Page 26 of Sweet Retribution

“Not yet.”

“You get dressed. I’ll find shoes for you.”

I obey, slipping into the dress, sans a bra. I study my back first. A faint tan line criss-crosses my back, and I cringed when I see where the opening of the dress lies. I have enough curve in my booty to prevent the dress from gaping and giving the fellow art goers a show of my pale backside.

I turn and check out my front. My boobs aren’t overly huge and I’m still young so they have a little lift to them. The discreet built-in shelf helps prop me up a little too. The material is loose and dips into my cleavage revealing just enough to tease but not so much where it’s indecent. Save that for my backside. I crane my neck and twist around checking out my butt again. I can see the lines of my thong at my hip. Do I dare take that off as well?

“Oh my,” Maria says, clasping a pair of silver heels to her chest. “You are simply stunning.”

“We’re going to an art gala. Is this too much?” I spin around so she can see my back.

Maria covers her mouth and giggles. “Can I please be there when Stone sees you?”

“Is it that bad?”

“Oh, sweetheart, it’s that good. I feel bad for the artist. No one is going to pay attention to their work.”

“I saw plenty of simple black dresses in there. Maybe I should stick with one of those.”

“Definitely not.” She hands me the strappy heels.

I slips them on and frown at my toes. The pedicure Elena had insisted I get for my wedding day is chipped and grown out.

“Come.” Maria waves me to the bathroom where she orders me to sit at the vanity.

She takes off the heels and d proceeds to remove the chipped pedicure, then applies a coat of a pale pink polish we find in the cabinet.

“I’ll book a pedicure for you tomorrow. In the meantime. This will do.” She turns the hair dryer on cool and dries my toes. “Not perfect, but it will do.”

She slips on my shoes and buckles them around my ankles for me. I stand and take a few wobbly steps before gaining my composure. The heels probably aren’t obscenely high for someone like Sebastiana, but for me, they’re pointy stilts I have to balance on.

“Jewelry?” Maria asks.

I’m not comfortable wearing the pieces in the box on the dresser. The clothes and shoes are already a stretch. “I think the clean look is best.” I stroke my bare neck.

“What about your wedding ring?”

I haven’t worn it since our meeting at Lorenzo’s when we were pretending to be the happy power couple. It’s a piece for show only. Since tonight is for show, I take it out of the box and slip it on my left hand.

“You need a purse.” Maria scurries into the closet and comes back with a small silver clutch.

“I don’t have anything to put in it.” I have no phone, no set of keys, and I don’t wear much makeup.

“Hm.” Maria goes into the bathroom and comes out with lip gloss. “For when he kisses it off.”

“Oh... I...”

She puts it in the clutch and waves her finger around wanting me to spin for her.

“Beautiful.”

“Until I turn back into a pumpkin at midnight.”

“The carriage may turn back, but you’ll stay a princess forever. Go have fun. I don’t want to see you or Stone in my kitchen at the crack of dawn.” She giggles as she leaves my room.

I still have five minutes before I need to be downstairs. Early or fashionably late? I decide on the latter and pick up the forgotten champagne Maria had left for me. I carry the flute to the balcony and sip while taking in the view.

Blue-green ocean as far as the eye can see. The view from my room is stunning, and I bet the view from Stone’s is even more breathtaking. His room is down the hall from mine, nestled at the end of the wing.

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