“There was nothing wrong with the blue one,” I argue.
“No, but one, you can wear it to another event, and two, you only bought it to annoy me in the first place. Who buys the first dress in the first store, Amelie? No one.”
“Fine, but this dress better be amazing and blow me away.”
“It is,” she vows, jumping from the bed and rushing to the closet. She returns with a dress bag and a massive smile on her face. She pulls the zipper down, and the most gorgeous red cocktail gown floats out. I gasp.
“What do you think?” she asks, her eyes wide with anticipation.
“It’s perfect Els, you know you’re amazing, right?”
“Who is amazing?” Adrianne asks, coming out of the bathroom in the underwear she bought when we were dress shopping.
“Elsie,” I answer. “I have a new dress.”
“Cool,” Adrianne replies, uninterested, and unzips her own garment bag to take out the trousers and slip them on. Once she’s dressed, Elsie gives her a once over.
“It’s lacking…something. Can we try something?” she asks cautiously and Adrianne shrugs.
She digs through her suitcase – yep a damn suitcase for one night. Why does she need that many clothes? I don’t ask, afraid of the answer. Knowing her, she will have a good reason.
“Ah ha,” Elsie cries, holding up something that is supposed to be a T-shirt but looks more like a black bra under a sheer material, with ribbing and diamonds.
“Take off the white shirt and try this.”
Adrianne doesn’t argue, she takes the material from Elsie and turns around, removing her shirt and sports bra. Once she manages to pull on the top, she replaces her jacket and turns to look in the mirror with a huge smile on her face.
“This looks fan-fucking-tastic,” Adrianne gushes.
“I know, now get your ass in this chair so I can do your hair and makeup first. Amelie, go and shower.”
I salute her and leave her to it, finding a shower cap on the vanity that Elsie would have left for me. I know she’ll want to straighten my hair, so there’s no need to wash it.
I try to take my time in the shower, so that I don’t have to listen to Elsie and Adrianne bicker for half an hour. But after fifteen minutes I’ve run out of things to wash, so I turn the taps off and step out of the shower, drying myself down and then wrapping myself in a second fluffy towel.
Opening the bathroom door, I step out to Adrianne admiring herself in the mirror. Her hair is slicked back into a low ponytail with a side part, her eyes are a smoky black, and she looks damn incredible.
“You look...wow,” is all I can mutter. Elsie claps and jumps on the spot.
“Doesn’t she look amazing?”
I nod. “She does.”
“Your turn.”
Elsie gets to work on my hair and makeup, she straightens my hair and then adds curls, so that my unruly natural curlsare turned into something beautiful. Elsie also attaches the diamante hair piece that I picked out, even though it was for my other dress it still works with this one.
She does a white eyeshadow with silver glitter and a smoked outside edge and adds fake eyelashes. She finishes off the look with red lipstick. I think she really should do this for a living. While she has to complete the mandatory time working within The Order, after that she’s free to pursue whatever she wants to do, and I think this should be it.
Before we know it, we are all ready, and just in time. Cap knocks on the door to signal it’s time to leave. I open the door and Cap peeks inside and his eyes lock on Adrianne. What is it with these girls and my security? Adrianne blushes and giggles. When I raise a brow at her, she quickly pulls herself together.
“Ladies, the men are waiting for you downstairs,” Cap announces, stepping aside to let us leave.
Sawyer told me Frost has upped the security tonight. They’ve taken over the hotel security system, there is a guard at every door, and Cap and Frost will be following me tonight. Everyone that enters the building will be searched for weapons. I forced Jasper to take the night off to be Elsie’s date. He tried to argue, but I told him that I would feel better knowing he was with her in the event of anything happening, and by not being on shift he can promise me her safety. He reluctantly agreed, knowing he had no other choice and arranged for someone else to collect my dad from the airport too.
Frost joins us as we near the stairs that lead down to the glass domed atrium in the entranceway. Tonight’s event is in the grand ballroom just down the corridor. Adrianne heads down first, and I can hear Kalen cracking jokes a moment later. So help me god if he winds her up tonight.
Elsie walks down next, and this time I hear Kalen wolf whistle. It makes me smile. Maybe he can behave himself for once in his damn life.
