Page 72 of Our Broken Pieces
Once we get close to our destination, I reach out and take her hand. I watch her face as we approach the boutique, and I see the moment that she realizes where we are. “I thought this was just for children.”
“I called in a couple favors. We won’t be in the actual boutique, but I have makeovers set up.”
She stops in her tracks, a pained look on her face. “I get to do the princess makeover?”
I turn to face her. “Yeah, does that sound okay?” I’m almost worried I fucked up.
She shakes her head, a tear falling from her eye. “That’s very okay. Marcus, how did you do this?”
I shrug. “I know some people.”
She releases my hand and wraps her arms around my waist. It’s barely a whisper against my chest when she says, “Thank you so much.”
I wrap her in my arms, kissing the top of her head. “You’re welcome.”
She moves her hand to my chest, looking up at me. “Ten-year-old Gigi is living her dream right now.”
I place my hand on her neck, my thumb on her jaw. “Good. Ten-year-old Gigi deserves to feel special.” Her head tilts and her eyes scan my face. Another tear falls, and I wipe it away.
“Wait.” Her eyes change. “You said makeovers. With an ‘s’.”
My arm raises and I rub the back of my neck. “Well, a princess needs a prince, right?”
Her eyes go wide. “You’re getting a prince makeover?”
“Don’t make fun of me.”
“Oh my God! I’m not making fun of you! Prince, this is perfect! I can’t wait to see you dressed up.”
“Well, I’m more excited to see what you’ll look like, but I figured, if we were doing this, we should go all in.”
“All or nothing, huh?”
“Yup.”
Chapter Fifty-One
Gigi
When we get inside, I see children everywhere. I take in the chaos of dresses, knight outfits, grown-up updos on five-year-olds, smiles and laughter. I even see a little girl with red hair, dressed up as Belle, doing ballerina moves around her dad. My heart is a weird mixture of joy and jealousy. But she’s living her best life, so I choose to focus on joy.
Marcus talks to the receptionist, and she tells us someone will be right out to help us. He looks around the room, watching the children, and says, “This is a lot to take in.”
“I know. They’re having so much fun.”
“We’ll have to bring Millie here when she’s old enough.”
“Yes! Steal her for a couple days and spoil her.” I already plan on being the fun aunt, but a princess makeover? That would earn me the coolest aunt award.
A woman comes out of the hallway off the side of the reception area. “Marcus and Gigi?”
We both turn to her as Marcus reaches out his hand. “Yes, that’s us.”
“Great! We’re ready for you, if you would like to follow me.”
Marcus places his hand on my lower back—classic boyfriend move—and we follow the woman down the hall, coming to a stop outside of a doorway.
“So, it’s time for you two to part ways. Marcus, you’ll be here with Aaron. He’ll be in charge of your transformation. I’m going to take Gigi to get started. If you need anything, my name is Samantha.”
