I do that.” He chuckles.
“Fuck me, you guys are too damn cute, but for Christ’s sake, get a room!” Lottie interrupts.
