Chapter 47: Chapter Forty-Seven

Stepping out of the bathroom as I dab my hair dry with a towel, I notice a large garment bag, lying on the bed with several boxes of varying sizes beside it. The man doesn’t waste any time, that’s for sure. I walk over to open the garment bag when I hear a light knock on the door.

I tighten my robe closed and turn to face the door, “Come in.”

Julian enters, his face a mixture of hope and tentativeness, “There are some people here to see you.”

“See me?” I inquire, suddenly feeling my hands become clammy.

He opens the door wide as two very gorgeous women step inside, both dressed in matching white, figure-hugging coats – the kind you’d see someone wearing at the cosmetics or perfume department – black leggings and their braids up in buns with black headbands around their heads that say ‘Be You Salon’ in glittering pink cursive. They both look like they’ve been drinking from the fountain of youth with their gorgeous-looking almond skin, meanwhile, I’m standing here in a robe feeling and looking like a frump.

“This is Monique and Nakeisha, they’re going to do your hair and make-up for tonight,” Julian announces.

I stare at him, reminding myself to blink, “Julian…”

“You deserve a little pampering.” He steps over to me and places his hands on my shoulders, leaning down until I can feel his breath against my ear. My breathing hitches and I can feel my heart breaking into a sprint. “They can make sure no one sees the marks on your face,” he whispers gently, his thumbs moving rhythmically against my shoulders, putting my whole body at ease.

I look up at him, his eyes meeting mine, and all I can see is his concern for my comfort. I force myself to squash down my pride and accept his generous gift. It would be nice to feel like the old me again, even if it’s only for a night. So if they have some magic potion or spackle that can do that, then I will graciously let them do their thing.

“Thank you, Julian,” I say graciously.

He smiles warmly and leans down placing a tender kiss on my cheek that makes heat flood my cheeks. While my brain turns to mush, I am vaguely aware of him saying something to the women before stepping out and shutting the door behind him.

“Hi, I’m Monique and this is Nakeisha,” says the first woman, gesturing between them.

“Hey girl!” greets Nakeisha enthusiastically.

“I’m Nalani, it’s very nice to meet you both,” I smile at them.

Monique walks over and gently cups my chin, examining my face with deep concern and sympathy, “I don’t want to overstep, but if you’re in a bad situation and you need us to call someone for you…” she says quietly.

My eyes widen as I instantly realise what she’s saying. “No! Dios no! Julian’s been taking care of me. He’s been letting me stay here because I don’t feel safe in my home anymore since someone broke in.”

“You poor thing,” says Nakeisha sympathetically, grabbing one of the armchairs and moving it to the centre of the room. “Once upon a time people used to live their lives with the doors unlocked and open wide and now us women gotta invest in twenty deadbolts, a barricade and a baseball bat and we still don’t feel safe,” she tuts.

“Mhmm, I know that” Monique agrees, “But don’t you worry baby, we will have you looking better than new.” She guides me to the chair and sits me down, “Tell me how you usually do your make-up, because I would hate to mess with this gorgeous skin,” she gushes, making me feel flattered and relaxed.

“I honestly don’t do much. I’ve never been one to wear a lot of makeup. For special occasions, sure, but mostly I’ll just do mascara and lip gloss.”

“Of course, you do. Would you slap paint on the Mona Lisa?” Nakeisha asks like it’s obvious, making me chuckle.

“If you can just make sure no one sees the marks and that I match whatever outfit is hiding inside that bag,” I say, gesturing over to the garment bag, “Then I’ll be more than happy.”

The women glance at each other and walk over to the bed. I hear the sound of the zip on the garment bag and look back as Nakeisha pulls out a beautiful low-cut, V-neck halter dress with soft, neon, vertical pink and yellow strips pulled in at the waist. As she fans out the material I can tell the chiffon is a little on the sheer side, but when it bundles together you can’t really tell. I can see just a hint of white under the chiffon that I’m guessing helps to make sure my ass isn’t on display, so that’s a relief. It looks like a neon sunset. Bright, cheerful and definitely the perfect shades for my skin tone.

“Girl, this is stunning! Your man definitely knows how to pick a dress. Oh! Voluminous beach waves would look perfect for this!” she exclaims, having a eureka moment.

“I love beach waves,” I say happily.

Nakeisha lays the dress down, comes back over and starts examining my hair. “If I styled it so your hair falls to one side, it would help hide what you want to hide and let people focus on how beautiful you are,” she says kindly.

“I love that idea!”

“I can definitely do a soft glam look that would go perfectly with this dress,” adds Monique.

“I trust you both completely,” I smile at them.

Feeling more excited than I have felt in weeks, I let them get to work and as I do, I realise how right Julian was. I really did need this. I’ve never been pampered like this before, and I never realised how relaxing it can be. Both women work methodically and gently, making me feel relaxed and at ease with them as they tell me stories that put a smile on my face. Slowly I feel my old self returning and I can’t describe how incredible it feels.

