“Are you ready?” His voice coming from the doorway of the bedroom I still can’t believe they’d let me stay in startled me out of my reverie. I looked down at the outfit he’d picked out for me to wear with a mixture of pleasure and trepidation. The white Swiss dot jumpsuit with ruffled long sleeves and plunging neckline by Giorgio Armani seemed like too much for just a short visit without dinner included, obviously, since Aunt Sofia had pointedly reminded us to be back in time for dinner at home.
But it made me feel so pretty, confident even. I hadn’t planned on it since I didn’t want to make waves, but Gabriel walked into the room and over to the bureau where the Shalimar that I now consider mom’s signature scent held center stage. He didn’t ask, just walked up to me and dabbed some behind my ears and at my wrists before stepping back to give me the once over.
“Are those shoes comfortable?”
It’s good that he asked since it seems like he only knows how to buy shoes with heels. These weren’t so bad since they were slip-on, but the three-inch heel did give me some height.
“They’re fine. Besides, we’re going to be sitting most of the time anyway, so it doesn’t really matter.”
“Of course, it matters. You must be able to walk in with style and confidence. If you’re not confident, it will show, so tell me. Are they comfortable?” I stood and walked around the room to show him how steady I was on my feet. My confidence wasn’t shaken by shoes but more by what was going to happen in the next hour or so when he finally sat down with my family.
Dad had said something about clearing the air, which only added to my anxiety. Becky and Victoria have always been good at hiding what they are, which has made it impossible in the past to expose them. Will he be the same? If Becky puts on her Susie Homemaker voice and makes a fuss over him? And Victoria bats her lashes and smiles innocently. Will, he too fall for it like so many others had done in the past?
“They’re comfortable.”
“Good, that’s good. I see the twins for once did what I asked.” He was still a bit salty about the whole video thing, but I’d come to enjoy it sometime during the day. No one came right out and asked, but more than a few made it a point to comment in earshot of me about how hot we looked together. The fact that they were reading more into it than what actually went on behind the scenes is neither here nor there.
His last comment was referring to my hair. The twins had appeared as soon as I left the shower with their torture implements, which is what I call that thing they use to keep my hair straight in hand. I have to say it was worth it, though. They’d pulled my hair away from my face, leaving it to fall down my back in a perfect cascade.
My new Tiffany earrings had been changed for ones they called chandeliers that hung almost to my shoulders, Gabriel’s idea again, and I must admit I looked amazing. I looked in the mirror, and for a split second, a memory of mom flashed into my head. “I think I look like mom.”
“I bet you do.” He seemed very pleased by that, and I didn’t stop to wonder why.
He held his hand out for mine and led me from the room. “You look amazing, you smell like a dream, and your eyes sparkle.” Those words were just the boost I needed as he led me outside to the waiting car—some kind of red low-slung sports car, two-seater with the top down.
“What kind of car is this? How many cars does your family have anyway?”
“This is the Vanquish, by Aston Martin, and to answer your other question; I have no idea. There’re about fifteen here, but there’s more in other places, I never asked.”
“Geez, and I thought my little car was special.”
“It is; your mom left it for you.” He squeezed my hand before helping me get seated and belting me in. Something else he does that makes me feel ten feet tall.
GABRIEL
Lancelot is right; I’m relentless. That’s what he called me when I let him in on just a little bit of what I had planned for the evening. He’s been hopping around here like a concerned maiden aunt, threatening to follow us to Fontane’s until I had the twins Shanghai him to get him out of my hair.
He has every right to be on edge after the lengths I’d gone to for this evening. When I’d asked her before who else was close to her mom, it wasn’t just to ask, I don’t ask pointless questions, what’s the point? The fact that the women she named were the mothers of the girls who'd been expelled didn’t deter me; in fact, it was of more help once I contacted them.