Page 77 of The Heartbreakers
“On what?”
“Which dress to wear tonight, so I just got them all.”
JJ set down the controller and turned to me. “Well, let’s see them. I’ll help you pick.”
So I pulled each dress out of the bag. First was the flowing, purple A-line with a sparkly bodice.
“Nope. Too prommy,” JJ said as I held it up against my chest. Next I pulled out a long, red mermaid gown, which had probably been my most expensive purchase of the day. “Hmm,” JJ said, stroking his chin as he considered. “That has potential. Next.”
Then there was the light-blue high-low dress, which JJ nixed because he thought it was too little-girlish, and a halter that he didn’t like because it was overwhelmingly pink. There was only one dress left, and I was worried that my shopping trip had been a complete failure.
“Last one,” I said, pulling the dress out. I’d spotted it in the window of a boutique on my way back to the hotel, so I’d stopped to try it on. It was the definition of a little black dress—vintage cocktail, but with edgy lace and tarnished golden studs—one that could only be described as Marilyn Monroe meets modern day.
“That one, definitely,” JJ said without hesitation as the tissue paper fell away.
“You really think so?”
“No contest.”
“Okay.” I smiled to myself, happy that one of my choices would work. “But don’t tell Oliver. I want it to be a surprise. Is he back yet?”
JJ shrugged, so I left my bags on the coffee table and went in search of him. After knocking on his door, I poked my head inside. On the bed was his suitcase. It was flung open and a few clothing items had spilled out onto the comforter. A pair of shoes had been kicked off next to the armchair, but there were no other signs of him.
The reading lamp had been left on, so I went over to the table to turn it off. Only then did I notice the book resting on the cushion of the armchair. Scooping it up, I sat down and opened the cover. When I saw the first page, I realized that it wasn’t a book. It was a photo album. Smiling up at me was a picture of us together, the first day we’d met in Chicago. God, that felt so long ago.
As I flipped through the plastic pages, I realized that Oliver had been printing out photographs I posted on my blog and adding them to his personal collection. The pictures were mainly the ones just of us, but there were a few with the other guys as well. By the time I reached the last page, a huge grin spread across my face. Knowing that I was important enough to Oliver for him to make a photo album of us made me feel loopy in a happy-go-lucky way.
“Stella?” Xander asked, pushing open the door. “Is Oliver here?”
“No,” I said, smiling like a crazy person. “I have no clue where he is.”
“Why do you look so happy?”
“Oh nothing,” I said, biting back my grin.
“Okay,” Xander said, giving me a strange look. “Well, we should probably start getting ready for tonight.”
“All right,” I said. “I’m going to head back to my room and shower.”
“When you’re done, Julie and Ken will be here.”
Julie and Ken were the boys’ makeup artist and hair stylist. I’d met the beauty team a plethora of times when the boys needed to get ready for concerts or interviews or any other kind of public appearance, but they’d never styled me before.
“They’re going to help me get ready?” I asked, bouncing from foot to foot.
“Yeah, silly,” he said with a grin. “You are making a public appearance with us tonight.”
“Oh my God,” I gushed, and I knew I sounded exactly like Cara. “This is so awesome.”
I hurried through my shower routine, barely able to rein in my excitement for the night. After stepping out onto the mat, I wrapped a robe around myself and rushed back to the boys’ suite. The kitchen table had been turned into a salon complete with makeup, styling gel, a hair dryer, a curling iron, and a large range of combs and brushes. Alec was already sitting in one of the chairs while Ken worked on his signature hair style.
“Hi, Stella,” Julie said when she spotted me. “I hear you’re going to the premiere tonight.”
“Yup,” I said, grinning at her.
“All right, why don’t you sit down and I’ll get started on your makeup.”
My whole transformation took nearly three hours. Julie went slowly, planning everything from my eye shadow down to my lips. After a year of only doing the boys’ makeup, which consisted of a layer of foundation to smooth out any blemishes, working on a girl must have been a treat. In the end, she decided on a golden, smoky eye and bright-red lips.
