When they were finished, Daisy slid into her red dress and black heels. The mirror showed a woman she barely recognized—sleek, elegant, maybe even a little dangerous. And nervous as hell.
Her heels clicked softly as she descended the staircase. Jameson, Amelia, Lenny, and Margot were waiting below.
Amelia spotted her first. “Wow, Mom. You look like a princess.”
Three more heads swiveled.
Lenny’s jaw dropped. Jameson’s did too, but his expression was different. Not just want but need.His gaze swept over her slowly, longingly, like she was something he wasn’t sure he deserved to look at.
And Daisy, traitorous Daisy, felt the exact same pull.
It took everything in her not to smile back.
Margot clapped her hands together. “You all look dashing. Come, let me take a few pictures.”
“Mum, it’s not the prom,” Jameson groaned.
“You went to prom together?” Amelia asked.
“Yes,” Lenny said. “That’s where you were created.”
“Not true,” Daisy said quickly, smacking his arm.
“Then where was I created?” Amelia asked innocently.
The room froze. Even Margot flushed. Daisy winced, the real answerabsolutelynot fit for her daughter’s ears. Thankfully, Anna chose that exact moment to sweep in.
“Well,” she said, spinning in her gown, noticing all their grimaces. “I know it’s a bit conservative, but I don’t lookthatbad, do I?”
Daisy could see the lights long before they arrived, white-hot and multiplying as the car inched closer.
And she was a wreck.
Maybe a ritzy event wasn’t the smartest way to show solidarity.
It’s too late now.
The driver eased to the curb, the red carpet full of flashes and shouting.
Jameson set a hand lightly on her knee. “Are you sure you don’t want to walk with me?”
Hope flickered in his eyes, the smallest plea under them. She was warmed by it, by the simple fact that he wanted to be seen with her—but…
“I can’t,” she whispered.
He nodded once, gaze dropping. “I’ll meet you inside.”
Then he and Lenny stepped into the storm. There were bulbs, names, and hands reaching. Everyone wanted a piece of him. He’d always been a muse. And frankly, he was also becoming her muse again.
Anna and Daisy slipped in through a side entrance, ducking the madness. Inside, Daisy’s eyes went wide. The room thrummed. Celebrities were everywhere, faces she knew from screens and magazine covers. It was surreal.
They giggled like schoolgirls when Rihanna complimented Daisy’s dress. Daisy thanked her (somehow calmly) and tugged Anna toward the bar before her friend combusted.
Daisy pressed a flute of champagne into Anna’s hand. “Drink. Stop gawking.”
“How can I? This room is filled with everyone I’ve ever fantasized about.”
“They’re just people, Anna.”
