Total pages in book: 192
Estimated words: 192810 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 964(@200wpm)___ 771(@250wpm)___ 643(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 192810 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 964(@200wpm)___ 771(@250wpm)___ 643(@300wpm)
I kept begging my mate with my eyes.
He winked at me, and although that was hot, he followed it by sauntering away with his coffee mug.
I watched him go, and then I watched Nova scurrying after him like a fluffy badger.
Traitor!
“No!” Madam Garwah barked, bringing my attention back to the matter at hand. “Next!”
“This green is—” Germaine began.
“Putrescent,” Madam Garwah finished. “I said next.”
Germaine cycled to the next.
“No,” Madam Garwah said before I could. The next. “No.” The next. “Lilith, no. Who picked these? They’re dire.”
I was stunned I had an ally in Madam Garwah and was kind of enjoying how red Germaine’s face was getting.
“No,” Madam said again. “No,” to the next. “Balls, no. What on earth?”
Germaine cycled, and out came a deep rose, skim-body-fitting, to-the-knee, lightweight wool dress with long sleeves and a simple crew neck. It was plain, but classic, and clearly exceptional quality.
“That one!” both Madam Garwah and I exclaimed at the same time.
My mind accessorized it.
Diamond stud earrings. My oversize, pale pink, organza gardenia Celestina broach. My chocolate-brown pumps.
Simple, but with a hint of flair from the broach and a hint of sexy from the pumps.
Perfect.
“This one?” Germaine asked me.
I nodded.
She pulled it off its holder and tossed it over the back of a stool, then sent the rack back down the hall on its own.
Another rack came trundling in.
“Smile,” Madam Garwah barked at me.
“Sorry?” I asked her.
“Smile,” she repeated.
I smiled.
“Too much, smile less,” she ordered.
“We need to go through shoes and accessories,” Germaine said.
Through less of a smile, I told Germaine, “I’ve got that covered.”
“I want approval,” she returned.
I stopped smiling and looked right into her eyes. “Aleksei is my mate. I would do nothing to embarrass him. But I am me, and today, the people are going to get their first real look at me, and it’s going to be real. Classic. Traditional. Stylish. Royal. But real. We’re going to have to learn to trust each other, and for you, that starts now.”
Germaine gave me a look that was clearly taking my measure.
“Smile!” Madam Garwah demanded.
I smiled, a whole lot less this time.
“More,” she instructed. “Less…no, a bit more…a bit more. Perfect!”
I tried to memorize the curve of my lips and knew I probably failed.
“Now, wave,” Madam Garwah ordered.
I waved.
“Close your fingers,” she said. “Less movement. All in the wrist. There you go. That’s it.”
“They’re going to hurtle questions at you,” Germaine warned. “No responses. At all. Smile. And then smile more. Don’t even dip your head or tip it. It can be taken as a response.”
“You may hold his hand. You may lean into his arm. But that is all,” Madam Garwah put in. “He may touch you. Guide you. If he puts his arm around your waist, you may reciprocate. Stand close. Walk close. You’re communicating connection. Solidarity.”
I nodded.
“You’re also communicating romance. Happily ever after,” Germaine added. “You’re living every girl’s dream. Act like it.”
“But with modesty. Decorum,” Madam Garwah said.
“They’ll tell you to kiss. Don’t,” Germaine said. “That has to happen with the engagement op.”
The idea of a ton of photographers snapping pics of me kissing my male did not sit well with me.
But this was my life.
Again, I had to get used to it. I had no choice.
“Lex will probably speak. They’ll ask about the assassination attempt, and since they deserve an answer, he’ll assure them you’re both fine. When he does, whatever he says, gaze at him as if every word out of his mouth is a drop of nectar,” Germaine ordered.
That was probably the only thing I could manage to do authentically.
“Move, shift, adjust, give them different angles, different shots,” Germaine instructed. “They have fifteen minutes. They’ll beg for more as you walk away. Just keep smiling, waving and walking. Lex will know how to work it. Follow his lead.”
“Right,” I said.
“Set the Ultra at clean, day, timeless, bright, healthy, fresh. Nothing heavy. Nothing smoky,” Germaine demanded. “You’re young. You’re falling in love with the male who’s destined for you. You’re starting a fairytale life by assuming a role that’s millennia old. Females need to like you, trust you, relate to you, envy you. Males need to want to fuck you.”
“I say!” Madam Garwah barked at her. “Manners!”
“I’m not wrong,” Germaine told her.
“You are not, indeed. However, there are many words you could have used and did not. We are in the presence of the future Queen of Night’s Fall. It is now where you must learn never to forget that.”
Germaine visibly clenched her teeth.
I was stuck back on you’re falling in love with the male who’s destined for you, because, bottom line…
I was.
And that was a lot.
But as Germaine seemed to be gearing up to have a throwdown with Madam Garwah, I had to wade in.
“She can be herself with me,” I told Madam.
Germaine sent me another measuring look.