I slip into a pair of patent leather, baby pink, six-inch, closed-toe high heels and buckle the straps around my ankles. I get up and walk over to the mirror. I take a shaky breath and feel tears coming to my eyes as I stare at my reflection. I look beautiful…

I have no right to ask, but I really need to encourage Julian to tip those women because what they just did is nothing short of a miracle. Monique has practically erased all signs of my injuries, filled my eyebrows, extended my lashes and painted my lids in a soft, shimmering pink that only gets a little darker around the edges and accentuated it with winged eyeliner. I’ve never done a winged eye before, but damn! Somehow they’ve made the natural chocolate colour of my eyes look darker and more sultry. My lips have been lined and painted a nudeish pink and topped with gloss. It’s soft glam just like she promised. Nakeisha executed my hair to perfection. Bouncing beach waves hang over my right shoulder and cover just enough of my face to hide anything makeup couldn’t. I feel beautiful, strong and like I can conquer anything.

To complete the look, Julian also included a pair of thick, yellow, beaded hoop earrings and an adorable cross-body purse that looks and feels like jelly with a beautiful pink-to-yellow gradient. If he ever wanted to quit acting, he would make a terrific stylist because this is the second time he’s dressed me and both times he has nailed it. The man is good.

Feeling on top of the world I grab the purse off the bed, sling it over my shoulder and make my way downstairs. As I carefully descend the stairs, doing my best not to faceplant, I see Julian sitting on the sofa, scrolling through his phone. Just seeing him sitting there, looking like perfection makes my mouth begin to water. He’s wearing a perfectly fitted beige suit with a white button-down shirt, opened just enough to give me a glimpse of the tops of his pecs. He’s wearing tanned leather Brogues that remind me of caramel, especially the way they look a little extra caramelised at the toes. Once again his clothes cling to him like a second skin, accentuating his every muscle with every move he makes to the point I can’t stop my mind from remembering what it felt like to lay in his arms.

As I step into the living area, Julian puts his phone in his inside breast pocket and looks up at me. His sapphire eyes grow as big as saucers, and I can’t hold back my smile seeing the way his mouth pops open.

“What do you think?” I ask joyfully.

He slowly rises to his feet, adjusting his jacket as his eyes rake over me as if I were some long-lost piece of artwork that he has been blessed to see. It makes my cheeks heat up and the hair raise on my arms. His Adam’s apple bobs in his throat as he gulps while quickly making adjustments to his hair – not that he needs it.

“You look positively radiant…” he murmurs in awe.

I give him a coquettish smile as I model the dress, “This is all so stunning. I can’t thank you enough for doing all this for me.”

He walks over, coming to stand in front of me; eyes looking down into mine and full of unmistakeable longing. He reaches up as if to touch my cheek, but quickly closes his hand and lowers it back to his side.

“To see you smiling like this and looking happier than I’ve seen you in weeks…I would spend every last dime If it meant seeing you like this,” he breathes out. Now I’m the one gulping.

“Julian…”

He lifts his hand, pulling back his sleeve and glancing at another expensive-looking watch. Brown leather straps with golden edges around the face. It looks sophisticated and like something that would take me a lifetime to replace if it broke.

“We should get going or we’ll miss our reservation.”

I nod, “That’s fine. I’m all ready to go.”

He holds out his elbow, offering me his arm and with an acrobatic circus performing in my stomach, I wrap my arm around his. He guides me to the elevator, taking us down where his limo is parked out the front, patiently waiting for us. He’s quick to wave off his driver, Edward, and instead, opens the back door and holds it open for me.

“After you,” he says, ushering me inside.

With a gracious smile, I slide into the limo and get settled in. Julian quickly joins me but makes sure to keep space between us. My heart sinks at that, which only makes me want to slap myself. He’s respecting my wishes. I’m the one who said we would never be anything again and he made it clear this wasn’t a date. Yet that stupid, no good part of my brain wishes it were. I feel happy and safe when I’m with Julian. Part of me wishes we could go back to how things were before everything went to hell. Maybe I was too rash in not giving him a second chance. We’d barely been dating that long; things were so new for us both…but there’s never an excuse for cheating. I can’t ever forget what he did but I’m starting to think…maybe there is room in my heart for forgiveness.

I look down, suddenly feeling Julian’s hand on my knee.

“Is everything okay?” he questions, pulling me from my reverie.

I look up and see the concern filling his deep blue eyes and immediately push the thoughts out of my mind.

“Just thinking about how much I appreciate you doing all of this for me.”

He relaxes with a smile, squeezes my knee and sits back, “It’s the least I can do.”

“So, where are we going?”

“A nice little rooftop bar not far from here. It’s not extravagant, so I think you’ll like it,” he says confidently.

“Do you think I hate extravagant things?” I quiz.

“No. I just know it makes you uneasy being around all that stuff, and I respect that. Tonight is about getting you back out in the world and making you feel comfortable again. The last thing I’m going to do is take you somewhere you’d feel self-conscious.”

Compelled by some inexplicable force, I lean over, gently kiss his cheek, and then sit back. Julian’s head whips to mine as he touches his cheek, looking utterly shell-shocked. Usually, I’m the one making that face, so this is quite a nice change.

“What was that for?” he stammers.

“For taking care of me and being so considerate. You’ve been there for me when I’ve really needed it and regardless of our history, it means the world to me,” I say sincerely.

His face softens, “I wish I could make all the hurt you’ve gone through go away,” he utters sombrely. I know he’s not just talking about my stalker.