Page 25 of Inviting Trouble
Mad quickly filled her in.
Charlotte chuckled and gave Mad a high five. “Slick.”
“That sounded like a yes to glamming you up,” Hailey said with a grin.
Mad laughed. “Okay, yes, have your girly way with me. And if this doesn’t work, I’m done with PMS. It’s making me damn irritable.”
“You have PMS?” Charlotte asked. “Stay away from salty foods.” She was a health nut thanks to her job as a personal trainer.
“I meant Parker Michael Shaw,” Mad said.
The women burst out laughing. She did too. She’d nearly forgotten how fun his initials were.
“I just know this is going to work!” Hailey exclaimed. “We just have to open his eyes and make him see you in a different way.” She gave Mad a serious look. “And you have got to stop snarling at him. I don’t care how frustrated you are. All that snarling just reminds him you used to be a mouthy twerp. We want elegant, sophisticated, cultured.”
“I think you want a different girl,” Mad muttered.
“Channel Elizabeth Bennet,” Hailey counseled. “Park already has the dark and broody Mr. Darcy down pat.” That was their most recent read for book club, a classic for the holidays,Pride and Prejudice. Mad had to admit that Mr. Darcy was doing more for her than she thought a guy from a hundred years ago could. So broody and romantic.
Mad squirmed a little, part excited, part nervous. But at least that little spark of hope was back.
Chapter Seven
“Get that thing the hell away from me!” Mad barked as Hailey’s metal contraption nearly blinded her. “You said make my eyes pop, not make my eyes pop out!” She knocked the evil thing from Hailey’s hand.
Hailey let out a huge sigh. “I told you not to move. You have beautiful eyes. The lash curler will just accentuate them.” She retrieved the evil thing.
Mad leaned back. “Sure, he’ll notice I’m missing an eye.”
Hailey tsked. “Don’t be such a baby. Geez. We have a lot more to do and it would help if you cooperated.” They were in a large two-bedroom suite at the resort, getting ready for the wedding.
“There’s more?” Mad asked, incredulous. She’d already spent an ungodly amount of time getting her hair styled and blown dry. Okay, she had to admit the hairdresser Claire hired worked miracles. There wasn’t much you could do with her hair that wasn’t quite short and wasn’t quite long. But she now sported some cute waves that fell in soft layers. Even her dyed red hair went from shocker to subdued. Maybe she should go natural, back to brunette. Nah. She’d do that once she had to for a job interview or something. She liked bright colors. Maybe next she’d try blue. Or gray.
“Which slutty dress do you like better?” Ally asked, looking way too excited about the two dresses she held up. They were Hailey’s dresses, who’d brought at least a dozen with her. One was pink with a plunging neckline and a slit up one leg. It was cool with the slit and all, but pink made her gag. The other dress was black, sleeveless, and short. No-brainer.
She stood and held the black dress up to her, making sure it went high enough to cover her tattoo. She wasn’t embarrassed about having a tattoo, she just wasn’t ready for Park to see it. Not until things were different between them. After her heart was no longer swinging in the wind, all exposed and vulnerable.
“Perfect!” Hailey exclaimed. “It fits me like a glove. Can’t wait to see you in it.” She turned to Ally. “Can you get the black lace shawl?”
Mad’s brows scrunched together. “What’s the point in covering up a slutty dress?”
“Guys need to imagine it coming off,” Hailey explained. “It’s much sexier to cover up. It’ll keep slipping off your shoulder and he’ll be dying to peel it off.”
That sounded backward. Guys didn’t look at covered-up centerfolds. Whatever. Wearing a towel hadn’t worked. A frosted glass shower wall hadn’t worked. Maybe Hailey was right. The centerfoldswerehidden in several pages of bogus articles.
Hailey pushed Mad into the chair in front of the vanity table. “Stay still and look up. I’m going in with mascara. We’re skipping the lash curler.”
“Fine,” Mad said, secretly happy that Hailey took over.
When she’d finished, Mad looked in the mirror. Her eyes did look bigger and a deeper shade of brown.
She met Hailey’s blue eyes in the mirror. “What do I do once he sees me all made-over?” she asked in a soft voice. She didn’t want all the women to chime in. She was embarrassed enough that she even had to ask.
Hailey leaned down, her head right next to Mad’s, and smiled at her in the mirror. “Easy. You dance with him.”
Mad bit back a groan. “I don’t know how to dance. And we don’t have time for lessons. Augh. This is never going to work.”
Hailey straightened. “Anyone can slow dance. Just put your arms around his neck. He’ll do the rest.”
