Page 155 of Distant Shores
I stopped the recording and took a picture just as she smiled at him.
The future’s not ours to see
Que sera, sera
He wrapped his arms around her, holding her tight as they swayed to the next song on the album.
Sudden, intense longing for that comfort, for thatlove,took my breath away.
For Adair’s arms to wrap around me like that and never let go.
When I walked the Hammonds back to their room, Melvin squeezed my arm in goodbye, telling me they’d try to be in class next week.
The echoes of that song rang in my head as I walked down the empty hallway to the elevator, and I decided to send a long overdue text to Liem.
It was good seeing you today. Tell Cody I said thank you.
Not even a minute later, my phone buzzed with back-to-back texts.
Liem
See you tomorrow, Ire <3 And thank you.
Unknown number
You’re welcome, Cherie.
40
IRELAND
“No.”
Delly reared back, meeting my eyes in the vanity mirror. “No?”
“No,” I repeated.
“But you’re a dancer. Dancers wear sequins.”
I swiveled in the salon chair to face her. “When I was seven, sure. But as a twenty-seven-year-old woman, it is now within my rights to say no to it.”
With a pitiful frown, Delly put the sequined top back on the rolling rack.
“There’s no reason for me to have an outfit, Delly.”
“There are a million reasons,” she retorted as she flipped through the garment rack. “Oh, you’d look awesome in this.” She plucked an acid-washed jean jacket from the rack and waved it at me. “With only a cami so it looks like there’s nothing underneath, ya know?”
Standing up from the chair—we were at the Zinnia House salon, which boasted exactly one chair and one sink—I took the jacket from her. After a quickglance to make sure no one was passing by, I shucked off my T-shirt and slid the jacket on.
Delly lit up at my interest, and damn if this girl didn’t have me under her spell.
The glamor shots were starting in a little over an hour, and Delly had grabbed me from breakfast at the cafeteria with Dad to come see her setup.
I was more than impressed.
The vanity was full of makeup, curlers, giant cannisters of hairspray, and more lipstick than I’d ever seen. The rack held a variety of clothes for men and women, ranging from vintage to ridiculous, with a bag full of accessories hanging on the end.
I turned back to the mirror, adjusting the sleeves before checking it out from a few angles.
