I cast him a condescending look. “I never let my dick do the thinking. Besides, she’s not my type.”
Adam’s lips quirk. “I’ve heard you’re dating Lady Celeste d’Alenq.”
Spying on upstanding citizens, are we?
Slowly, I shift my gaze to him. “Does anything escape MESS’s notice?”
“It does happen, regretfully,” he deadpans.
The truth is, Celeste and I aren’t exactly dating. At least not yet. I took her out to dinner a week ago. She’s smart, discerning and composed—a female version of me. Our conversation was easy. There were no sparks flying around, but, overall, the date went well.According to what her mother told mine, Celeste likes me. I’ll ask her out again when I’m back from France.
I refocus on Adam. “What’s the next step?”
“We’ve already scheduled your first session this afternoon,” Pedro replies in his stead. “You’ll learn how to hold a tattoo gun without looking like you’re about to perform open-heart surgery.”
“You’ve got this, sir!” Adam stands up.
“I’m not so sure.” I nod goodbye and walk out, drained and demoralized.
Cinderella in reverse, my ass.
CHAPTER THREE
LAURA
Denise and I enter our favorite thrift shop in the Latin Quarter to the familiar scent of old fabric and cedarwood. I love this place. It’s like being transported to an alternate reality where fashion is whatever you want it to be as long as it’s under ten euros.
Denise heads straight to a rack of dresses. I trail behind her.
She begins to flip through. “My goal today is to find a dress that looks more faux vintage than something out of my grandma’s closet.”
“No shoulder pads then?” I tease.
She yanks out a velvet dress with a plunging neckline. “Try it on.”
I gauge the size skeptically. “It’ll be a struggle to get into this thing.”
“No sweat, no glory.” With a wink, she moves on to another rack.
I fold the dress over my forearm and continue to browse. There’s a man in the corner trying on a coat three sizes too big. An elderly woman is debating the merits of a scarf with the shopkeeper. A group of teenagers move around the shopgiggling. They have no money even for the cheapest items on display. They’re just goofing around and getting free thrills.
Been there, done that.
Denise holds up a gold sequin top and assesses it. “Any news from Mike?”
“Not a word in two weeks.”
“And the parental pressure cooker? Still boiling over?”
I sigh. “That would be an understatement.”
“Honestly, I thought the news of your breakup with Mike would ease the tension.”
“It did for a short while,” I admit. “But they spent the entire dinner last night hectoring me to meet Aunt Mei’s friend’s half-Chinese cousin. He’s a dentist.”
Denise winks. “A single man in possession of a good fortune and in want of a wife?”
I laugh, recognizing the reference toPride and Prejudice.
