Page 24 of Mama Si's Paradise

And her eyes turned to me for just one quick glance, so blue the ocean outside was probably envious. “Who’s this?” she asked him, nodding her head to the side just slightly.

Adam shook his head at her, his smile painfully huge. “This,” he said, waving both his hands at me, “is Fall Hayes, the newest doll in the Paradise.”

I forgot to breathe as the women looked at me. It felt like I was too ordinary to be in their presence, let alone the focus of their attention.

But then… “The ball starts in two hours. Come—do me first,” said Eva, like I wasn’t worth a single comment, grabbing him by the arm, trying to pull him down the hallway, but Adam wouldn’t budge.

“He did you first the last time—it’smyturn,” said the brunette with the blue eyes, while Hannah pushed her hair behind her shoulder and folded her arms in front of her chest, pulling her beautiful robe down the sides of her neck a bit.

I saw the way the fabric slid down her smooth skin. Impossible not to notice—so that’s why I saw the small puncture marks on the side of her neck right away.Bitemarks, like someone had bitten her right there where her neck connected with her shoulder—someone with a really big mouth.

“Now, now, dolls, don’t get greedy. You know how to do your own makeup just fine,” Adam said, pushing their hands away.

The question was at the tip of my tongue—who bit you?Surely it was an animal. How?!But before I spit it out, I found Hannah’s eyes on me. She must have seen me staring at her neck because suddenly she was pulling at her robe, raising ithigher up again, and I could have sworn the color of her eyes turned slightly darker as she looked down at me. She didn’t smile, didn’t frown, didn’t say a single word, but that look said more than enough. I decided I wasn’t that curious to ask about that bite mark after all.

When the other two women started telling Adam all about the colors they would be wearing tonight, and Hannah no longer seemed interested—or aware—of my existence again, it was impossible not to be in awe of them. The way they spoke, the way they moved their hands, the way they smiled.

Once more, I wanted tobe themso badly it actually took me a bit off guard. I’d never once dreamed of fitting in or being like someone else, so what the hell was happening to me now?

“…but you do it so much better. Come on, pumpkin. Come over!” Eva was saying, but Adam wasn’t having it.

Instead, he turned to me. “I’m here for Fall.” And he smiled at me again. “I was actually hoping she’d join us tonight. Won’t you, baby girl?” He reached out and put my hair behind my ear so casually, you’d think we had known each other for years.

“I…I…” I couldn’t say it. I couldn’t sayno.“Yes,” I said instead—a complete shock to myself how easily the word slipped out. “Yes, why not? I’ll go.”

Since when? said the ugly voice in my head, and I actually had an answer. Since these girls were obviously going to the party, and now I wanted to be at the damn party, too.

I must have lost my damn mind.

“Oh, that’s good news. Very good news, baby girl.” Adam was really happy. The other girls were looking at me like they were slightly disgusted—except Hannah. She just seemed…curiousabout me now.

“Do us first. There’s time,” said the brunette, and she was no longer smiling as she looked at Adam expectantly.

“I can’t, Melahni. Go on—do your own! You glow no matter what you put on that gorgeous face,” said Adam and kissed both her cheeks.

“Why not?” Eva said with her hips in her hands, while Hannah’s attention suffocated me a little.

“Because Mama Si said so, sweet-cakes. If Fall wants to go, I’ll be working only on her,” Adam said, making Eva flinch.

Fuck.

Now they hated me, all three of them. They wanted to skin me alive.

“Go on, now. Go get ready. I’ll see you downstairs,” Adam said, completely unbothered by the murderous looks I was getting, but then he moved in front of me and took the girls out of my view, pushed me back inside the room and closed the door behind him.

“Youreallyshouldn’t have said that,” I whispered, feeling like I might throw up any second.

“Of course, I should have, baby girl,” Adam said, looking down at me like he actually felt sorry for me.

“You saw how they nowhateme, Adam!” And I’d wanted to hang out with them so badly…

“They don’t hate you, but they don’t respect you yet. Without respect, fear is the only thing that’ll keep these girls well behaved toward you—and the only person they fear is Mama Si.” He winked at me. “Now, let’s get started. Carrie’s on the way. Let me see that dress…” And he went for the closet door.

“Wait—fear? Adam, why would they fear Mama Si? What’s she gonna do—punishthem or something?” I asked, already convinced that I’d made a terrible,terriblemistake by agreeing to go to that party.

Adam didn’t answer.

“Breathe,”Adam reminded me, his hand around my elbow, his presence the only anchor to reality I had as I took in the view in front of me. “You’re doing great, baby girl. Just breathe in.”

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