Page 285 of The Grand Duel
She drops her head to my shoulder, linking her hand with mine. “It will be okay,” she whispers.
I stare into the mirror, wondering how I can make my puffy eyes appear lessI cried myself to sleep last night and then hid in my bedroom all dayand moreI’m fine, but don’t ask me if I’m okay.
I sigh and smooth my hand through my hair, picking up my makeup brush and running it under both eyes.
“Lis?”
“I’m in here,” I reply to Jovie, reaching behind me and pushing open the en suite door.
She steps into the bathroom wearing her dress, and pride instantly grows like ivy around my heart.
“You look beautiful, Jove.”
“Uh, thank you. And you’re naked?”
I shrug, turning back to the mirror. My eyes drop down my body, my boobs concealed in my cream lace bra.
“Honestly, you look banging like this,” she tells me.
I chuckle, shaking my head at her. “Lucy gifted me the new dress. I’m guessing the underwear”—I look down at the matching lace thong and garter belt, the clips dusting my thighwhere I’ve not attached them to my stockings yet—“is the girls being hopeful.”
“You have the nicest friends. When you first told me about them, I was sceptical. I mean, people.” She cringes playfully.
“And so many of them,” I add, cringing back.
She laughs, her smile remaining after it passes.
She dips her head to her shoulder. “Are you hopeful?”
I sigh and reach for the dress Lucy had made for me.
It’s a cream dress, body forming, with thin straps and a sweetheart neckline.
“Tonight is Scarlet’s night. She’s worked for months to make it special. I’m not going to make it about Charlie and me.”
My sister sighs, her eyes roaming over me as I step into the dress. “Jesus, Lis. You look beautiful in that.”
I give her a smile, pinning it there so that I can make it through this evening without anyone questioning me. “Zip me up?”
Jovie and I walk arm in arm down the wide landing, my stomach twisting at the thought of the night ahead.
“How insane is this house? I used to think we were rich, and then Mason told us we’d be sleeping in the west wing.” Jovie chuckles. “Imagine having a west wing.”
I laugh with her, my nerves easing a little. “It’s beautiful, isn’t it? You wouldn’t know from talking to them that they own all of this.”
“You wouldn’t. They’re nothing like our parents, that’s for sure.”
I smile sadly at her, hating that I didn’t always do a good enough job of protecting her from it all.
As much as it hurts that our parents are only now trying for Jovie, I can’t help but want her opinion of them to change. For itto simply be that she has two parents who adore her. It’s all I’ve ever wanted for her.
We take to the stairs, finding the lower level of the house abuzz with caterers and security.
“I think they’re in the kitchen still,” Jovie says, pulling on my hand.
“Wait,” I tell her, coming to a stop, my heart setting off on one of its wild quests. “Was Charlie in there before?”
She turns on me. “No.” Her eyes dart around my face. “You want me to check first?”