Page 145 of His White Moonlight
Sophia: Okay.Lunch next week it is.Does Tuesday work for you?
Me: Yep!
Sophia: I’ll find somewhere nice and let you know.
I liked her last message and got ready for bed.Bennett still hadn’t shown up by the time I’d started dozing off.
In the morning, I woke up alone, but the spot next to me was warm.
What a chicken.
Breakfast was waiting for me on the table, along with a note saying that I didn’t need to head into the office.Milo would take me into the city in an hour to meet up with Miranda for a spa day.
Me: Why did you leave without me?Don’t I get a say in what I do?What if I don’t want a spa day?
Bennett: Message Miranda to cancel.It was her idea.
I didn’t text her, I called.
“Hey, friend,” she answered.“I’m so excited for today.”
“He’s avoiding me.”
“What?”
“Bennett.He knows that I’m trying to meet his criteria, so he’s avoiding me.Did you instigate this spa day, or did he?”
“He messaged me last night, asking if you needed anything else for Saturday.I said your hair could use a trim and that you might benefit from a makeup tutorial since you never wear any.He told me to make it happen and that we could go during our work hours.I said you seemed stressed and might like a massage.Honestly, I was trying to get away with as much as we could.You seemed like you didn’t mind skipping out of work.”
“I don’t.But now that I’m committed, I just want to get this part over with.”
She chuckled.
“He’s taking you to the charity auction on Saturday.Let him run while he can.You’ll have four hours with him.”
“I don’t want to hold his hand in a public setting.”
“What about the kissing and hugging?”
“What do you think?”
She laughed again.“Get ready for some relaxation.You need it.”
* * *
I opened the entry door,grateful that the second day with Miranda hadn’t been anything like the first one.A full spa day had been as relaxing as she’d promised.First, she’d insisted that I needed a makeup education session beforehand due to my lack of skills.So, I’d impressed both the cosmetologist and Miranda by artfully transforming my face with an artistically sickly-looking contouring.
The memory of Miranda’s words, “If you go to that auction in that dress, looking like a shipwreck survivor, Bennett won’t be able to save you from me,” made me smile as I closed the entry door behind me.
After promising that I understood how to use makeup, I’d let them pick out what they wanted me to apply tomorrow, and we’d moved on to the facial phase of the treatment.It had felt a little weird to have someone laying hands on my face, and I’d almost tapped out when she tried to put a hot cloth over me, but she’d been very nice when I’d said I was too claustrophobic to have my face covered like that and had switched up her method.The scalp massage had helped calm me down again.
The beautician had worked wonders on my hair after.I had highlights that made me look even more sun-kissed than my naturally light brown hair, and the beautician had put something in it that made it feel incredibly soft.
Through it all, we’d been given restorative drinks and snacks.
The finale of the day had been the most amazing massage.So amazing that I’d already booked another appointment to repeat.The masseur’s hands had found and eliminated all tension in my body.Why hadn’t I been getting those all along?Oh, right…locked up in an all-girl school.
Stupid, Bennett.
