“Clothing rack?” I peered down the hallway and looked in awe and a little bit of horror as Gage and Ric came up the stairs carrying a metal clothing rack packed full of bagged dresses.
“Isn’t this a little bit overboard?” I asked as they pushed it into my bedroom, “I only need one dress after all.”
“Nothing is overboard when it comes to Madeline.” Ric piped up as he pushed the rack against one of the walls. “Besides, this is what she does for a living. She’s a celebrity dresser so she’s best equipped to get you ready for the day.”
“And I won’t be able to get her ready if you two behemoths continue to hover.” Madeline pushed both of the alphas, who were by all accounts double her size, out of the room and shut the door.
“Now that the boys are gone we can talk as girls.” Madeline turned and gave me a mischievous grin that was eerily similar to her brother’s. I gulped and geared myself up for a long two hours.
“There, all done!” Madeline exclaimed, placing the brush down on the vanity in the room and stepping back to take a look at her masterpiece. Over the past two hours she had extracted my life story so well that I’m pretty sure the CIA would be impressed. She had listened as I told her about my childhood and tutted over my experiences at the omega academy and at how Leon had treated me, calling him a stubborn dumb ass. We’d also become fast friends—just like Ric had thought that we would.
“Come get the full effect in this mirror.” Madeline gestured to the full length mirror that was leaning on the wall next to the bathroom door. I took one look in the mirror and gave a little gasp. I’d been dressed up for fancier events before but we’d all had to look pretty similar so the dresses had usually been in black, white or silver.
Madeline had chosen a dusky pink full-length dress. It had a high neckline that ended just after my collarbones, attached in the back by a long satin ribbon that trailed down my exposed back and landed just before my backside. My hair had been twisted up into an elegant updo and little jeweled flowers had been tucked into the pinned hair. Madeline kept my makeup simple and didn’t cover up my freckles, instead picking a nude lipstick shade that was similar to my dress but a little darker and had used natural browns to accentuate my eyes and make the brown pop. On my feet were a pair of strappy nude heels that completed the look.
Madeline looked a bit smug, “Damn am I good at my job.”
“Damn right you are.” I agreed and we shared a giggle, “Can you dress me forever?”
“I wish. But we’ll have to settle for regular coffee dates from now on. Also make sure to give me Tibby’s number, she was hilarious on facetime.” Madeline held out her phone for me and I took it, putting Tibby’s number in. She’d called while I was getting ready and had clicked with Madeline almost as quickly as I did. We had plans to meet at the coffee shop in the lobby of SFOFA next week so that Tibby could join us.
“Now let’s get you downstairs, the car should be here any minute. Let’s rock and roll Cinderella.” Madeline gave me a gentle shove towards the door and we headed for the stairs together, Madeline going first.
“Now gentleman,” I could hear her say downstairs, “gird your loins.”
“Gross Mads,” someone said which was followed by a rumbling of chuckles.
“Whatever Owen, what I mean is to prepare yourself for my masterpiece. Eloise!”
Well, I thought to myself as I sucked in a huge breath, it was now or never.
Descending the stairs in the tall heels that Madeline had chosen for me was no easy task so I focused on that, not looking at the men waiting at the bottom until I was firmly standing on the landing. I looked up and immediately wanted to look down again.
There were heated stares from five sets of eyes that seemed to skewer me in place and Madeline hopped from foot to foot, excited at being able to watch her brother and his pack mates stare at me.
“El, you look gorgeous.” Ric said, the first to snap out of the stupor that he was apparently in and he stepped forward and offered his arm to me which I took gratefully.
“Thanks, I was worried your sister would take a jackhammer to me to get me to look like this but thankfully no power tools were needed.” I joked and was pleased when I heard Gage snort from behind us.
Everyone but Madeline and Gage were dressed in smart looking tuxedos that were perfectly tailored to their bodies. Gage was dressed in a fully black suit, probably intending to just act as security for the night.
“We’re going to be late.” Leon said gruffly from his place by the door. I could see the similar heat in his eyes and I didn’t quite know how to feel about it. He’d spent the last week ignoring me after all.
“You look beautiful.” Owen whispered to me with a friendly smile, his eyes going up and down before he shook himself and headed for the door.
“Truly enchanting.” Dominic lifted my hand and pecked the back of my hand. I hadn’t spent a lot of time with Dominic over the last week but that didn’t keep my inner-self from jumping with joy at the feeling of his lips on my hand, his lemony smell enveloping me for a moment before he turned and headed for the car.
“Okay you crazy kids.” Madeline called from the doorway, “Don’t keep Cinderella out too late, her carriage turns back into a pumpkin at midnight.”
“Very funny Madeline,” Ric called back, “Make sure you lock up the house before you leave.”
And then we were off, heading into the center of the city and the Worthington’s Gala.
14
The Worthington Charity Gala was held every year. A few of the omegas that I knew from the academy had been taken to it as a part of their courting by their packs. I remember the beautiful dresses they would leave their dorms in and never imagined that I would be standing here in a dress that was too pretty for words and surrounded by a pack that was very quickly growing on me.
It was held at the Worthington Hotel, a building that had survived earthquakes and fires over the past two hundred years and had stood as a beacon for the San Francisco community—especially the alpha community. Owen had filled in the blanks of my knowledge about the Worthington’s on the car ride over.
