Gilt_ By Invitation Only - Geneva Lee Page 0,51
kiss him and practice making babies?"
“Maybe I should cancel.” We both know that this thing between Jameson and I is a ticking time bomb. I pause at the mirror and mess with my hair for a moment, wondering if I should wear it up or down.
“You are not canceling,” she insists. A moment later, she triumphantly holds up my navy dress.
It’s one of my favorites since it never wrinkles. Plus its a simple A-line, but the second I see it, I realize it’s all wrong. The simplicity I loved feels boring and uninspired now. I’ll have to rip out my own tongue before I say it a loud but I want to impress Jameson.
“I think I’ll wear jeans.” Opening my drawer, I pull out a pair and shimmy into them.
“You’re going on a date with a billionaire in denim?”
My eyes narrow in response to her disapproving tone. “I can’t tell what you think of that. Jameson wears jeans all the time.” And he looks good in them “Look, I know this is hard for you to believe, but for some girls, finding a guy they can hang out with in blue jeans and flip-flops is kind of a dream.”
“Okay,” she agrees, reluctantly. Her eyes flicker to to the bag she brought with her. I haven’t had the courage to ask what’s inside. “As long as you realize there’s a time and place for Louboutins.”
“Between you and my mother, how could I ever forget?” I tease. I choose a soft black tank that flows to my hips, managing to achieve the pinnacle of lazy girl fashion: successfully mixing style and comfort.
“Just please wear these?” Josie begs, pulling a pair of strappy, gold Louboutins out of her bag. “It will dress it up just enough.”
“No promises,” I warn, but I hold out my hand. Slipping one on, I fasten it around my ankle and observe. It kills me to admit it, but it’s actually kind of sexy.
“Oh, those are perfect,” she squeals, clapping her hands like she got her birthday present.
“Where did you get them, anyway? You just started waiting tables.” These shoes cost at least seven hundred dollars. I can’t bring myself to consider dropping a Benjamin on new shoes. But even though Josie has a penchant for extravagance, she doesn’t have the means to indulge her tastes.
She tips her chin up and rolls her eyes at me as if it’s the most obvious thing in the world. “Do you really want to know?”
“A gift from one of your admirers,” I guess. I try to block the vision of a drooling, forty-something business man blessing her with a shoe shopping spree, but even in my head, it can’t be unseen. “Do you think I should spray these with Lysol?”
“I haven’t even worn them yet.”She pretends to pout as she flops backward onto my bed.
“That’s why they’re so tight.” I wiggle my foot around before I take a few tentative steps. I wobble a bit but it’s mostly successful. Maybe by the time Jameson arrives, I won’t look like a newborn colt in high heels.
“I figured you could break them in for me,” she says with a wink.
Josie oversees my hair, opting to gather it in a high ponytail and loosening just the right amount of hair to wisp around my neck. She digs out a pair of simple gold hoop earrings. I grimace as she hands them to me. “It’s not too much,” she reprimands.
“Okay, okay.” I put them in and turn to check myself out in the mirror. I have to admit that I look good even if Josie’s glam touches feel a bit unnatural.
“Fit for the arm of the world’s most eligible ...” I shoot Josie a warning look before she can finish that statement, “…bachelor.”You landed the whale, baby. Enjoy it.”
Jameson picks me up at home after my dad leaves. My heartbeat stutters like a scratched record when I glance out the front window and spot the black BMW idling in my driveway. When his face appears over the roof of the car, my stomach starts doing flips. This is why people write love songs. Maybe even why they listen to them. I’d never understood that before, but meeting him has opened my eyes to a world I’d turned my nose up to. Perhaps that’s how he managed to sneak in under my radar.
I lock the front door and grip the handrail of our stoop as I brave the two steps. His eyes drift from my head to