“What?”I finally asked, glancing down at myself.
Hope turned to the other two, demanding, “Where the hell did those legs come from?Have they always been that long?”
“I…” Oaklynn shook her head, at a complete loss for words.
Xander glowed proudly and set her hands up by her mouth.“She’s breathtaking.”
I glanced down at myself, not seeing whatever they seemed to see.So I started for the mirror again, only for Xander to dash forward, intercepting me.“Shoes,” she cried.“She needs shoes.”
The other two paused.Finally, Hope said, “Can you wear heels?”
I snorted in response.Not in this lifetime, I couldn’t.
“What size are you?”Xander asked.
“Seven, seven and a half,” I answered.
Oaklynn held up a finger.“I have the perfect flats.Be right back.”
Seconds later, she returned with a pair of silvery shoes.I slid them on, and all three women beamed.
“That’s it,” Xander decided.“That is it.She’s perfect.”
She finally stepped aside to stop guarding the mirror so I could have a look at myself.
I shifted forward nervously, only to stop and gawk.I didn’t even look like me.I had no idea how they’d been able to transform me into a completely different person, but it almost felt as if I were wearing a mask.Slowly, I lifted my hand to my face and whispered, “That’s really me?”
Xander clutched my shoulders from behind.“That’s you, hon,” she murmured in approval.
I glanced at her, and she nodded proudly.
Just as I turned toward the others, a male voice called, “Oaklynn?”followed by footsteps jogging up the stairs.
“In here,” she said, moving toward the door so she could meet her boyfriend, Damien, when he appeared at the entrance.
“Hey.”He grinned down at her with an appreciative glance at the outfit she was wearing before he added, “The guys and I are going to pick up the kegs now.You want anything?”
Reaching up to trace her fingers along his jaw in a loving caress, she kissed his mouth before answering, “Just whatever Hudson uses to make his special brew.”
He winked.“You got it.”Glancing at the rest of us, he asked, “Any other requests?”
Hope and Xander both shook their heads because alcohol was out for them since they’d both been involved in that liver transplant four months before.
Damien turned his attention to me, only to furrow his brow in confusion.“Hey,” he said, waving in greeting as he shied closer to Oaklynn.“I’m Damien.”
“Babe.”Oaklynn nudged his arm as if scolding him, and he squinted at her in question.“It’s Waverly,” she said.When that name held no meaning for him, she rolled her eyes and motioned toward me more aggressively.“Library Girl.”
His eyes widened as his attention swung back to me.“Holy shit.”
I winced and eased a step back, not exactly comforted by the stunned way he gaped at me.
“I know,” Oaklynn said, bouncing on her toes as if she approved of his stare.“Can you believe she was hiding all that right in plain sight?”
“Yo, man, what’s the holdup?”a new voice asked before another guy filled the second half of the doorway behind Damien.
Immediately scowling, Parker Ohrley sniffed the air before announcing, “It smells like trouble in here.”His gaze veered directly to Hope.“God.What the fuck did you do this time?”
“Wow,” she scoffed.“You are so paranoid.”Motioning to me, she asked, “So what do you think?”