both knew she wasn't going to skip the lecture. My lie wasn't on the same level as a four-year-old telling his mom that he would get dressed, and instead ended up in the backyard, stomping through mud puddles in his pajamas. I was pretending to be someone different just to gain time with someone who'd never looked at me twice.
With that gem of a thought, I turned and caught a glimpse of myself in the mirror propped up against the stark white wall.
My breath caught unintentionally.
"Whoa," I whispered.
Lia's face appeared behind me, split into a wide grin. "Daaaaaaayuuuum. You look good, C."
My cheeks suffused with her genuine praise. "I can't wear a bra with this, Lia."
"You sure cannot." She nudged me with her elbow. "Don't bend over too fast for anything."
"I can promise you I won't." I skimmed my hands down the front of the dress. The V was so stupid low, showing a slice of my chest that had never before been shown in public. But besides that, I looked ... I looked like a princess.
Like if Belle from Beauty and the Beast got a twenty-first-century upgrade on her killer dress.
A hot, definitely not average looking princess.
"Finn's mom's middle name?"
I rolled my eyes. "Robin."
She hummed. "His half-brother’s sponsor?"
I turned. "I will not need to know any of that stuff. Besides, you told me his brother is a touchy subject. Why would he come up at a fancy dinner where they're trying to impress someone?"
"You never know," she said. "That's my point."
"He just lost his sponsorship with Burton this week." I sighed. Like I cared much about Finn's apparently insane, fully tattooed, snowboarder of a brother. Half-brother, whatever.
She snapped her fingers. "Nice. Didn't even trip you up with that one."
"You need to go," I told her.
"I am, I am." Lia paused before she left my bedroom again. "You're gonna do awesome."
I smiled at her. "Thanks."
"They won't even know it's you!"
My smile fell as she left because as the innocently spoken words fell between us like a deflated balloon, I suddenly didn't feel so much like a princess.
I felt like a fraud.
The door slammed shut behind Lia as she left the apartment.
Just me, my sad princess reflection, and the yellow dress made for someone else.
It took a second, but I met my own blue eyes evenly and took a deep breath. "C, pull your shit together. You're a mother-effing Ward."
So that was what I did.
After carefully covering the dress with my cotton robe, I curled my hair until it fell over one shoulder in pretty waves. Using all of Lia's makeup brushes, I applied goldish-bronze eye shadow until my eyes looked almost indecently blue in my face. The arms on the clock clicked faster and faster until I was sure someone was playing a cosmic prank on me.
One hour to get ready felt like insanity for the woman who could shower, dress, and be ready for class in less than twenty-two minutes on a normal weekday. What kept me steady was imagining Finn at the door, handsome and clean-shaven in his crisp black tux.
I closed my eyes and sighed happily. Maybe I'd get a dance, if I was lucky. I'd just have to not do something stupid like grab his ass when he thought I was Lia.
My phone buzzed, the phone that now had Lia's phone cover on it because my sister was nothing if not thorough, with a text bearing her name.
Lia: Still no word from Finn, but that's not abnormal if he's busy. He's NEVER late, so have that fine ass ready to go in five! *kiss face*
I smiled as I typed out my reply.
Me: PAY ATTENTION. This speaker is important, if you didn't know. I'll be fine.
Lia: I owe you a thousand favors.
Me: Yes, you really do.
I tucked my phone into my small nude purse and stepped into the open toe heels she'd picked out for me. They boosted my height by a few inches, and I took a few steps around the family room until I felt steady. The clock kept going, a few minutes past when Finn was supposed to arrive, and I felt a twinge of unease.
Hopefully, everything was okay.
Just as I thought it, and then ridiculed myself for thinking it, the downstairs door to our apartment building buzzed. Lia would never expect Finn to come up, so I took a deep breath and channeled my sister.
"Be right down!"
With a cringe, I released the button. Too chipper, Claire, far, far too chipper.
I locked the apartment