Page 362 of The Winslow Brothers

I can’t actually see her shrug, but I can imagine it. I’ve been watching Rachel Rose avidly enough, for long enough, that I can just about visualize everything she does.

“To be happy, I suppose.”

I smile. “That’s a kick-ass goal.”

“Thanks. I think so too. Nathaniel would prefer I homed in on something a little morespecific.”

“You’ll know it when you see it, feel it, experience it. You’ll know then.”

She hums softly, and I wish I could pull off the blindfold, just to get a good look at her eyes. It seems like I could read them if I could see them—like they’d spill all her secrets for her. And damn, do I want to know her secrets.

“Sometimes, I think I’d like to write like my mom did…” She pauses, and the admission feels incredibly vulnerable. Like it’s something she has a hard time admitting out loud.

“Really?”

“Yeah,” she answers quietly and rubs something across my lips. “But that’s also what my dad wants me to do, and there’s a lot of…pressure.”

I lift my shoulders and reach up to my face to still her hand for a minute, holding on to it. “So, don’t do it for him. Do it for you, and do it your way. If it’s what you really want, don’t avoid it just for the sake of avoiding him.”

“You don’t understand what he can be like.”

“You’re right, I don’t,” I agree. “But you do, and much to his chagrin, you’ve managed to maintain your independence this long. Why can’t you maintain it while you’re doing whatyouwant?”

She pulls my blindfold off then and leans in to place a gentle kiss to my lips. The taste is sweet and sugary, and for the first time since this little exercise began, I’m starting to wonder what she’s been doing to me.

“Is that…is that strawberry?” I ask, licking my top lip as she pulls away.

She shrugs, and the cutest smile pinches up the bridge of her nose and settles all the way into her eyes. She reaches to the side easily, procuring a mirror I can only deduce she got upstairs and showing me her finished project—my face. Ivory skin, rosy cheeks, and equally pink lips, I’ve been transformed using what appear to be baking supplies.

From the nose down, I look like Little Bo Peep.

“Holy shit, Rachel.” I chuckle, but I also grin like Little Bo Peep would if she found her fucking sheep.

Rachel’s clearly talented, and I’m beyond impressed. I’m also wondering what she could do with real makeup and time.Damn, what could she do with Halloween makeup for Jude’s and my yearly group costume?

“So…do you like it?” she asks, her voice high-pitched and fighting giggles at the same time.

“Rachel, Rachel, Rachel…” I shake my head and offer a quiet laugh. “I can’t believe…”

She bites her bottom lip, visibly bracing herself, waiting for me to dive into some kind of rant or something, and a thrill runs down my spine at the opportunity to surprise her.

“…how talented you are.”

She freezes, her face cutting back to serious like a tear in a roll of film. “What?”

“You’re really good at makeup.” I grab the mirror from her hand, admiring myself side to side and up and down. “I mean, look at me. I’m a total babe. And it’s sick as hell that you managed thisin five minutes. With fucking baking products. What else can you do? I’m dying to know.”

She shakes her head at me, a mystified smile crinkling the sides of her eyes. “You’re not mad?”

“About what? I look awesome.”

She barks a startled giggle. “I-I… Well, I used to do makeup tutorials online. That was one of my main platforms when I was influencing.”

I nod, admiring myself in the mirror some more. “I can see why.”

“I was going to record this to post it as a joke…for the bakery’s Instagram…” She points behind herself to her phone and the ring light I hadn’t even noticed, and then she looks back to me. “But I wasn’t expecting such good conversation while I was doing it.” She purses her lips. “I think I’ll keep it to myself.”

I’m starting to think I might keep her forever.

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