I roll my eyes, but her words linger. Maybe—just maybe—there’s a tiny part of me that wants to knock Marcus’s socks off when we meet again. Shake him up a little, throw him off his game... then move in for the kill. Figuratively speaking, of course. Unless...
“Hair up or down?”
This is one task I don’t mind Minerva helping me with. She has skills I could only dream of having when it comes to hair. The best I can do is a braid for when I go riding. “Do you think you’ll be able to tame this enough so we can leave it down?”
I tug on the thick black waves cascading down my back, wincing as my fingers catch on what feels like a hundred knots—courtesy of all the times I’ve run my hands through it or yanked at it today. Minerva’s going to have her work cut out detangling this mess. I should bill Marcus for her time.
His perfectly sleek hair comes to mind, not a strand out of place. Has he ever had a bad hair day? The thought drifts further, and I catch myself wondering how his hair would look after sex. I scoff. Perfect, no doubt. He’d probably insist on being on the bottom—heaven forbid he break a sweat trying to satisfy a woman.
“Sit. Let’s see what we can do, and you can tell me what’s put that smile on your face.”
Despite Minerva being my best friend, there’s no way I’m admitting I was thinking about Marcus—and sex. Especially since the scenario in my head ended with a less-than-satisfactory outcome.
“I was just thinking about you doing my hair,” I say instead, forcing a casual shrug as I sit and face the mirror.
“You know, you could just say you don’t want to talk about it. Sometimes I think you forget I’m a wolf—I can sniff out a lie better than anyone.”
Hurt flashes across Min’s face, and guilt twists in my chest. I swivel to face her, grabbing her hand. “Min, I’m so sorry. I’m in a mood, and I didn’t think.”
She reaches for the brush and smiles sadly. “It’s fine.”
“No, it’s not. I’m a jerk and I’m sorry. Go at it with my hair. Do your worst.”
“You’ll have to turn around first.”
When I do, she continues brushing, gentle as always. Sometimes I forget that despite her bravado, she’s sensitive.
Ten minutes later, I look like I’ve stepped out of a salon. I’m dressed in the pink monstrosity, and as I apply a swipe of gloss to my lips, I take a huge breath. Even though it fills my lungs, I still feel as if I’m starved of oxygen.
“Come, let’s get you down before the soup gets cold and your mother has an apoplexy.”
When we reach the bottom of the opulent staircase, Minerva takes a left to head toward the servants’ lounge while I take a right to the dining room. I’m surprised to see my mother isn’t seated at the table.
“Where’s Mom?” I ask my father.
His brilliant green eyes look a little duller tonight. “She’ll be here in a minute. She isn’t taking this very well.”
“I’m here, and I’m fine.” My mother glides into the dining room, her movements graceful and deliberate as she heads straight for my father’s chair. Without hesitation, he pulls her into his lap. Silent communication passes between them as he gently strokes her cheek and stares into her eyes.
As they gaze at each other, I wonder if they’re thinking about what would’ve happened if they had been forced to marry strangers instead of for love. Envy rips through me as I realize I won’t ever have what they have, but at the same time I can’t find it in myself to begrudge them the love they share.
My mom gets up off my father’s lap and takes her seat at the opposite end of the table. Even at a table that could easily seat twenty, it’s as if there’s no distance between them. I shouldn’t have given in to Mom’s request for me to stay over after the hearing. Seeing and feeling the love my parents have for each other overwhelms me, and the weight of the council’s decision is like a lead coat on my shoulders.
Mom looks at me and starts laughing.
I frown. “What?”
“I can see why you haven’t worn the dress before. It really is quite hideous.”
Out of pure shock, it takes me a while to react. My mother, as much as she loves me, has never admitted when she’s wrong. And even though my parents love us with all they have, it has always been them against us. So, to hear her admit she made a mistake is definitely new.
Stephan’s voice joins from the doorway. “Do you have any idea what you look like in that?”
“A giant vagina?” I ask innocently as my brother takes his seat.
“Esmerelda,” my parents chide simultaneously.
I roll my eyes. “Since I’m about to be married, you’d think you two would cut me some slack. Especially since I’m marrying the most prudish, boring male in Everwild.”
