Chapter 12

Fallon

“You’re what?” Corinne shrieked. She shot up from the sofa in a flash, nearly spilling her wine. “I’m… I’m going on a date,” I admitted.

After my father left last night, I cleared the table and left the dishes unwashed in the sink. I headed to bed, but my eye lids felt like sticker paper. I watched the sun rise from my bed. When my alarm started ringing, I was pouring out my second cup of coffee for the day.

“Fallon, why didn’t you tell me?” Corinne whined, grinning. “When is it? Who is it with? Oh, you called that guy with the dog, didn’t you?”

She bounced up and down, jostling her perfect auburn curls.

“Ugh, that guy was as dumb as a doornail,” I said, remembering the near-vacant look in his eyes.

She stuck her hands on her hips and gave me a comical glare. “Honey, you do know he doesn’t need anything going on up top to be able to rock your world down below, right?” She waggled her brows as she stared meaningfully below my waist.

“Yes, I get the picture, Corinne.” Even with my lack of sleep, I couldn’t help but laugh. “All right, so who’s the hot date then?” she asked while excitement danced in her eyes.

I could understand her enthusiasm, but she didn’t know the truth. And when I failed to join in, her face dropped and she put a hand on my shoulder.

“You do know a date is supposed to be a good thing, right?” she said with both eyebrows cocked. “A little romance, some good food… maybe a little naked nooky afterward, you know?”

I sighed—I couldn’t help it. This date had nothing to do with romance, and there was no way in hell there’d be any “naked nooky” afterward. This was a “favor”, not a booty call.

She took my hand in hers. “Why do you seem so upset? Shouldn’t you be excited?”

Excited? Hardly. But since the date was in less than an hour, and I’d agreed to go, I needed to get ready. Time to confess and move on. “I don’t know who it’s with, Corinne, but I’m guessing it’s some rich politician’s son.”

Corinne frowned, the recesses in her brows grew deeper. “You know how stupid that sounds, right?” “It’s a favor for my dad,” I admitted, hating the way it made me feel all slimy inside. Did my father

really not understand that this made me feel like a “thing” being offered up as payment? Or did he just not care?

She shook her head and crossed her arms over her chest. “A favor? A favor is, ‘Hey, can I borrow a dress for a thing I’m going to?’ or ‘My car battery died, would you mind giving me a boost?’”

“Yeah, well, you know Dad.”

She really did. She was the only living soul I’d ever told about what my father was like.

“Yes, and I know you’re not a child anymore. He can’t keep using you like this—it’s a dick move, and you know it.”

“I need to be ready in an hour. So, will you help me?” I said instead.

Corinne eyed me for a moment but couldn’t keep a straight face. “Of course, I’ll help you. What kind of stupid question is that?”

Corinne was silent as she led me down the hall to my bedroom and sat me down in front of the small vanity mirror in the corner.

“All right, I’ve reconsidered, and I think tonight is a great idea,” she said with a wicked grin as she grabbed a brush and got to work.

“You do?”

“Absolutely. You said he’s some rich kid, right?”

I nodded while she pulled and twisted my hair into intricate knots that seemed to stay in place by pure magic. She could have been a hairstylist to celebrities—not that I would have given up my best friend and hardest worker to Hollywood.

“All right, so here’s what you’re going to do. First, you’re going to look so damn hot you’ll knock this guy’s socks off—I personally guarantee it. You’re going to let him buy you a ridiculously expensive meal in some pansy-ass restaurant all while you drink in the appreciative looks from every man around you. And then, when the evening is over…” She smiled slyly, stabbing a crystal-topped bobby pin into the loose pile of knots gathered at my crown. “You’ll let him kiss you good and thorough—because you need something for those long, lonely nights, hon. And then you’ll turn around and let him watch your sweet ass walk away.”

I laughed. “You seem to have this all figured out.”

“Well, if it were me, I’d jump his bones if he was good-looking enough. But I figured you’d just give me the evil eye if I proposed it.”

“You’re… not wrong,” I choked out through a continuous wave of laughter. Leave it to Corinne to be able to cheer me up, no matter the occasion.

“Your hair is done,” she said, grabbing my hand and dragging me across the room to the closet. “Next, we move onto clothing.”

She opened the closet door and peered inside before pulling out a dozen dresses on hangers from the back. All the dresses I owned, in fact. She tossed one after another onto the bed until she reached the eighth or ninth dress from the stack. A cream-colored Grecian-style dress. It was beautiful—I’d bought it on a whim not long before I found out Jake spent his lunch breaks with his secretary sprawled across his desk. Aside from trying it on in the dressing room, I’d never actually worn it yet. It fell just above my knees, and it was strapless aside from the gold braided cord that wrapped beneath my breasts and tied at the back of my neck.

“This is the one,” Corinne said, shoving it at me.

She picked out a pair of twisted gold hoop earrings and a chunky gold bracelet to match the dress while I changed. She also dug out a pair of strappy high-heeled sandals from my closet floor. I put them all on obligingly, but when she took out her overstuffed makeup bag from her purse, I called a time-out.

“Haven’t we done enough dressing me up like Barbie?” I whined, though there was no denying she’d done a good job. I barely recognized the woman staring back at me in the mirror. But I’d let Corinne do my makeup before and it felt like I had a pound of butter on my face.

“Just trust me, hon,” she said as she took out a few brushes and palettes.