Total pages in book: 113
Estimated words: 104820 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 524(@200wpm)___ 419(@250wpm)___ 349(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 104820 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 524(@200wpm)___ 419(@250wpm)___ 349(@300wpm)
Well, that was simply impossible, no matter his acting skills.
* * *
Tessa put herself in Mila’s and Erin’s hands, comforted by the knowledge that they’d do a great job with her hair and makeup. They wouldn’t have offered if they didn’t have the skills.
All she wanted was to look nice enough not to let Arch down. Plus, she was hoping she’d be able to avoid too much attention and just let Arch do his thing in the limelight. Every time she thought about walking a red carpet with him, a flutter of panic took over. She’d been pushing the idea out of her mind all week, but now that it was here, she was going to have to face it.
In a gap between the sisterly banter Tessa had grown to recognize was born of affection between the siblings, she said, “I’m feeling pretty nervous.”
Mila was winding her hair into hot rollers, and Erin was applying shadow to her eyes, and so she kept them shut, waiting for one of them to reply.
“There’s no need to be nervous,” Erin said in a soothing tone. “Arch will be with you the whole time. Just imagine you’re at a big wedding. You’re more used to being at events where you don’t know people than you think.”
“Erin’s right,” Mila said. “When I was younger, I went to loads of sport events. I learned that everyone was too busy making sure their own outfits were okay to worry about anyone else’s.”
Tessa was grateful for their kind comments, but she still needed to explain. “It’s less about my dress and more about how to behave. I’ve never been to anything like this awards show before.”
“You just smile and make small talk,” Mila said. “Seriously, Erin’s right. It is just like a wedding. You’ll be fine!”
Tessa had a flashback of her own wedding, which had been too big, more about showing off than declaring her love to Lewis. The memory made her so uncomfortable that she shivered.
“Arch wouldn’t take you anywhere you’d hate,” Erin said softly. “He wouldn’t put you in that position.”
Tessa let their soothing words sink in and told herself that they were right—she had nothing to worry about. Just act like it’s a big wedding. A big wedding with some famous faces…
Before long, Erin said she could open her eyes. “Perfect,” she said, appraising Tessa’s face. “Even if I say so myself. And you’ve done wonders, Mila. Tessa’s hair looks so full and bouncy.”
Tessa let herself be guided over to the mirror. When she saw herself, she almost didn’t recognize the reflection staring back. It was her face, but her features had been so carefully enhanced and emphasized that she almost resembled a Hollywood star.
“What do you think?” Mila looked proud of herself, as though she already knew the answer.
“You’ve done an amazing job!” Tessa said, delighted. “Both of you have. I never knew I could look like this.”
“Your features are so beautiful it was easy to make you look like a movie star,” Mila said.
Erin added, “Now put on your dress and shoes and come downstairs to show Arch. I can’t wait to see his face.”
She sounded so excited about it that Tessa felt her own excitement rise. Arch had seen her in casual clothes and the barest minimum of makeup. And also completely in the nude, she thought with a thrill deep down inside. But there was still a part of her that wanted Arch to see her at her prettiest.
She slipped into the new underwear she’d bought for the evening, a secret splurge no one else knew about. Then she carefully stepped into the dress and slipped on the shoes.
Her reflection told her that she looked her very best. The dress fit her curves to perfection and shimmered when she moved. Her hair and makeup were better than she could have imagined.
Maybe she wasn’t Valentina Sullivan or Sonia Montefiore, but she felt, for the first time, that she wouldn’t look out of place on a red carpet next to Arch.
When she descended the stairs, she found Arch standing at the bottom looking up, clearly waiting to see her makeover.
She glanced at him nervously, hoping he’d approve. The expression on his face told her everything she needed to know.
His mouth opened and closed again, as though he couldn’t find the right words. Finally, he went with a low whistle.
When she reached him, he said, “You will be the most beautiful woman there tonight. I’m a lucky man.” Then in a lower voice, he said, “I want to kiss you so badly right now, but I’d smudge you.” Instead, he took her hand, raised it slowly to his lips, and kissed it, which had to be the most romantic thing any man had ever done.
Then she walked into the living room, where she could hear the women talking. To her surprise, Betsy Davenport was sitting with her daughters.