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I backed away from the box.
This was all moving really fast.
Delilah had mentioned anal. My hand moved to my butt and I flinched.
This was all ridiculous anyway. I tried to laugh it off. It wasn’t real. Then I wandered back to my bedroom and stared down at the dress that had to be worth more than two months of my salary. Maybe three.
“Holy shit,” I whispered, biting my bottom lip. Then I grabbed for my phone and dialed Delilah.
“Of course it’s real.” Delilah rolled her eyes at me an hour later, pushing past me into my trailer. “Duh. Oh my God, let me see the dress.”
I swiped the cup of coffee out of her hand. “No coffee near the dress. It’s in the back bedroom. Wash your hands if you’re going to touch it!”
But she was already off like a shot. The next second, all I heard was a girly scream. “Oh my God! It’s an Aristides de la Fiallo dress! Do you know how much these things cost? Have you tried it on?”
I hurried back to her side. “No, I haven’t tried it on. Of course I haven’t tried it on.”
Delilah looked at me like I was crazy. “Why not? How much time do you have before the ball?”
“The ball starts at 7:30 and I have to be there three hours before, so I have to be ready at 4:30.”
Delilah gasped. “Why didn’t you say so? We barely have any time!”
I arched an eyebrow. “What are you talking about? It’s not even noon. I was thinking maybe we could go out to Mama’s Waffle House and talk through my options. I’m still not sure if this is something I want to—”
But Delilah just started laughing. “Don’t be silly. You already took the dress. You already decided.”
“What are you talking about? Jeeves said it was my choice.”
“Who’s Jeeves?”
I waved a hand. “It’s just what I call the tuxedo guy with the invitation.”
“Anyway,” she continued like I hadn’t said anything, “it was your choice. But then you accepted the box. So, I’m sure they started the process.”
“What process? How do you know so much about this?” I felt lost in the wilderness, but Delilah just treated it like it was all normal. I was starting to think they’d picked the wrong girl. She would’ve been perfect for this. She was sexually adventurous and, like me, had nothing to lose.
“Well, you’re starting a new life. And you can’t exactly live two of them at the same time. So, if you get chosen, they’ll shut this one down.” Delilah waved all around us. “And if you want to know the truth, I know it all because it happened to a friend of my favorite aunt. She got the invite when she was about your age.”
“Wait. What? How long ago was that?”
“I don’t know. Twenty years ago, maybe.”
“This has been going on for twenty years?”
Delilah laughed at my credulous expression. “Don’t you get it? It’s been going on for way longer than that. Hundreds of years. It’s a way of life for these rich guys.”
Hundreds of— “They just go around buying women? That’s disgusting.”
“My aunt’s friend didn’t think so. Especially when she got to live the rest of her life in a mansion on the French Riviera, where I might add, she later fell in love with a duke vacationing in France. Now they live happily ever after.”
“That sounds made up.”
Delilah’s eyebrows shot to her hairline. “It’s true! Look. My aunt is still friends with her on Facebook. I’ll show you.”
Delilah pulled up her phone and scrolled, then shoved it in my face.
I frowned but took the phone. On it was a woman who looked like an aging model—her beauty was still clearly visible, just wearing a little around the edges.
She grinned widely at the camera as she leaned into a distinguished-looking gentleman with an arm around her shoulders.
They looked so… happy.
And rich. They looked rich as sin. There was a mountaintop chalet in the background. It was probably easy to be so happy when you were also so rich.
“I’m telling you, Grace, you’ll be around men who are really powerful and influential. You can have whatever you want.”
“Said the spider to the fly,” I murmured.
“What?”
“Nothing.” I waved her away and breathed out heavily. “All right. So, where do we get started?” I looked down at the gown and then thought about the box full of underthings.
I’d never know if I could do this until I tried.
“First, we have to start with your hair and makeup. Go take a shower and blow dry your hair. I’ll get out my makeup box I brought with me. I’ve always wanted to do a makeover on you!” Delilah clapped giddily and did a little spontaneous dance.
I took one quick peek at her heavily made up racoon eyes and winced. I could only hope for the best, right? I barely wore any makeup and had certainly never done glam makeup before.
