Page 1 of Finding Redemption

ChapterOne

Brooke

It was notmy aspiration to become a Disney-themed princess.That totally happened by accident.

Kinda.

I blamed it on my hair.It had a tendency to cause me trouble—that, and I ran my mouth a lot.But I was definitely blaming the princess BS on my hair.

As I’d left a catering job one night, my boss, Sandra, had stopped me and asked if I’d ever done any cosplaying for children’s parties.I’d stood there for a few moments, trying to get a read on the woman.After working for her for two months, I hadn’t gotten any weird vibes from her, but was that how sex traffickers snatched young girls these days—by sending in an older woman who appeared safe and getting the victim’s guard down.

I, more than anyone, should have understood that.

But I’d been intrigued.

And a little short on cash.

Turned out, my boss’s daughter was a huge Rapunzel fan and wanted her favorite princess to come to her eighth birthday party.Sandra offered me three hundred dollars, pizza, and cake.There was a gleam in her eyes, though, a desperation I saw and understood.

“Five hundred.Throw in some wings and the prime second slice of cake—the birthday person should always get first dibs—and it’s a deal.”

“Done!”

Sandra’s quick acceptance made me wonder if I could have haggled for a grand, but I was getting birthday cake, so I wasn’t going to be sad over the negotiation results.Her daughter’s birthday was a success, and I found other moms asking me to come to their little girl’s parties.

That was six months ago, and I’d worked at least one birthday party a weekend ever since.I’d learned to market myself a little better, even though my clients were all word of mouth.But now, I had more of a business plan.

My packages included the option of arriving early to braid the birthday girl’s hair, tea party add-ons, arts and crafts, and princess-themed games.Getting the full princess treatment took at least four hours, and I charged a thousand dollars plus expenses.

And the bonus, I always got the second slice of cake.That was nonnegotiable.

During the week, I still worked for Sandra, who catered events for the rich and famous.But every Saturday, I was a princess.I wasn’t living paycheck to paycheck, thanks to the new gig, but when my roommate offered to cover my half of the rent for the next three months if I did her a favor and covered her friend’s daughter’s birthday party, I couldn’t turn it down.

I was working on adding the usual flowers and charms to my hair in the living room when Sariah walked in dressed like Jasmine.I blinked up at her a few times, my mouth hanging open as I drooled a bit over the sight of the beautiful woman standing before me in a sky-blue bedlah top that pushed up her amazing boobs, leaving her flat belly bare.Her matching salwar pants had a V-shaped waistline.She even wore the golden shoes and the jeweled headband, although she had left her thick, rich dark-brown hair in its natural curls.

“Wow,” I gasped, dazed at the sight of my roommate.

Sariah and I had been roommates for the past nine months, but I didn’t know much about her personal life.I’d lucked out finding a nice apartment in a decent part of town.Sariah could have been a model, with her flawless caramel skin, perfect body, long legs, and all that gorgeous hair.

It was her eyes that had sucked me in, though.They were honey brown, more often than not full of sadness that broke my heart every time I looked into them for too long.

She wasn’t a model, though.At least, not that I was aware.She was a waitress at one of the city’s most popular restaurants, and from what I could tell, she made bank off her tips.It was the kind of place where the prices for appetizers were what most families spent on a week’s worth of groceries.Not that I’d ever been inside.Or even walked past the place.But I’d heard one of Sandra’s clients talk about the restaurant at an event.The food was to die for, but the prices were not for those even in the upper-middle class.

“Riah, if you were going to dress up, why waste money on me?”I scoffed.“I could have worked at another party, and you could have saved yourself three months of my portion of the rent.”

“Everyone is dressing up as their favorite princess,” she said with a grimace, adjusting her top.“And Bella deserves a real princess at her party.”

My mouth snapped shut at the compliment, an unwelcome sting of tears tickling my nose.Clearing my throat, I turned my gaze back to my reflection in the portable vanity I’d set up in the living room so I had more room to work on my hair.

“Tell me more about the birthday girl so I can make this her best birthday ever.”

Sariah sat beside me and adjusted one of my charms.“Bella is six going on sixteen,” she said with a smile as she threaded a daisy through my braid.“She’s beautiful and amazing and so damn sassy.”

Grabbing her phone, she clicked something then turned the screen to show me.A little girl with a mischievous smile stared back at me.She had a deep dimple in her left cheek, and her little button nose was scrunched up.Her skin was a few shades lighter than Sariah’s, but she had the same wild, gorgeous, curly hair.

Before I could stop myself, I traced my finger over her dimple.There was something in those laughing brown eyes that sucked me in.I wanted to know what had made her smile like that.

Shaking the thought away, I returned to getting my hair right for the party.“Who is her favorite princess?”

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