Page 35 of First Impressions of You

A cold dread starts at the base of my spine. I do my best to shake it off. I know if I get nervous, I’ll start to sweat and make it that much more difficult.

This dress doesn’t fit me. It won’t close.

“Just leave it,” I say, stepping forward to put some distance between our bodies. The proximity to Winter has my brain in a fog.

For the first time, he does as I say without fighting me. It almost feels worse. The idea he might be pitying me making the situation infinitely worse.

“I don’t get it,” he says, and I turn to face him, a quizzical look on my face. What doesn’t he get? That the dress is too small for me? That I wish he hadn’t been a witness to it? “Why would they make the costumes before getting our measurements?” he asks in a casual tone. “It feels like a waste of time, if you ask me.”

“I didn’t.”

He pretends I didn’t say anything.

“They had to change so much of some of mine that they might as well have started it all over again.”

I pretend he didn’t say anything.

“It’s okay,” I tell Adriana for the millionth time.

It isn’t the first time this has happened to me, and I’m sure it won’t be the last.

“They didn’t give us any directions other than to get the costumes made. Every princess so far…” She shakes her head in shame. “I shouldn’t have assumed. I’m so sorry, Luiza.”

I do appreciate her for taking accountability. For understanding that by assuming characters are thin by standard, she is perpetuating the problem.

“It’s really okay,” I tell her with the most genuine smile I can muster. I’m dying inside, but hell will freeze over before I let Winter notice that. “You’re fixing the dress, and it’ll look great, I’m sure.”

“It will,” she promises me. “You’ll be the most gorgeous princess this park has ever seen.” She turns to Winter. “Don’t you think so?”

My traitorous heart skitters inside my chest.

Without missing a beat, Winter’s eyes find mine and he says, “I know so.”

Is he joking right now? Teasing me? He must be.

Right?

Then why do his eyes look like he’s never been more serious in his life? Why are they looking at me so intently, like they’re trying to trap me inside their scorching darkness?

“Oh,” Adriana coos. “You two will look so good on stage together. I can’t wait for this show to start.”

“That’s true. And your outfits will be amazing. You’ll see. Good thing Winter’s costumes fit him like a glove. We can spend more time working on Luiza’s and making sure hers are perfect too,” Bella comments.

I look at Winter, but he’s looking down, averting my eyes. He lied to me. Back behind the folding screen, he said his outfits were totally altered too.

I hate that he did that. I hate how condescending this feels like.

But there’s a part of me that knows he did it so I wouldn’t feel bad, and this part, however small it is, feels inclined to be grateful. What no part of me understands is why he would do that.

Chapter 09

It’s the day before our first rehearsal, and Adriana has already fixed my dress. She wouldn’t let me leave before promising she’d prioritize it, even though I assured her I was fine waiting for the next fitting.

She called me yesterday asking if I could come in today to try it on again. She also told me she had my other outfits ready for the first fitting.

When I got to wardrobe, I found Adriana and Bella chatting excitedly, waiting for me. It’s clear that the two women share a special bond; they work perfectly in sync, Bella always foreseeing Adriana’s needs a second before she voices them.

“You arrived at the perfect time,” Adri calls when I open the door slowly, my knocking going unanswered again. “We were just going to get a piece of cake. Do you want some?”

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