Page 27 of Mama Si's Paradise

“My name is actually Autumn. My nickname’s Fall,” I muttered. “I saw you guys yesterday by the pool.”

The girls looked at one another for a moment, like they were exchanging some secret message.

“Yes, we saw you, too,” said the blonde with the green mask. “You’re pretty. I like your hair.”

“Thank you, I?—”

“So, you’re here to stay,” she cut me off.

“She’shere,isn’t she?” asked Melahni, rolling her eyes slowly. She looked absolutely flawless with the purple dress and mask she had on. It gave even more color to her eyes.

“Oh, she’s staying,” said the brunette with the Rapunzel hair, grinning ear to ear. “She’s definitely staying. You should come hang out at the pool tomorrow.”

“Yes, we want to hear all about you,” said the blonde, but the way her voice was pitched high I was willing to bet anything that shedidn’t.

“We’ll be friends,” said Eva, batting her lashes at me. “We like fresh blood.”

“We likeeveryone,” said Melahni. It was painfully obvious that she wasmakingherself say those words, and it beat me why.

“I’ll do my best,” I ended up saying because the way they were looking at me said they were expecting an actual answer.

“Who designed your dress?” asked the blonde.

“Oh, uh…” I looked down at the dress on my body, having forgotten just how gorgeous—andsparkly—it was. “No idea. Mama Si brought it to me.”

Again, they exchanged a quick look. “I like it,” she said. “Can I wear it next time?”

“Oh—of course. Yes, sure.” It was just a dress. She could keep it for all I cared.

And that changed the way the girls were smiling at me within a second.

“Good. I’m Amber. Nice to meet you, Fall.”

“You, too,” I muttered, caught a bit off guard, and very confused still.

“I’m Mia,” said the brunette with the long hair. “And that’s Coco.” She nodded at the other standing next to her.

“You’ve already met us,” Eva told me, and other than Melahni, who refused to smile yet, they all seemed…friendly enough just now.

Huh.

Why—because I’d told Amber I’d give her the dress to wear? A dress I didn’t even buy myself?

It made no sense whatsoever, but I wasn’t about to complain.

“Eva and Melahni, yes,” I said with a nod. “It’s nice to meet all of you. You’re all so beautiful.”Sobeautiful that I’d wanted tobe like themdesperately enough to come to this place dressed in a sparkly dress and with a mask on my face.

“Aw!” they all said at the same time.

“She’s cute,” the brunette named Coco decided, and the others seemed to agree.

“How did you end up here, Fall? I didn’t know we were looking for more dolls,” said Amber, her brown eyes scrolling down the length of me, and not in a bad way.

“We weren’t,” said Melahni. “So, how did you manage to get in?”

“I, uh…” I cleared my throat. “Well, I actually came to apply for a job in housekeeping. Mama Si happened to pass by, and she saw me and then she, um…she offered me a different job.”

Theirjob, whatever it was. I’d be these very girls, lounging by the pool, so beautiful and peaceful I couldn’t have saidnoif I’d tried. They representedeasy. They representedfree.They represented everything I’d never dared to let myself even imagine.

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