Page 36 of The Billionaire and His Forever

“Perfect!” I tap her on the nose and grin. “Is this for me or for you?”

She squinches up her face. “Both? I like the sparkly pink.”

“Even more perfect. I think you’re allowed a little eyeshadow for a special occasion.”

Esmeralda steps back with the curling iron in her hand. “What do you think?”

I turn to inspect my hair in the mirror, loving it. “It’s perfect. Thank you so much.”

“It was my pleasure. I’d better go get changed myself.” Esmeralda smiles and clears away the hair products crowding the vanity, then leaves me and Jude to finish getting ready.

Jude picks up right where she left off. “So, about riding the horses down the aisle…”

I have to laugh. “You know, Jude, if you ever decide to get married, you can have whatever you want. You can even say your vows on horseback if you want.”

“Really?” Jude gasps. “Why don’t you and Daddy do that?”

“I’m not sure we like horses quite as much as you do, sweetie.” I kiss her on top of her head and take the makeup palette from her. “Ready for your eyes?”

Jude sits perfectly still as I do her makeup. She carefully closes her eyes as I swipe on the pale pink eyeshadow and blinks as instructed for the layer of clear gel mascara. I keep it as subtle as possible, because as much as I want to be a cool stepmom, Jude is still only eight years old.

“What do you think?” I ask.

Jude stares at herself in the mirror, adjusting her crown of braids and posing a little. “It looks good. What about the lip gloss?”

“You are relentless,” I tease her. “Let me see what I have.”

I rummage through my lipsticks, then lay out a selection of tinted lip balms and clear gloss that I think are appropriate for her.

“Make your choice,” I say. “But I must warn you, that lip gloss is super sticky.”

Jude claps her hands and carefully sorts through the pile until she settles on a small round tin of rose lip balm. “This one. It smells the best.”

“Well then I’d say it’s perfect for you, don’t you think?”

She nods and I tell her how to apply it with a Q-tip.

“What about you?” Jude asks, upping her posing game in the mirror. “Which one are you going to wear?”

I pull out old reliable, Teenage Fantasy. “Your dad likes this one,” I tell her and layer it on carefully. “So, it’s my favorite.”

“Do you have a favorite that no boys like?” Jude asks.

“Ooh, asking the real questions today.” I laugh. “This was actually already my favorite, and your dad just happened to like it, too. But even if he didn’t, I’d still pick it for today. And you know what else, Jude? Your makeup, just like your clothes and hair and everything else, is something that is totally up to you. In fact, you don’t even have to wear makeup unless you want to. So choose what you like and don’t worry about what anyone else thinks. Do it for you, missy. No one else.”

Just then, someone bursts through the door without knocking, and squeals loudly, “I’M HERE, BITCH.”

“Amandaaa!” I exclaim as we tackle each other in a joint hug. “You’re here!”

“Oh my God, your hair looks amazing. Is that your dress hanging up? It’s so gorgeous. I’m going to cry. Shut up, I’m going to cry. Give me a tissue before I ruin my makeup.”

Jude hops up and runs a tissue over to Amanda, who takes it graciously and dabs her eyes. “Oh my God, are you Jude?”

“I am!” Jude curtsies in her fancy new dress and bats her eyes.

“Aren’t you the cutest?!” Amanda gushes. “I missed you when I came here to visit Abbie a few weeks ago—I think you were at your horseback-riding lesson? But I’ve been super excited to meet you. And this time we’ll totally get to hang out! You look stunning, by the way.”

Jude preens. “Abbie did my makeup. She let me wear her rose lip gloss, too.”

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