Page 142 of Safe and Sound

At the moment, I didn’t feel very glamorous. With my garment bag thrown over one arm and Piper’s overnight bag in the other, I wrangled Piper up the steps of my parents’ house. They were going to babysit. After Dare had watched Piper for me to go to the spa for my hair and makeup, he was getting ready at my house before he came to pick me up.

Dad flung open the door before we got onto the top step. “There’s my girl.”

“Pappouli!” Piper shrieked as she abandoned her suitcase to barrel forward.

After Dad swept her into his arms, he turned back to me. His eyes popped wide at the sight of my hair and makeup. “Ava Helena Caras is that you?”

I laughed. “Yeah, Dad, it’s me.”

“You’re absolutely stunning.”

“Aw, thanks,” I replied.

To my utter surprise, tears shimmered in his eyes. “You look just like your mother.”

“Mom’s a stunner for sure.”

With a slight shake of his head, he replied, “Yes, yes. Helena is a stunner.”

Unease pricked over me at the exchange. But then Mom appeared in the doorway. She glanced between Dad and me. Understanding that I didn’t possess passed over her face. “You look like a queen, sweetheart.”

Trying to lighten the mood, I teased, “I’ll start going to the spa more often if it means getting compliments like this.”

With a flick of her wrist, Mom ushered us inside. As Dad and Piper disappeared into the living room, Mom followed me up the stairs. After slipping inside my childhood bedroom, I deposited the garment bag on the bed before heading into the bathroom to put down my cosmetic bag.

When I came back out, Mom was unzipping the garment bag. At the sight of the sparkly ocean blue material, a beaming smile lit up her face. “Oh, Ava, it’s gorgeous.”

“You don’t think it’s too much? Dare’s sister-in-laws insisted on taking me shopping at a high-end boutique in Boston.”

She shook her head. “You’re attending a casino opening on the arm of the owner. You need to be too much and more.”

I laughed. “If you say so.”

As she eyed the neckline, she asked, “Did Dare mention having jewelry for you?”

“Not that I know of.”

After nibbling her bottom lip, she then snapped her fingers. “I have just the thing.”

“Are you sure? I was thinking I didn’t need anything with all the beading.”

“You need this.”

“Okay. If you insist.”

“Be right back.”

After Mom disappeared from the bedroom, I took my dress out of the garment bag. I’d put on the necessary undergarments at the spa, which included a bustier and Spanx. Of course, once I had it on, I realized I desperately needed someone to zip it for me.

After craning my neck out of the bedroom door, I called, “Mom, can you hurry? I need you to come zip me up.”

“Coming,” she shouted back from her bedroom down the hall.

I was just about to call her again when she appeared. “Sorry. I was digging this out of the safe.”

My gaze zeroed in on the velvet box in her hands. “We have a safe?”

With a laugh, she replied, “Yes, we do.”

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