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At that she blinked. “Ready to go where?”
“I’m taking you to get your hair and makeup done. Then I’ll run you back by here so you can get dressed and be ready when Drake gets home from work.”
“You know someone who’ll do my hair and makeup?” she asked suspiciously.
“What can I say, I’m a jack-of-all-trades. Now get your ass up and get dressed so we can get out of here. I’ll call ahead so they can get you right in.”
Four hours later, she and Silas arrived back at the apartment. Evangeline was completely glammed out and unrecognizable, thanks to an amazing makeup artist who owned an exclusive salon where appointments had to be booked weeks in advance. Silas, however, obviously had some serious pull, because the artist who’d done her hair and makeup had canceled all her afternoon appointments in order to accommodate Silas’s request to fit Evangeline in.
She stopped to study her reflection in the mirror in the foyer as they got off the elevator and she frowned.
“This isn’t me,” she fretted. “I look like some high-class call girl.”
Silas frowned and pinned her with his steely stare. “Swear to God, Evangeline. You get one more pass from me and then I will turn you over my knee and spank your ass. You look beautiful. Now go change into your dress and shoes and come out and let me see the finished product. You’ve got five minutes, so get moving.”
She launched herself into his arms and hugged him tightly. He staggered back, bewilderment shining in his eyes.
“Thank you,” she whispered. “You’re the best, Silas. I don’t know what I’d do without you. You’re the absolute best friend I’ve ever had.”
His arms tentatively went around her and he squeezed her back, though he was obviously discomfited by her spontaneous outburst of affection.
“You’re very welcome, Evangeline,” he said warmly. “Now go get changed so I can check you out.”
She ran for the bedroom and pulled the dress from the closet, carefully unzipping it from the garment bag. Being careful not to mess up her hair or get makeup all over the dress, she pulled it on and then realized she wasn’t going to be able to zip it herself.
Holding the bodice over her chest, she toed out the shoes and slipped them over her feet, admiring the sparkle from heel to toe. She examined herself in the mirror and realized that when it all came together, she didn’t look half bad. The makeup artist had asked her what color her dress and shoes were and had then used bronze hues and tones so her skin had a golden glow.
The dress was a darker, shimmery gold that picked up the blond highlights in her upswept hair. Small ringlets dangled down her neck and framed her face. Remembering the huge pair of diamond earrings Drake had bought for her, she dug them out of her jewelry box and then scrounged for the diamond teardrop necklace that was bigger than her thumb.
She fastened the earrings and then looped the necklace over her head so it dangled down her bodice. She glanced at her bare wrist and then shrugged. Why not? It wasn’t as though she had a lot of opportunity to wear the expensive jewelry Drake showered her with. If tonight wasn’t such a night, she didn’t know what was.
She was a reflection on Drake and she wanted to make him proud. If it was true that he’d never attended any public function with a woman on his arm, well, that made tonight that much more epic in her book. She fastened the diamond bracelet around her wrist, satisfied with the end result.
Heels tapping on the marble floor, she hurried into the living room, still holding her dress up with one hand.
“I need help,” she said breathlessly. “Can you zip me up?”
“This has got to qualify me for sainthood,” Silas muttered. “A man can only take so much, for fuck’s sake.”
She looked at him in puzzlement. He rolled his eyes and turned her so he could zip her dress.
“Are you really so clueless as to your effect on the male population?”
She blushed to the roots of her hair. “I’m sorry,” she mumbled. “I didn’t think.”
“I’m just teasing you, Evangeline,” he said gently. “I’m glad you feel comfortable enough with me to A, call me because you had no one to do your hair and makeup, and B, ask me to zip up your dress. Having been around you long enough to know that you’re pretty picky about the people you trust, I’m honored that I can be one of them.”
He turned her back around and then took several steps back so he could survey her from head to toe.
“Turn around slowly and give me the full view,” he encouraged.
She twirled slowly and laughed when the dress sparkled and glittered in the light.
