Page 5 of Perfect (mis)Match

PIPER

Darcy tipped my face up. “Stop moving, or I’m going to get shadow all over your cheeks.”

I froze and swallowed the rest of my rant—for now. My roommate, bestie, and side hustle partner Darcy had been letting me go on and on about the parking garage fiasco with the devil named Mr. Forde while she did my make-up, but she wasn’t willing to let me sabotage her artistry. I was okay at make-up, but Darcy was a hobby make-up freak with a great eye. I needed her help for the night, seeing as I was slipping out of my usual jeans and into a cocktail dress.

She stepped back and lifted her glasses to squint at me. “I like it. Tell me what you think.”

“You mean I can finally look in the mirror now?” I joked.

“I’ll allow it. But just for a minute; you still need your fake lashes.”

I swiveled to check out her handiwork and gasped. “Damn, you’re good!”

“Please,” she scoffed. “I had a perfect canvas.”

“No, I’m serious, maybe you missed your calling?” I leaned in closer to look at the cat-eye liner.

Darcy paused with the tube of lash glue in her hand. “Are you saying youdon’twant me involved with Strapped?”

I laughed at her and poked her side. Just the mention of the start-up we were trying to build together made me smile. It was going to be amazing, once we finally got the funding in place. “Please. The only way there’s a future with Strapped is if you’re right there with me. I mean, you think I can handle accounting?” The concept—that was all me. And I could handle the creative side. But balancing the books? God, no. I was more than happy to leave that to people who actually knew what they were doing.

She waved the glue-prepped lashes through the air. “Ugh, you think I like it? Just because I’m currently an office manager doesn’t mean Ienjoyall that stuff. Director of marketing? Now we’re talking. Accounting is the first thing I’m handing off if we get funding.”

“Whenwe get funding. Mercedes is going to love us, just you wait.”

Mercedes Horan was the perfect angel investor to bring our idea to life. Darcy was the one who’d pointed out that we were an all-woman business, and Mercedeslovedwomen-centric businesses. She had the cash, we had the dream, and now all we needed was a way to meet and pitch her.

“I swear to you, the pedicure idea will work,” Darcy said as she pressed the lashes to my lid. “I know for a fact that Mercedes is a regular at Pedi-Pearls.”

I wanted to laugh at her, but I needed to keep still. “I’m sorry, but I’m not cornering the woman at the salon when she’s getting her claws done.”

“That’s a mistake, but what do I know?” Darcy stepped back to admire her handiwork. “Perfect! Now go put your dress on, and I’ll do your lipstick.”

I leaned closer to examine my face. “Wow, you did it again. Spiffed me right up.”

“You’re welcome. Now go get changed, Cinderella.”

I slipped on the black one-shoulder dress and strappy stilettoes, swiveling to check the front and back views in the mirror. I spent my life in comfortable clothing so I could always get the shot, but every now and then it was nice to feel like a girl again.

Who was I kidding? In this dress and make-up, I wasn’t just a girl, I was a certified vamp. But just for the night.

“Ta-da,” I walked into Darcy’s room and did a spin.

“Dayum, I think you’ve reached supermodel status. Who are we impressing tonight?”

I sighed. “The usual suspects. It’s Paul’s engagement party, so it’s family and friends from both sides.”

“Prentiss?”

I rolled my eyes at the mention of my mom’s husband. I refused to call him my stepfather because he didn’t deserve any sort of paternal recognition. How Paul had turned out as such a nice guy with a father like that was a mystery for the ages.

“Of course, the father of the groom will be in attendance. Can’t wait for him to corner me to brag about how he beat the golf pro the last time they played together.”

When my mom and Prentiss first got together back when I was in high school, I thought maybe we could all be a family. Paul, to give him credit, tried—but he was older than me and was already off in college, so our chances to get to know each other had been few and far between. As for his father…I’d hoped we’d be able to build a connection through golf. He loved the game, and I’d been playing since I was five, so I assumed we’d bond on the course. What actually happened was him trying to mansplain every hole and then winding up mad as hell when I’d crush his score. My impeccable game was just one of the many things the man came to hate about me.

“Ignore him. Try to find a cute guy to flirt with and enjoy the night. Just make sure he’s nothing like Matthew.”

I shuddered at the mention of my ex. “No thank you. I’m not in a flirting frame of mind.”

---