Not that I’d ever done that. Running and mammoth boobs were as compatible as anchovies and ice cream.
I inhaled all the lovely aromas and willed my mind and body to relax.
Behind my eyes, I saw Luca and Pierre and Roman.
I saw glorious muscles and tight butts. And stunning eyes that could ignite delicious sparks that pulsed through me like dancing butterflies.
The shrill pitch of a bell rang through the halls, and I bolted upright, casting a wave of water over the side.
Shit!
I’d fallen asleep.
Chapter Twenty-One
After launching from the tub, I dried off, scanning the shadows for the weirdo and redressing as quickly as I could. Time was against me. If I was going to join Roman for dinner, I needed to find a costume and get dressed bloody quickly.
I went in search of Nina. I’d need her help to find a costume malleable enough to contour to my curves.
She was in the kitchen, where I expected her to be. I made a beeline for her, greeting the other three kitchen staff as I went.
“Hey, Nina. Can you help me find a costume please?”
“Of course.” She turned to Rudolf. “Daisy needs my help.” She said it as if we were rescuing tourists from the moat. “I won’t be long.” The chef nodded and carried on chopping onions without lifting his eyes.
As Nina led me along one of the narrow passages toward the costume room, my mind slammed between that strange guy downstairs and how the hell I was going to get dressed and ready for dinner in ten minutes flat.
Nina unlocked the door and led me into the costume room. Clothing racks lined all four walls, and two more racks were positioned in the middle. She went straight to the left-hand side and plucked out a red satin dress.
“This one is perfect for you.” Nina had been dressing tourists in these clothes for as long as I’d been coming here. And our group was just one of the fifteen Vacation Dreamz tours that came to this castle every month.
“Thank you.” I held the satin bodice to my body. If my breasts fit into this, it would be a miracle. Then again, this month had been a melting pot of miracles.
Time was against me, so I’d just have to trust Nina’s judgment. With the abundant fabric curled over my arm, I headed toward the door. But just before I stepped out, I stopped and turned to her. “Can I ask a favor?”
“Sure, anything for you.”
“Do you have any makeup I could borrow?”
Her eyes lit up. “Of course, dear. Come to my room.”
I followed her along a series of ancient stone-lined corridors that many Austrian royals and nobility had graced. If only these halls could talk.
“Let me do your makeup for you.”
“Huh?”
Nina looked at me expectantly. “I can do your makeup for you. Many moons ago, I was a makeup artist for a traveling circus.”
“Oh, ummm.” Great. My life was already a bit of a circus. Last thing I needed was to look like I’d escaped from one.
Nina glanced at me over her shoulder. “Come on, it’ll be fun.” Her beaming grin was that of giddy excitement.
“Okay. Sure.” I hoped I wouldn’t regret that decision.
Her bedroom was at the end of the covered parapet walk in the corner tower. She unlocked the door, and we entered her hexagonal-shaped room. Its three small windows offered a differing view over the surrounding landscape.
“Sit,” she commanded, pulling a chair out from a vintage vanity dressing table that I estimated to be at least three hundred years old.