Page 59 of Our Chaotic Love Affair

But now it was my turn.

Giulia had brought reinforcements. A makeup artist stared at me for an uncomfortable amount of time before nodding. “I know exactly what to do.”

I believed her. I didn’t really have a choice but to trust the people doctoring me up. I sat in the chair and I let myself be taken care of.

Someone was doing my eyeliner and someone else was doing something with my hair. I stared out the window, watching sunset descend over the city. I couldn’t stop thinking about what Cash had said.

Five years.

I thought about it and let myself actually feel the weight of it instead of filing it away for later. Five years of waiting for the right moment. Five years of being exactly where I was right now, talented and capable and ready and choosing to delay for someone else’s stability.

What if Melody decided to have four kids? And it wasn’t just the kids. It was everything. She didn’t really need me. The influencer thing wasn’t a permanent job. It would fade. Maybe she didn’t have five years of influencing left.

What if she called me in two years and said she was done? I’d be caught flat-footed and then what?

I needed a backup plan.

“Dress,” Giulia said.

I slid out of the chair and let them dress me.

The shoes went on. I wouldn’t have picked the heels for myself but Giulia knew things I didn’t about what worked with this particular silhouette. Then the jewelry. Always jewelry.

I glanced in the mirror. I looked like myself. Turned all the way up.

“Bellissima,” said the makeup artist, with the satisfied tone of someone who’d done their best work.

“Thank you,” I said. “Truly, you guys have magical powers.”

I took the small bag Giulia had found for the evening. It was absolutely impractical. Big enough for my phone and nothing else, but it was too pretty to leave behind. I thanked the team and walked out onto the main balcony for a breath of air.

Rome in the evening was a different city than Rome in the afternoon. I stood there with my hands on the iron railing and felt the warm air on my bare shoulder. I am standing on a balcony in Rome in a dress that was made for me.

I’d spent years making other people’s moments beautiful. This one was mine.

I took a breath of Roman evening air and let myself be, just for a minute, completely in it. No camera. No angles. No thinking about the content or the caption or who else might want to see this.

Just me.

I’d never felt more like a princess in my life, and I was completely, shamelessly obsessed with it.

CHAPTER 21

CASH

She didn’t know I was there. That was the only reason I let myself look for as long as I did.

She was standing at the balcony railing with her back to the room, facing Rome in the evening light. She had no idea I’d come to find her when I saw the team leaving. So I stood in the doorway and drank in the sight of her.

The dress moved slightly in the warm air coming off the city. Her hair was up in a way that left her neck bare, and the single shoulder the dress didn’t cover caught the last of the light. She was completely still, which was unusual for Cleo. It felt significant, like watching something in its natural state that normally moved too fast to see clearly.

I had thought she looked extraordinary when she tried on the dress initially. But now, it was different. She was a remarkable woman. I haven’t even seen her face yet and I already know she’s going to blow me away. I need to prepare myself. I don’t want to jump on her or say something stupid. She’s having a moment and I don’t want to ruin that.

I gave myself another five seconds to absorb all of it. This was a rare moment and I wanted to make sure I had every detail committed to memory.

And then I went to get the champagne. The bottle had been chilling since that morning. I opened it quietly in the kitchen area, poured two glasses, and returned to the room. I made enough noise to alert her to my presence. I wanted her to think I was just getting my first look.

She heard me this time and turned. The movement sent the dress doing that thing it did. I kept my eyes on her face. Hell, I couldn’t look away. She had dramatic makeup, but not quite the Cleo way. Dark eyes, red lips, but it was done a little differently. Toned down and amped up at the same time.