Chapter 6

Mathias knocked lightly on her door early the next morning. He thought he heard a groan and knocked again. When there was still no response, he tapped once more before reluctantly turning the knob and sticking his head inside. “Azure,” he called, and she stirred but did not awaken. Leaving the door open, Mat ventured farther into the room. “Azure,” he said again. She blinked briefly but closed her eyes almost immediately and snuggled deeper under the covers. Biting back a sigh, Mathias gently shook her shoulder. “Azure, wake up, please. Roseaux will be here in forty minutes.”

Mathias’s voice finally penetrated Azure’s tired brain and she opened her eyes. She yawned and stretched as she sat up. “Morning,” she muttered through her thick fall of hair.

Taking a breath, Mathias pulled his eyes off the thrust of her breast against the cotton nightshirt. “Um, morning. Roseaux will be here soon,” he repeated, backing to the door. Azure nodded and Mathias left her room quickly, practically slamming the door behind himself.

***

Azure rose from the comfortable bed grudgingly and made herself take a bath. After dunking her head under the water, she felt more refreshed, but her eyes were still red and bloodshot when she emerged from the bathroom a few minutes later. She hadn’t bothered to apply lip gloss and had left her hair down, figuring an image consultant would be doing all the styling and makeup. She dressed comfortably in a pair of khaki shorts and a yellow shirt, slid her feet into sandals, and went downstairs.

Ava insisted she have a bite of breakfast, and she was eating a bowl of oatmeal and toast when Mathias came into the breakfast room a few minutes later.

“He’s here, Azure. Come on,” he urged as she quickly gulped down a glass of orange juice.

Azure followed Mathias as he walked briskly through the house, struggling to keep up with him. He led her into the sitting room where a short man, with a bit of a paunch, stood. Racks of clothes, assorted boxes and containers, a huge mirror on rollers, a beautician’s seat, and three women surrounded him. All the women were dressed impeccably, with perfect make-up and daring, but flattering, clothes. Roseaux Fleuers wore a red nylon exercise suit with the zip undone to his belly button, showing a thick profusion of black chest hair.

He walked over to Azure, studying her intently as he stroked his short mustache. He circled her three times, issuing instructions such as, “Stand up straight, twirl, bend your head, raise your chin.” He fell into silence for the last circle, making only an occasional noise similar to a whimper. He looked at Mathias. “Not bad. We can make her very beautiful, no?” His English was nearly indecipherable amid his thick French accent.

She was led to the seat by one of the assistants, who thoroughly brushed her head. Mathias took a seat in a wing chair off to the side and watched the four of them fuss over her.

“We will cut some of this.” Roseaux decided, not asking but telling. “It hides your beautiful face and wonderful bone structure as it is.”

Biting her lip, Azure thought briefly of refusing. She had fought her grandmother for years to keep her hair long. It wasn’t that she liked dealing with the mass, but it irritated her grandmother, and it had been Azure’s small way of rebelling. Although it was a different shade, Cassie’s hair had been long and curly as well, and it was a way for Azure to maintain a tenuous link to her.

Now she didn’t have to hide her pride in her mother, and she could do as she liked with her hair. It wasn’t so important to keep it long, and she bit back the protest as Roseaux’s scissors flew across her hair, removing at least ten inches. When he was done, it rested against her neck in the back, and just a few inches below her ears in the front. He had trimmed the edges so they were a bit ragged, but the rest of her hair exploded in a mass of curls. Her bangs were just long enough to accent her azure eyes, making them look big and luminous even without eye shadow. The style made her cheekbones more prominent. After studying herself, she decided she liked the cut.

Roseaux ran a hand through the silky curls. “Much better, no?”

“It’s beautiful.”

He smiled. “Now we will tint it, making it just a bit darker.” He saw her look and shook his head. “You will like it, I promise you. It’ll be nothing drastic; just a subtle difference.”

Azure sat there, worrying her bottom lip, as the assistants mixed the dye, consulting with Roseaux continuously.

Mathias came over to her. “It looks really good. It does…something to your eyes and face. Makes you look older.” He scratched his chin, studying her with his head tilted.

“I like it, but I don’t know if I want to color my hair.”

He nodded. “I know what you mean. Dante persuaded me to add bright blonde highlights last year, and my hair never quite returned to its normal shade.”

Azure smiled, remembering the way his hair had gleamed in the sun when she had first stepped off the plane.

He groaned. “I guess that doesn’t make you feel any better about this, huh?”

Azure giggled and shook her head. Roseaux shooed Mat out of the way and picked up a wide paintbrush. Azure closed her eyes as he painted her hair with the dye. She couldn’t make herself look until almost an hour later when it was finally washed off. She stared at herself in shock, trying to absorb the changes. It was just a subtle difference in shade, but accented her eyes even more and brightened her complexion. “I like it.” She resisted the urge to feel her hair to make sure it was still hers, never having expected to look so beautiful in her life. It must be a trick of the light.

