Page 56 of For Butter or Worse
Nina’s hands shook, a tremor just noticeable enough that she stared at her right hand as she reached for another mini-Butterfinger.
“Sophie,” Jasmine said toward the phone. “Please tell your sister to quit eating chocolate while I’m trying to put on her eyeliner.”
“I’m about to hit that sweet spot of sugar overload where I start seeing double.” Nina blinked rapidly, not by choice, which caused Jasmine to huff in irritation.
“Ijustgot the eyeliner on, can you chill?” Jasmine exhaled sharply.
“Ni, are your hands shaking yet?” Her sister’s stern voice came through the speakerphone.
“Maybe.” They weren’t even on FaceTime. Her sister knew her too well.
“You and I both know once you go past that point, there’s no turning back. Remember eighth-grade Halloween? We had to dunk your head in the bobbing-for-apples bin to stop the room from spinning.”
Truthfully, she barely remembered the event because she was on such a sugar high she’d nearly blacked out. Drugstore candy, Leo would be amused to find out, was irresistible to her. It wasfinallyHalloween night—the holiday for which she’d been waiting all year—and stress eating was kind of herthing.So why not do it with the bowl of candy meant to be left out for trick-or-treaters?
On top of being worried about her business, her reputation and the livelihood of her employees, she was also at a loss for what to do about Leo. She liked him. Like...likeliked him. She didn’t know what he thought of her, or if he thought of her as anything more than someone to make out with, but what had become clear was that she had feelings for him. Confusing, messy, eat-an-entire-bowl-of-candy kind of feelings. But she would never tell him how she felt. In fact, she had to be better about reminding herself that he was human garbage, normally.
“Fine.” She put the candy back into the bowl and whispered, “I’ll see you later” to it.
“My next appointment just got here, and you better not stuff a Butterfinger in your bra for the road.” Sophie hung up before Nina could say goodbye.
“Will you finally let me do my magic?”
Nina nodded in response. Jasmine lifted Nina’s chin and continued to work on her face.
Tonight, Nina could use the confidence that a little added glam could provide. Jasmine and Sophie didn’t know anything about her last date, where she’d met his family and ended the night with an extra helping of dessert, so to speak.
She couldn’t tell Sophie this, because her sister’s romantic goggles would fog up and then explode on her face. Jasmine was still under the impression that Nina despised Leo, so having to explain that she had not only met his mother, but had also left his house wanting more from him would be too complicated.
And besides, Nina didn’t know what the hell was going on, either. Which was exactly why she’d stopped their kiss. Her business was her top priority, so where did having a make-out buddy fit into that?
“Your eyelashes are like spider legs.”
Nina could almost see cartoon hearts exploding out of Jasmine’s eyes.
“I think that’s a compliment, but you know it sounded weird, right?” She was itchy to see what was happening. Jasmine had been brushing and blotting and dabbing makeup onto her for the last forty-five minutes. All the while, Nina hadn’t been allowed to peek.
“What I’m trying to tell you is that your face is a work of art.”
“Hopefully not abstract.”
Jasmine waved her off, then grabbed her shoulders and spun her around to face the mirror in her bathroom.
Nina’s first instinct was to let her mouth hang open in shock.What the hell?
“What is that look?” The hearts in Jasmine’s eyes disappeared. “Don’t tell me you hate it.”
Nina’s lids glittered with a creamy, blush-colored powder, her cheekbones were sharpened with highlighter and her lips were coated in a strawberry-pink glaze. She was as tempting as an éclair—soft and delicious. “If I tell you how much I love it you might quit cooking, and I can’t have that.”
“You love it!” Jasmine squealed and clapped her hands together. She gently pushed Nina’s chin to the side so she could admire her work. “Leo’s gonna drop dead from how hot you look.”
“I don’t need him dead, necessarily,” Nina said. She needed him alive to at least see the magic Jas had worked on her. Nina wasn’t insecure, but she still wanted a little validation in the form of makeup and hair.
“Mmm-hmm” was all Jasmine said in response. But when her eyes locked with Nina’s, a curious expression crossed her face.
She could’ve easily told Jasmine then about how one thing had led to another and they’d ended up making out. But she still didn’t know what she and Leo were. And she didn’t want to tell Jasmine, for fear that her best friend would commit her to an institution for suddenly finding the man who’d derailed her career attractive.
“So...” Nina was desperate to turn the spotlight onto someone else, that someone being Jasmine. “Are you catering the gala?”
