Page 21 of The Fall of Sin (The Sins of Saint 2)

“The strong, confident woman who deserves to be at his side. You need to be who he needs you to be, and I swear you will never meet a man who would take better care of you. But first,” she stood and straightened her blouse, “first, you need to take care of him. The rest will follow.”

It was one of those moments when your mind just shut down due to complete information overload. I was trying to wrap my head around what Elena had just said, tried to make sense of it. Basically, she was telling me to do whatever Saint expected of me, to be the perfect trophy-wife who was a mere accessory that complimented his image when it came to the public eye. But by being what Saint needed me to be meant there was a chance he’d end up being what I needed him to be.

I heard Elena’s heels click across the floor, and from the corner of my eye, I saw her hovering in front of my closet. But I was too busy rummaging through my thoughts trying to wrap my head around what Elena had just said.

“This will do.”

I looked up, and Elena stood in front of me holding a bright red dress, and I frowned. “Why am I about to wear a dress?”

“Because you are going to join Saint for dinner out on the deck,” she held the dress out to me, “and my best friend, Alexander McQueen, is invited too.” Her coy smile and beaming brown eyes told me she had something up her sleeve—something that included Saint, me, and a red off-the-shoulder dress.

I straightened and eyed her suspiciously as I took the dress from her. “What are you up to, Elena?”

She shrugged. “I have a knack to give a push when a slight nudge is needed.”

“Uh-huh, sure looks like it.” I sneered and stepped in the bathroom, leaving the door slightly open. “Have you thought about the fact that by playing Cupid you might be pushing me into the deep end with the sharks?”

“Oh, I can assure you, I’m not. The cards have never been wrong.”

I peeked around the edge of the door. “What cards?”

Elena twirled to face me, the sun shining through the cabin window beaming off the white knee-length dress she wore. “Tarot cards.”

“You read tarot cards?”

She nodded, lips pressed together.

I hastily slipped on the dress, shimmying the fabric over my hips, and stepped out. “And you believe in all that?”

“Oh, Mila, that color is exquisite against your complexion.”

I glanced at my reflection in the mirror, the red cotton and silk-blend chiffon fabric falling leisurely around my curves, the hem teasing against the skin just above my ankles. Elena walked up behind me and gently took my curls in her hand, lifting to expose my neck.

“I think you’ll be wearing your hair up tonight. The off-shoulder neckline and scalloped ruffles are screaming to be the center of attention.” She winked lovingly and straightened one elbow-length sleeve’s bow at the end. “When I saw this dress, I knew it had to be kept for a special occasion.”

I glanced over my shoulder at her. “What’s the special occasion?”

She smiled. “That is yet to be discovered.”

“You like speaking in riddles, don’t you?”

“Not riddles. But some things are better left to be discovered when the time is right, rather than exposed prematurely.”

I turned as Elena took her seat on the couch again. “Do you really think it can predict the future?”

“The cards?”

“Yeah.”

She clasped her hands together in front of her. “It’s not about predicting the future. It’s about seeing past, present, and future elements that in the end can determine the destination of the path you are currently on. Have you ever had a reading?”

“No.” I turned back and stared at my reflection as I started toying with my hair, pulling the curls up into a messy bun. “I’ve always read about it, saw it in movies, but never had any experience with card readings. I guess I’ve been too scared to see what the future has in store for me.”

Elena got up and opened a crystal box on the cabinet, pulling out some bobby pins, and swept the rogue curls up, tidying the bun I was half-way done with. “It’s good to tread on the side of caution when one is not ready to hear the truth.”

Our eyes met in the mirror, and I swallowed. “Will you…will you do a reading for me?”

Elena looked away and busied herself with my hair. “Perhaps, when the time is right.”

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