Page 95 of Roses, Pearls, and Hot Summer Nights
Julian murmured something but didn’t open his eyes as his twin brother jumped up and squeezed my leg on his way out of the room. “Ooh. Look at the mess out here. The storm reallyblew through. They’ve already got people out here cleaning it up.”
“Great.” Phoenix kissed my cheek. “Sorry, Red. I didn’t mean to be … that way last night. But you are … yeah, everything.”
He followed Jeremy into the messy outside. I was glad the storm was over. Barrett sighed. “Julian can be hard to wake when he’s really out. Want me to get him or do you want to wake him?”
“Give him a minute.” I was happy for one more snuggle myself. “I’ll get him up.”
“Okay. See you later, Sweetheart.” Barrett stopped to regard us for one long second. “Can’t wait to see you in that dress again.”
The room was quiet after their exit, only the sound of the screen door shutting. I smoothed Julian’s hair off his forehead. “You up?”
His lids opened slowly. “You are so beautiful. I want to sleep next to you for always.” He frowned. “Where did the rest of them go?”
“They left. You have to get going, too. I have people coming to make me look pretty.”
Julian shook his head. “You’re always pretty. They’re just going to make you look like everyone else.”
He rolled on top of me, and I laughed, surprised to find him above me. “Beautiful Alatheia, who somehow makes us whole when we had been broken, good morning.” He kissed me, gently at first, but then not so softly. I loved keeping up, so I closed my eyes and let Julian give my body a wakeup call. He stopped, planting kisses all over my face and then my neck, then even lower down. When he stopped, I almost asked him not to.
“This is your timeline. You may have a sense of how much I want you, but I promise it’s more than you can imagine. But youset the limits, and I follow them. That’s forever, by the way.” He lifted his head. “Okay?”
I nodded. “You make me feel safe, Jules. I wasn’t worried about you pushing me about anything.”
“Best compliment ever.” He pulled back and it dawned on me that they’d all left their clothes in my hamper. Three—no, four, because Julian was leaving—guys just in my room in their underwear, shirtless, traipsing across their estate toward the main house.
I covered my face.Is it possible to die of secondhand embarrassment?
I thoughtabout thePoor Relationwhile Cara, one of the assistant hairdressers doing my hair, chatted happily. She babbled on and on about her garden. I tried to pay attention, but the surreal always made me think about thePoor Relation, because she commented on it a lot.
It seemed someone had planned me a full spa day, since someone did my nails earlier, then Cara styled my hair, and finally someone would come to do my makeup after I put on my dress. The gown hung on the back of my door, waiting for me. My pearls were safely stored and tucked away, since I worried something might happen to them while people were coming in and out of my room.
I glanced in the mirror to see how my hair looked then blinked again, startled. She curled it and pinned it up in such a way that it swept over the top of my head. I never pictured myself looking so regal, because I almost looked like a different person.
Finally, she stopped once every strand had been curled and pinned. “You are gorgeous, Alatheia. Dina said you don’t know, but you are. Your hair. Your cheekbones. Just gorgeous. Made for this world. So tell me …” She bent over conspiratorially. “Which one are you dating?”
I shook my head, happy when none of my hair fell out of place. “What?”
“Which of her grandsons is your boyfriend?”
Tricky question. “None.” I smiled. “We’re just friends.”
I wondered if, in the different situation, were we technically together? They seemed to just want me, but I couldn’t imagine they treated other girls the same way or word would have gotten out about their family. It seemed safe to assume I wasn’t stupid, and we were together.
“Maybe after tonight, whichever one you want will be yours?”
The makeup lady rushed into the room. “Hi, I’m Sammy.”
Cara left, presumably done for the day, which left Sammy to paint my face. I never wore much makeup despite my Aunt Amelia wanting me to wear it. I didn’t like the caked, stiff feeling on my face. But Sammy had a natural touch, so in the end, I just looked like I spent some time on myself. My hair was done, my face was shining, and then I heard a noise outside.
I grabbed Sammy’s arm. “Did the party start?”
“Yes, a half an hour ago, but you’re not late. Anyone who lives here will arrive fashionably tardy. Rosalind won’t be down for another hour.” She left me then with a little wave.
I slipped into the dress and stared at my reflection.The rich version of me.I looked like the version of myself I might have been, if my mother had stayed in New York or returned after my father died. Then again, she never had the money for travel, which made me wonder … what happened to hers?
I didn’t feel like focusing on my mother right then, though. I preferred playing pretend, so I finished dressing, putting mypearls on last. The black dress, with its sleek spaghetti straps and plunging neckline, showed off more than I ever intended, but the pink pearls and open- toed heels added a fun youthfulness to the look. The reflection didn’t look like me, so I wondered, who was this person, the one with the swept up red hair and a face that would hate the real me on sight.They always do.
Still, I stiffened my back and managed to walk only slightly wobbly in my heels. I should probably have practiced, but I eventually righted myself. The ten or so feet from Dina’s house to the main one felt like a million.
