12
Liv staredat her reflection in the full-length mirror in her room at the B&B. She still couldn’t believe what she saw staring back at her. Jessa had served as a beauty fairy godmother. She felt like she was living in her very own fairytale. Liv had no clue what ombre was but now she did and she loved it. Her roots were still her natural brown, but a few inches down the color gradually got lighter and the ends were blonde. The style and cut brightened up her face and framed it so that features like her eyes and lips stood out.
That’s not the only magic Jessa worked. After she’d finished with Liv’s hair she asked if she wanted her to do her makeup too. Which, of course, Liv had jumped at the chance to get done. Jessa had given her a smokey eye, which Liv had never thought she could pull off but at the hands of a master she actually loved the look. Jessa had paired it with a natural lip to give the eye more drama and not compete for attention.
Liv had never felt more beautiful in her life.
She twirled from side to side. Her dress was an off the shoulder, tea length, body hugging baby blue dress with a slit that went up to her mid-thigh and sinched her in at the waist, accentuating her chest and hips. Rasha had helped her pick it out for a TV appearance she was scheduled to have on the book tour of her last release two years ago. She’d never ended up wearing it because she’d had to cancel when her grandad went missing.
His publicist hadn’t been able to get a hold of him so she’d called Liv to go check on him. When Liv got to his house she found his front door open. Her mom, who lived in the back house, said she hadn’t seen him in two days.
They’d found him twenty-four hours later wandering around Hyde Park, which was miles from his home. He was dehydrated and confused, having no idea who or where he was. That event was the catalyst for her insisting he go to the doctor where he was diagnosed with Alzheimer’s.
Liv shook off the sick feeling she still got when she thought about what could have happened to him and tried to be present in this moment. Tonight she just wanted to enjoy herself and live in the fairytale. Her real life would be waiting for her tomorrow.
Her phone buzzed indicating it was time to go.
Chrissy had texted her while she was at the salon to let her know that she’d given Grady her number. A few minutes later she’d received a text from him asking what time he should pick her up. She’d told him to pick her up in five minutes and she wanted to be waiting outside so he didn’t have to come in.
Excitement bubbled up in her as she grabbed her purse and slid her feet into her nude heels. Never in a million years would she have thought she’d actually be excited about going to her cousin’s wedding, considering the circumstances, but she was. She told herself it was because she felt so good about her appearance, which was partly true. But more than that, she was excited because of her date.
Her fake date.
She was double checking to make sure she had her phone and lipstick in her handbag when she stepped out of her room and ran smack dab into a brick wall of a chest.
“Oh, sorry,” she apologized thinking that the mountain had to be Sylvester. But when she looked up she discovered it was Grady.
He’d cleaned the edges of his five o’clock shadow but hadn’t shaved it off completely, for which she would be eternally grateful. She’d always loved a man with facial hair. She’d asked Jordan once if he’d ever considered growing any. He’d looked at her like she was from another planet.
“Hi...” Liv stepped back after she realized she was clinging to the man like a cat on a screen. Dropping her arms, she cleared her throat. “I wasn’t expecting...I was going to wait for you out front.”
He didn’t respond to her right away, instead he lifted his hand and his fingers lifted the tips of her hair that were hanging over her shoulder. “Your hair, it’s different.”
“Can’t get anything past you detective,” she teased. “I had it done today. For the wedding,” she quickly added not wanting him to think she’d done it for him.
But why would he think that? It’s not like this was a real date.
Maybe because you tongued him down last night, her inner Rasha-sounding voice piped in.
“You look...” His eyes met hers and he swallowed. Audibly.
Crap.Did she look ridiculous? Was the dress too much? The makeup? The hair? Was she trying too hard?
She waited, with bated breath, for him to finish his statement.
“Breathtaking,” he finally spoke in a gravelly rasp.
The compliment rolled over her like a wave. She felt it on every inch of her body. Not wanting him to see how much his comment was affecting her, she turned to lock her door as she said a breathy, “Thanks.”
When she turned back, Grady had taken a step back leaving at least a foot between them. She immediately missed his closeness. But when she saw his eyes travel down her body and then up again, the space between them felt like it evaporated.
His eyes met hers and one corner of his mouth turned up in a sexy half grin that made the lower half of her body quiver. “Shall we?”
She nodded and the two headed out of the B&B. Her heels clicked on the hardwood as they passed the front desk where Sylvester was seated. She lifted her hand in an awkward wave and he gave her a small wink of approval as he dipped his head in a nod.
Grady opened the door for her and as she walked out into the breezy evening she took a deep breath. There was magic in the air tonight. She could feel it.
Liv held onto the rail as she stepped down the porch carefully. She wasn’t used to wearing heels. The last time she’d worn a pair of heels was when she was trying on her wedding dress and she’d basically only stood still in them.