Maybe this wasn’t going to be as bad as I thought. If I could put that look on his face, then it was totally worth it.
A moment later, Jinx appeared. Rule stepped to the side so Jinx could see into the room. His eyes rounded, and his lips parted as he looked me over.
Okay, gentlemen, you are officially good for my ego.
“Do I look okay?”
“You look…”
I waited for Rule to finish, but he didn’t. He simply stared.
Smiling, I turned back to give myself one more glance in the reflective glass. Satisfied that this would do the trick, I took a deep breath and grabbed the small matching clutch containing my phone and the few makeup essentials needed to get me through the night.
“How are we going to fit in your car?” I asked Rule as I stepped out of my bedroom and joined them in the hall.
He was still staring.
I looked at Jinx and laughed. “Okay, boys. Mouths closed, eyes open. We’ve got places to be.”
Rule seemed to snap out of it, but I was positive there was a hint of color on his cheeks. Was he blushing? Because he’d been caught staring?
“Three of us,” I repeated. “One car?” I gestured down the front of myself. “This gown.”
“Taken care of,” Rule said, gesturing for me to walk.
When I reached the living room, Waldo got up from his bed, his eyes on me. For a moment, I wasn’t sure he recognized me. I mean, sure, I looked different, but notthatdifferent. Makeup and a fancy hairdo weren’t the equivalent of a mask or anything.
“It’s okay, boy,” I told him, walking his way so I could pet his head. “I promise it won’t be an everyday occurrence.”
I stood tall and turned to look at Jinx and Rule, now that they weren’t crammed together in the hallway.
They were both dressed to the nines, something I’d never seen before, and I realized that if I looked half as good as they did, it was no wonder they were speechless. For the benefit of humankind, there should be a law that men had to dress up in tuxedos at least once or twice a year so that women could ogle them and reignite their reproductive systems. My ovaries were certainly dancing.
Rule’s phone buzzed.
When he didn’t immediately reach for it, Jinx nudged his arm.
“The car’s here,” Rule said when he got with the program.
“Car?”
He nodded, then gestured toward the front door.
Jinx beat me to it, opening the door for me with a grin. I could definitely get used to this.
Parked in front of the house was a sleek black stretch limousine, the driver standing at the back door, awaiting our arrival.
“Good evening, Ms. Quinn.”
I did a double-take when I heard a slightly familiar voice. From underneath his formal cap, Red Wally winked at me.
“Just Laikyn. No last name,” I corrected, then winked back. “I’m married now.”
“Yes, ma’am.”
I stepped into the car and shifted to the far side of the seat. Rule and Jinx climbed in behind me, settling on the opposite side, neither saying a word.
I waited until the car was in motion before I relaxed. Or tried to, anyway. No matter how much effort I put into dressing up or how good my men looked, I wasn’t looking forward to tonight.