Roseaux chuckled. “I knew you would.” Then his expression grew serious once more. “There are lines under your eyes,” he admonished, clicking his tongue. “Right now they are barely visible, but they won’t stay that way. You must always use sunscreen, and I will leave a cream for you to apply at night.”

“Um, okay.” She wasn’t even eighteen yet, and she already had to worry about wrinkles?

He waved over his assistants. They discussed make-up and coloring.

Azure’s attention wavered and her gaze wandered. She saw Mathias looking at her intently and smiled at him. Roseaux told her not to move her face and she straightened her small smile, concentrating on not laughing.

They went to work and Azure felt like they were applying cement to her face. After thirty minutes of poking, prodding and stretching, including an eyebrow plucking, Roseaux and the assistants stood back. “Magnifique.” He clapped his hands.

Azure was turned to the mirror and allowed to see the changes. Personally, she thought the eye makeup was a little heavy, but it did make her eyes darker and more seductive. Her lips were a luscious pink shade that made them appear lush and full. Her cheekbones had been further accentuated, making Azure look a bit gaunt, but the others seemed satisfied.

“Now to clothes.” Roseaux rummaged through the racks. “You are a size six, no?” Azure nodded and he pulled items from one of the rolling racks. “Try these.” He thrust them at her.

Azure stood there awkwardly as they all watched her. She sent a pleading look to Mathias, and he chuckled.

“I think she wants to do that in private,” said Mathias. “There’s a bathroom just a few feet down that hall.”

Azure escaped into the plush bathroom and shed the shorts and shirt, pulling on the clothes Roseaux had given her. There was a pair of gold lame, low-rise capri pants, and a complicated looking halter top. Azure wasn’t able to negotiate the ties, so she returned to the sitting room.

One of the assistants tied the six bows across the back and looped the bow around her neck that essentially held the thing on.

“No, you must take off the bra!” He sighed. “Go with her, Kalice.”

Kalice accompanied her back to the bathroom, tying the bows once more after she had removed her bra.

When they emerged together, Roseaux nodded. “Now, put on those shoes,” he said, and someone thrust a pair of gold and black platform shoes at her.

Azure stepped into the hesitantly, reeling at the height.

“Walk.”

Azure inched forward, swaying. Twice she stumbled, and the last time, her ankle twisted sideways.

Mathias caught her as she fell, and for a brief minute, she was pressed against him. “Are you hurt?”

She nodded. “My ankle.”

He helped her to the chair he had been sitting in and removed the shoe. She winced as his fingers lightly probed the injury.

“Do you need a doctor?” he asked.

Azure shook her head. “I’m sure it’ll be fine.”

Roseaux had industriously stripped several outfits from the racks while Mathias tended to her. “You will keep these, cherie, and wear them. They will be beautiful on you. You will also practice with the makeup. I will also send over more clothes and shoes.” He turned to Mathias. “I will send one of my assistants the night of her first appearance so she will be fabulous.”

Mathias shook his hand and Roseaux kissed Azure’s hand. “You are a very beautiful young lady. I wish you much success.” With a wave, the assistants came bustling after him. Within minutes, four men in coveralls were in the sitting room, removing all the evidence of Roseaux’s presence, except for one lonely rack of clothing and a huge organizer full of makeup.

“How’s your ankle?” asked Mathias.

“Much better.” Azure stood up gingerly. She felt a small twinge of pain, but it had improved. With a grimace, she said, “I’ll definitely be able to keep my appointment with Dori.”

Mathias laughed. “Do you need help with anything?”

Biting her lip, Azure asked, “Would it be possible for me to have lunch outside? I feel like I’ve been cooped up in here for hours.”

He grinned. “I’ll see to it. Do you need me to help you get out to the patio?”

Azure shook her head and he went into the kitchen. She slowly made her way out to the patio, carrying the deathtraps in her hands and remaining barefoot. Azure took a seat at the glass-topped patio table and looked around. Someone was swimming in the pool, and Azure squinted to identify them. Dante rose from the water, as if to oblige her, and Azure forgot to breathe for a moment.

He was put together very nicely, indeed. He had muscle tone without being a muscle-bound freak, with long legs, a flat stomach, and tight buns. Black hair dusted his body, and the hair on his head was slicked back by the water. He dried off with a white towel and looked up suddenly, as if feeling her eyes on him. Azure looked away, trying to fight down a blush.

He sauntered over to the table and sat down. “I see Roseaux has been here,” he said, eyeing the new Azure. “He did a great job,” he added, his voice dropping just a bit.

Azure forced a bright smile, trying to ignore her fiery cheeks. “He’s the expert.”

Dante nodded. “But you provided the canvas, Azure. All he did was apply the paint.”

She looked up at that comment, meeting Dante’s green eyes, and her face got even hotter. There was something in his eyes that turned her legs to mush and made her stomach churn.

Mathias joined them, carrying a tray, and the moment was lost. “Hey, do you want to join us for lunch?” He seemed oblivious to the tension in the air.

