to apologise for what she saw. Just a girl whose path nobody would choose in life.
"Oh, she likes you," Sloan announced as she returned to the room with a beautiful red halter neck that would be skin tight on me.
"Do you think so?" I looked up hopefully and whatever she saw in my expression made her frown.
"Are you okay?"
"Yeah," I breathed, but my voice came out a little choked.
She moved to sit on the bed beside me, placing her hand on my knee. "You can talk to me. I'm good at keeping secrets, I promise."
I smiled at her, then looked back to River with a sigh. "I just wonder if...somewhere out there I have a mother who loves me like you love River. What if she's looking for me?"
"Then you will find each other," Sloan said gently. "There's not a force on earth that could keep me from finding River if she was stolen from me. And she would seek me out too. When you're ready to start looking, I'm sure you'll find your family."
"But what if I'm never ready?" I voiced my deepest fear. Part of me was desperately clinging to this new life I'd found and searching for a life I'd lost made me fear that this one would slip away through my fingers. I couldn't let that happen. I would never let go of Nicoli.
"Trust yourself," she urged, reaching out to tuck a lock of hair behind my ear. "There's no rush, Winter. You've been through so much. Just take your time."
"But what if I do find them and they don't want me anymore?" I whispered as I looked down at the scars on my arms. "I don't have any memories of them, and after everything The Five did, there's no way I'm the same girl they'd remember."
"If they truly love you, they will love you in any form, no matter what," she promised and I smiled at her, taking comfort in her words.
"I'm still not ready," I admitted.
"Then hold on a little longer. You have all the time in the world now."
I nodded, breathing a sigh of relief as her words helped ease the weight on my shoulders. I passed River to her, picking up the dress she'd chosen and realising it had a long slit up the centre which would partially expose my breasts. I snorted, looking to Sloan. "You know Nicoli's going to freak over this, don't you?"
She nodded, smiling conspiratorially. "Yep."
"Well, he really has to learn to stop being so jealous," I said, pushing my hair away from my shoulders as I undid my robe.
"He's never going to stop, all the Romeros are possessive. But that doesn't mean you have to stop wearing things you like. He just has to learn to deal with it." She laughed and I grinned.
"Exactly," I agreed. I was already in my chosen white thong for the night and I pulled on the dress without a bra, figuring it didn't require one. It fit like a glove, falling just above the knee and hugging my small frame. I moved to the mirror and eyed the gap between my breasts which drew attention to the swell of them and made them seem bigger than usual. I spent a little time doing my makeup and Sloan styled my hair in a delicate chignon bun, allowing a few locks of red to hang free around my neck.
I grinned at my reflection, turning to her for approval when she was done and she nodded keenly.
"Perfect," she announced, picking River up from the middle of the bed and putting her back in her carrier. "Ready to go?"
I grabbed a clutch bag and a black evening coat from the closet, pushing my feet into some heels and heading back out to join Sloan. She was back in her heels too, her arm hooked through the carrier as she walked out of the room. I did my coat up, a smile playing around my mouth as I strolled after her down the hall. By the time we got to the restaurant, it would be too late for Nicoli to even think about trying to make me change my outfit. Plus, I was kind of looking forward to the look on his face when I took my coat off in a public place. It was the ultimate test and one I was hoping he would pass. He'd been getting better at biting his tongue whenever I wore something he deemed inappropriate in front of his brothers.