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“New Girl, no. Please don’t do this. None of it is true. None of it means anything to me. You are beautiful. You have always been beautiful.”
I hiccup at his sincerity. “So, not frumpy then?”
He laughs, a sad sound. “Not even a bit.”
I chew on my bottom lip before making a decision. “OK, then.”
He lights up. “OK?”
“Yes. I guess this all comes with the territory of being Matthew Barkly’s girlfriend.”
We both pause, waiting for the other to insert the word ‘fake.’ When it doesn’t happen, Matthew breaks the silence. “Good. Hopefully, that’s the worst of it. Jordan is making some calls and this won’t happen again.”
I know he can’t promise this, but I love that he’s trying. “Sounds good.”
“So, we’re still on for tonight?”
Tonight? Oh, that’s right. The charity ball. “Yep, I’ll see you there.” Matthew has a press junket he has to attend beforehand, so we’ve agreed to meet at the venue.
“I can’t wait.” His gravelly voice has my toes curling and I lean over to give him a kiss to stop my mouth from saying something I can’t take back. Like, marry me! Be mine forever!
Matthew kisses me back with so much tenderness that my eyes smart with tears. And with my lips still tingling from his mind-blowing kiss, I exit the car, ready to face the rest of the day.
After the distress this morning’s publication has caused me, I’m shocked that one simple conversation with Matthew has calmed my nerves. That my long-held self-doubt has been quieted. And now all that’s left is excitement for the night ahead.
I’m a frumpy Cinderella and I’m going to the ball!
*****
“Do I look alright?”
Amy stops and gives me a once-over, like I hadn’t just asked her this for the sixth time since entering the ballroom at the Grand Hyatt hotel. Everything here is decked out in teal and pink, the colours of the two cancer charities we’re raising money for this evening. Surrounding us are members of staff from four of the major metropolitan hospitals, all looking suave and unfamiliar out of their scrubs and lab coats.
“You look incredible,” she tells me sincerely, taking my fidgeting hands in hers and giving them a gentle squeeze. “Your friend Bianca was spot on when she picked this dress for you.”
After Matthew agreed to accompany me to this ball, Bianca forced me to go shopping for a new dress, claiming she knew there wasn’t a single thing in my closet that was appropriate for this event. And she was right.
We’d spent hours picking and discarding dresses until we landed on the dress I have on now. It’s a gown like none I’ve ever worn before: heavy satin in a royal blue colour. It has an off-the-shoulder neckline that makes the most of my slight cleavage, and the way the fabric drapes over my curves and floats to the floor gives the illusion of an hourglass figure. It’s a magical dress and when combined with my elegant up-do and a smoky-eye (again courtesy of my BFF), I feel glamourous and not at all frumpy.
“Thanks, Ames.” I pull my friend in for a quick hug. “You look amazing too.”
Amy is wearing a champagne-coloured dress that makes her look like her body is encased in liquid gold. The sky-high heels she’s paired this with mean she towers over me, looking very much like the supermodels we’d seen in that trashy magazine.
And speaking of supermodels.
“Is that Matthew?”
A hush falls over the room as all heads turn toward the door. And just like in high school, he has an aura about him: the golden boy, so handsome it hurts to look at him, shining like the star that he is.
“Natalie!”
Now all eyes are on me and I swallow thickly. A spotlight (literally this time) follows Matthew’s progress across the dance floor to where he stops in front of me.
“You look breathtaking.” His eyes drink me in, taking their time like they’re memorising every curve of my body.
I giggle. Nervously. “Thank you. You look very handsome.”
He does the eye-crinkle smile and bows. “I’m glad you approve.”
