All Souls' Night - Renee Rose Page 0,90

‘sir’ or ‘Mr. Blake’; one of these days, I want to hear her screaming my given name as I make her come again and again. Exhaling, I wish there was a way I could make that happen without Siannon getting in the way. Part of me hopes that Clarabelle will attend the ball, because maybe then I can have her just for a night—since I doubt I’ll get to have her for more than that without Siannon attacking and killing her. The thought of Clarabelle’s life being snuffed out by Siannon is enough to put me in a foul mood, but I push those horrible thoughts away as I head down to meet Clarabelle at the car.

Chapter 3

When I find matching tulle and satin fabrics that I can use to create the Cinderella dress I have in mind, I am thrilled. I’ve always been pretty good at sewing, so when I got home from driving Mr. Blake back to his house, I went online and found the perfect pattern for the Venetian-style gown I want to create.

I woke up early this morning to get to the craft store to hunt for the material. Now I am heading home to get started on it. I already know my measurements from the last time I sewed a dress for myself, and I have a dress dummy in my size, so it will be easy to create the fitted bodice with the sweetheart neckline I want. It will have tulle, off-the-shoulder sleeves that trim the bodice, and I invested in some glitter to make the tulle neckline and skirt sparkle.

I work on it every day up until Halloween. I’m even making a matching cape out of the satin, as well. While I ate lunch one afternoon a few days ago, I ordered a pair of strappy blue sandals to go with the dress. They arrived yesterday. The last thing I make is the mask. I found a pattern of silk blue, royal and purple butterflies. I trim each eye hole and butterfly with tiny little sparkling gems. Then I use some little butterfly beads to make dangles from the mask. It is the most intricate work I’ve ever done on a mask before. I add an elastic sparkly silver strap to it, so it won’t slip from my face.

Halloween afternoon, I go to the spa, treating myself to a massage, a mani-pedi, and a complete hairstyling. It’s expensive, but I have the money to splurge, and it isn’t as if this is an everyday occurrence. No, this is my one chance to spend an evening in Aaron’s elegant world, and I am going to do everything in my power to make it as spectacular an evening as I can.

The hairstylist has added blonde highlights to my hair, and then creates a loose French braid to the side that moves toward the back of my head. The rest of my hair has been meticulously curled, and she adds tiny faux diamonds to the braid and waves. Last, she pins three sparkling blue satin butterfly pins along the braid. The stylist has done an outstanding job.

I am super careful to make sure I don’t mess up my hair as I head home to finish getting ready. I take a bath, and then make up my face—just a light powder, mascara, and soft pink lipstick—and then dress. I’ve sewn the underskirt into the dress, so it is a full ballgown that stands out and swirls from the waist down. The bodice fits me tightly and zips up the back, but the zipper is hidden by the fabric, so it won’t show. I slip my feet into the strappy sparkling blue sandals and stand in front of my mirror as I add the mask. I lift the braid and slide the strap under it so that only a tiny bit of the silvery strap shows.

I smile into the mirror. I look exactly how I imagined I would look. I just hope Aaron will like it. With my heart racing at what I am about to do, I tie my cape under my chin, pick up the shiny silver handbag that only holds my phone, keys, and ID, and go out to my BMW. It is already getting late, and I can see families out trick or treating. I left a bowl full of candy on my porch for the little munchkins, so they won’t be disappointed.

Getting into the car is a little harder than I thought it