Page 61 of Free to Believe
“Yes, Em,” she says meekly.
I soften my smile remembering how long it took Cori to realize just how beautiful she is. “You know, the most important person who has to believe in you is right in this room.”
Confused, she looks around. “Jenna?”
I turn Lynne so she faces the full-length mirror in the living room. Seeing her transformation for the first time, she gapes at her own image. “No, you.”
While the girls are occupied, I slip into the bedroom and close the door. Sliding my shirt off my shoulders, I slip the backless black silk vest over my shoulder. Cinching it closed with the pink belt, I smile slowly. Well, this is certainly one of my more intriguing designs.
The front is demure. A spread collar leads to a thin slit open all the way down the front until the material overlaps. Held tightly by the belt, the skirt falls about four and a half inches past indecent. But it’s the sides and back that make this little black dress a showstopper.
Where the front completely covers me, the back is only held together by a strip of silk across my shoulders. As a result, the sides of the dress are nonexistent. Bending down, I quickly strap on my almost four-inch pencil-thin pink heels. As I straighten, I catch sight of my amaryllis tattoo on full display. So—I frown—is my panty line. Reaching my thumbs beneath the skirt, I slide the thin wisp of silk off and toss it into my hamper. Turning once again, I nod.
Almost ready.
Using the elastic on the corsage, I pull my hair over one shoulder and lay the calla lilies flat. With a couple of quick flicks of my wrist, the sloppy side ponytail helps to tame my curls. Putting in the sparkling diamonds my family bought me after my first dress was published inBridesmagazine, I give myself a final once-over.
I’ll do.
Opening the door to my room, I take one step out before the whistles start. Dani stands up in a violet strapless dress I made for her earlier in the year. Doing a walk-around, she mutters, “You’re going to start a riot in that dress.”
I shrug. “I have no one to answer to but myself, Dani. It’s just a dress.”
“It’s a declaration of war.”
“Fashion always is. Haven’t we both learned that by now?
* * *
Just as we’reabout to walk out, we realize we can’t all fit into one car to get to Cru. Dani calls Brendan to say even if we take their Lexus, we still need two cars. Lynne generously offers to stay behind and ride with me, but I encourage her to ride along with her best friend. The Lexus will seat five comfortably. Waving the girls off, I close the door behind them and lean against it with a small sigh.
Now, not only do I have a few minutes’ peace before I have to see Jake at the restaurant, this way I can call my family on the way there.
Right before I head out, I snap a few photos of my outfit, which I send to our family chat, and check Mugsy’s food and water. I frown. He hasn’t eaten much today. Squatting down next to where he’s been sleeping, I feel his nose. It’s cool and moist. “Maybe you just have an upset tummy, my love?” I reach over and scratch his tummy. He rolls over to his back and kicks his back legs in the air. “Oh, you love that, don’t you, baby?” I croon. “How about tomorrow, we spend the whole day doing this?”
His lick to my hand is my answer.Yes, please. I laugh as I stand. “Be a good boy. I’ll be home later.”
I navigate the stairs in my stilettos carefully. Once I’m safely inside the Rover and on the main road, I call out, “Call-Holly-Cell,” knowing my youngest sister is most likely to have her phone in her hands during a family dinner.
The phone barely gets through one ring when I hear, “Hello there, sexy. How can we help you this evening?” Holly’s smooth voice comes through the phone.
I grin. “I take it you got the pictures.”
“Got them? Phil still wants to know what you’re wearing on top of that. Since I tried to explain that was the dress, he’s been screeching that Caleb and Keene had better get someone up to Nantucket ASAP to guard your body.” Holly pauses. “Needless to say, Keene’s laughing for once over Phil’s antics. I’ll send you the pictures later.”
“Please, Hols. Oh my God.” I’m grinning so hard, my face is beginning to hurt. There’s an ongoing battle between Phil and Keene that has lasted for years. Keene’s staid, overprotective personality clashes with our often mouthy, fly-by-the-seat-of-his-pants brother. Normally, Phil manages to one-up him, but this time it seems Keene is holding all the cards.
And Phil obviously doesn’t like it.
“It just isn’t big brother’s week, is it?” I muse.
“You mean between Ali emasculating him at work and now Keene trampling down on his fun here at the farm? Nope. He just can’t catch a break.” Holly’s voice is full of humor. “It’s beenfabulous.”
We both crack up. “I don’t have much time before someone steals the phone away, but I just want to say something important.” Holly’s voice turns serious.
Uh-oh. “What’s that?” I ask cautiously.
“In all the pictures you’ve sent, it’s been great to see the light come back in your eyes. It’s good to haveyouback, Em.” In the middle of what she’s saying, which grabs my heart and twists it, Phil takes her phone.
