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“You can’t take the subway in that!” Marina laughed. “I’ll call you an Uber.”

“Thank you,” Anika said, holding her friend’s hand. “Really, thank you, Marina.”

“You’re absolutely gorgeous,” Marina said, proud and a little in awe of what she’d accomplished. “Good luck tonight. I have a good feeling for you.”

* * *

10

When Anika exited the Uber onto the front steps of the synagogue, she felt as if she were stepping into another world. As irritated as she had been with Hannah and Gwen these past few weeks, she forgot it all in her complete awe at what they had managed to accomplish.

Huge swaths of material hung from the spires of the building, creating a vast and airy tent-like structure that was at once as grandiose as a cathedral and as ethereal as a fairy-tale. Soft glowing lights gleamed along each yard of fabric, and golden stands of orchids delicately perfumed the air. The music—light and tantalizing—beckoned the guests inside the massive gilded double doors.

Inside, male and female waiters in slim-fitting 1920s-era tuxedos handed around flutes of bubbling champagne. Heavy tables of rich and exotic foods lined the far walls: cascades of deep purples grapes, figs, melons, strawberries, massive towers of oysters, shrimp, and crab legs on ice, pyramids of mahogany-dark truffles, chocolates, perfectly iced petite-fours, and platters of pastel macaroons.

The room was filling rapidly. Everyone seemed to be smiling and interacting, people were even dancing already. It all seemed to be building to the perfect party Anika hoped so desperately to achieve.

She saw Hannah and Gwen talking to James and headed over to join them. On the way, she was intercepted by Stella.

“Have you seen him yet?” she asked, gripping Anika’s arm.

“No,” Anika said, knowing immediately who Stella was looking for.

Stella paused for a moment, staring at Anika’s face, and then looking up and down her body.

“Who got you ready?” she demanded. “What have you been doing? You look…different.”

“It was all Marina,” Anika said.

“Hmm,” Stella said.

It wasn’t exactly a compliment, but if Stella couldn’t find something to criticize, Anika knew she must really have outdone herself.

Still scanning the room, Stella followed Anika over to Hannah and Gwen.

Hannah was looking very pretty in a frock of lavender lace with a fringed skirt. She had her strawberry-blonde hair pulled to one side like Veronica Lake, which wasn’t era-appropriate, but suited her well.

Gwen looked sultry in a green silk dress cut low in the back to show the tiger tattoo on her right shoulder blade. She had painted her lips burgundy and had an armful of spiky bangles.

They both stared at Anika as she approached. James turned around to see what they were looking at, and he too stared at Anika open-mouthed.

The wall behind James was one massive gilded mirror. In its reflection, Anika saw what he must be seeing—a vision of the girl he had loved eight years earlier walking toward him.

Her gown clung to her body like liquid silver at the bodice, shattering into the intricate beading of the skirt that flowed around her limbs as if she were wading through water. In the heels she looked tall and lithe. Her skin glowed with the hectic excitement of the evening, her dark blue eyes sparkling like the sapphire around her neck.

Next to her: Stella, in a beaded flapper headband, her black gown slit up the thigh and her cleavage pushed up to her chin, looked a bit like a tart in a cheap Halloween costume. Stella noticed the same unflattering contrast and glared at her sister.

They all stood stunned until Hannah, ever honest and impulsive, broke the silence to say what they were all thinking:

“Anika, I didn’t even recognize you! You look incredible!”

Anika blushed. She couldn’t help darting her eyes toward James to see if he agreed, but for once she couldn’t quite read the expression on his face. He was determinedly looking down at his shoes.

He was extremely handsome himself in a perfectly-fitted tux. The slim cut of his suit showed how strong and athletic he had become, his height apparent even amongst this sea of women in stilettos. He had shaved and had his hair cut, which made his face look especially lean and square-jawed. He looked very tan next to all the New Yorkers, and the tan showed the gray and green tones of his hazel eyes.

However, there didn’t seem any way to appropriately compliment any of that. So Anika just told the girls how lovely they looked, and how their hard worked had paid off in creating the perfect ambiance.

Stella interrupted Anika by silently gripping her arm again. Anika wished she wouldn’t—her sharply filed nails were going to leave marks.

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