Dante rose. “No. I have other plans.” He looked once more at Azure and strolled into the house.

She tried to control her ragged breathing and focused her attention on the food, forcing herself to eat. She was just imagining things. There was no way Dante Starr would ever look at her the way she thought he had looked at her.

Mathias proved to be a skilled conversationalist, putting Azure at ease. She was able to talk to him, much to her surprise. She hadn’t been very good at talking to boys or men, even Chase, so she was surprised to find herself comfortably conversing with Mathias. Their lunch lasted almost ninety minutes.

“Dori’s going to be here in ten minutes,” he said, looking at his watch.

Azure groaned and rose from the table. Her ankle hardly bothered her at all now, and she was even able to put on the shoes. Mathias held onto her arm as they went into the studio. “I think I can get used to these things.” Azure waved at her feet. “It’s just going to take awhile.”

He grimaced. “I hope you can. You should see the other shoes Roseaux left for you. Some are even higher, but there aren’t any that are shorter.”

She groaned and sat on a stool, looking glum.

Mathias laughed at her expression and took a seat beside her. “It’s not that bad.”

“Easy for you to say. You don’t have to…” Azure trailed off as Dori arrived.

“Leave us, Mathias. You coddle the girl too much.” Her expression left no doubt that she would not coddle Azure.

***

The next week passed quickly, as she endured more voice lessons with Dori, another meeting with the band, and made her way through a list of a million tiny details that Mathias wanted to address before Jada’s departure and her official joining of the band.

The stress was killing her, and Mathias found her dipping her feet in the pool and looking sad late Thursday afternoon. “What’s wrong?” he asked, sitting beside her.

“I just want to scream,” she burst out. “Every day has been crazy, and I haven’t had time to breathe, Mat. There’s always someone telling me what to do or how to do it, or criticizing how I’m currently doing it. It’s making me nuts.”

Mathias touched her hand. “I wish I could say it’ll get less hectic, but it won’t. The closer we get to your debut, the more frantic everyone will be.”

“I know.” She sighed. “I’m grateful for this opportunity, but I didn’t realize how hard it was going to be.”

“There’s a lot of hard work involved,” he admitted. “That’s why I manage instead of play in the band. At least I don’t have to worry about my appearance and image. Not much, anyway.” Mathias looked at her with a grin. “Want to escape for tonight, at least?”

“Sure—as long as Jada isn’t there,” she said without thinking. A blush swept across her cheeks as she realized she had made her dislike of Jada known.

Mathias didn’t say anything to that as he got to his feet. “No one knows who you’re yet, and very few people would recognize me. Want to go play tourist? I’ll take you to dinner, and we’ll look around a bit.”

Azure nodded and rose from the edge of the pool as well. “That sounds wonderful.”

“Great. Meet me downstairs in an hour.”

Azure hurried up to her room and into the shower. After bathing, she styled her hair and fiddled with the make-up. She had grown more accomplished with applying it, but didn’t put on the heavy mask that Roseaux had applied. She added just a hint of shadow, blush, and lipstick, feeling much more comfortable when she could still see herself underneath the cosmetics.

She went into the bedroom and stood in front of the closet, trying to decide what to wear. She finally took out a bright yellow, sleeveless, tunic dress with a keyhole neckline. The hem of the dress was decorated with orange tiger lilies, and it was one of the few “costumes” that Azure actually liked. Keeping in mind that they would be walking a lot, she wore a pair of flat sandals, disdaining the orange vinyl platforms that were supposed to pair with it.

She met Mathias downstairs and he was dressed in gray slacks and a white silk shirt that hugged his well-toned arms.

“You look wonderful,” he said, eyeing her from head to toe. “Are you ready?”

Azure nodded, tucking her arm through his.

***

After their outing, Mathias left Azure at the door of her suite and made his way to his wing of the house. He was pulling off his shirt when there was a knock at his door. “Come in,” he said after clearing his throat, thinking for one crazy moment it might be Azure.

Dante walked into his room, taking a seat on the bed. “So, you took Azure out tonight?”

Feeling defensive for some reason, Mathias struggled to keep his voice even. “She was getting pretty stressed over everything she’s been through this past week.”

“Are you interested in her?” asked Dante abruptly. His expression was bland, but his eyes gleamed with curiosity.

An automatic denial sprang to Mathias’s lips. “Of course not, Dante. She isn’t even eighteen yet.”

“She will be soon enough.” he pointed out wryly. “How will you feel then?”

Shrugging, Mat turned away from his brother so he wouldn’t see his eyes. “She needs a friend right now.”

“Just friends, huh?” Dante raised an eyebrow. “That’s good.”

“Why?” Mathias made himself ask.

Dante gave him a strange smile. “No reason,” he said, leaving as quickly as he had arrived.

Mathias stared after him, wondering what their exchange had really been about. Was Dante interested in Azure? He shifted, wondering why his stomach clenched at the thought.