Sleeping with Beauty (17 page)

Lucy let out a watery snort. “I don’t know if I’ve fully embraced my inner princess, but I’m trying.”

“Let me have a look at you,” Vivian said, then turned her this way and that so she could see all sides. When she turned Lucy back to face her, her expression was more serious than Lucy had ever seen it, except perhaps that very first day, which now seemed like a lifetime ago.

“You’re lovely. But I want you to tell me one thing. I want to make sure you know you have this power with or without all the trappings and accessorizing.”

“I wish I could say I’m as confident of that as you are. I have definitely learned a great deal about myself. And I’m vain enough to admit that sprucing up the exterior has helped me really begin to believe in all the interior restoration work we’ve done.” Her cheeky grin faded a bit. “But I can tell you that you were right about chipping off the layers and getting down to solid wood. It’s a whole lot more than just a hairdo and eyebrows with a graceful arch. I wouldn’t have pushed myself like this if it hadn’t been for you. Hell, if it hadn’t been for you, I wouldn’t have stayed.”

“And what a loss for both of us.”

Lucy’s eyes stung again. “All that time you spent with me.” She took a shaky breath. “I know you don’t normally do that, and I know I can never repay you, but—”

Vivian gave her a surprising little shake. “You go to your reunion and prove to yourself that what you’ve learned here is real. That you’re one hot mama and they’re lucky you found time in what will soon be your very busy social schedule to squeeze them in.”

“Yeah, I’ll do that,” Lucy said dryly between sniffles.

Vivian’s infamous knowing smile curved her red-painted lips. “Darling, you doubt me. But your life will change. Whether you keep up with the highlights or not. Although I think they really do bring out your eyes.”

“I was thinking the same thing,” she blurted excitedly before she could stop herself.

Vivian’s grin widened. “We both know it’s what is on the inside that matters.” Her grin widened. “But you know, it never hurts to keep the chassis in mint condition.” She did a graceful turn, then shot Lucy a wink. “I should know, darling. I’m considered a collectible.”

Lucy laughed. “I’m really going to miss you.”

“Why? Am I going somewhere?”

“Tomorrow is my last day.”

“At Glass Slipper. But don’t think you can get rid of me that easily. I’ve invested a great deal of time in you. You don’t think I’m just going to abandon all my hard work and leave an amateur in charge.”

It was pure Vivian sass. And Lucy loved it. “Well, though I should be telling you that I’ve taken up enough of your time, the rookie in me would greatly appreciate the follow-up support.”

Vivian surprised her by tipping up even higher on her tippy toes and planting a kiss on Lucy’s cheek. Well, jaw. “Just try and stop me,” she said, wiping off the lipstick smear with the side of her thumb. “I might just have to get a date to this reunion myself,” she teased.

“And make it that much harder to get Jason’s attention? I don’t think I’m up to that level of competition yet.”

Vivian hooted. “I knew I picked a winner.” She grinned. “Such a sharp little smart-ass you are.”

“Thank you,” Lucy said sincerely. “I think that’s the nicest thing you’ve said about me.”

Margo popped her head in just then. “Carol is ready for you.”

Lucy nodded, then turned back to Vivian, but before she could find the words, Vivian merely squeezed her arms and nudged her toward the door.

V
ivian watched Lucy walk out the door, wondering if she even realized how differently she carried herself now. She didn’t hunch her shoulders to downplay her height. Her strides were longer now, more assured. There was a swing in her hips. And a more confident smile on her happy face.

“And I’d kill for those damn legs of hers,” Vivian murmured under her breath. “Arturo wouldn’t stand a chance.”

Aurora tapped on the door and stuck her head in. “Vivi? You ready? It’s almost time for us to leave. You know how terrible traffic is getting around the Kennedy Center. The curtain goes up in an hour.”

Vivian allowed her gaze to linger a moment longer on the empty doorway Lucy had passed through. She remembered the day she’d gotten her first job as an assistant dresser. Her new boss, Dessora Claudette, had taken one look at Vivian’s eclectic, pieced-together ensemble of a print velveteen skirt, magenta bustier jacket, with a man’s striped satin tie tucked beneath, the ends trailing from the bustier hemline, and had hired her on the spot. “You think you have vision, do you, Vivian?” she’d demanded in her accented, three-packs-a-day voice.

Vivian had nodded, then straightened her shoulders and announced that yes, she thought she did. Always had.

She’d never forgotten Dessora’s wicked smile. “Good. Because you’re mine now. And together we’re going to knock those Hollywood bitches on their collective fanny-tucked asses. This town won’t know what hit it until it’s too late.”

Vivian smiled, thinking of Lucy and the impact she was about to make on her own life and that of everyone who crossed her path.
Go out there and knock them on their collective asses, Lucy Harper.

Chapter
12
                                                                                                                                       

A
re you sure you didn’t mind my coming along?” Jana looked out at the Glass Slipper mansion as it came into view. “I mean, I wouldn’t have, except I got a message saying she wanted us both here and . . . Wow. What a place, huh?”

“Yeah,” Grady said on a small sigh. “‘What a place,’ indeed.” He hadn’t minded the company. In fact, he’d been relieved when Jana had called this morning and asked to tag along. He’d been dreading this day since he’d dropped Lucy off two weeks earlier.

It had been two of the longest weeks of his life. The funding for his latest project was stalled while State and the Department of Defense argued about God-only-knew-what this time. He’d been expecting—counting on—being ass-deep in nanotechnology and defense applications for liquid memory. Instead, he’d had more free time on his hands than he’d had since taking this job.

Plenty of free time. To think. About Lucy. About what she was doing to herself. About why she was doing it.

About fucking Jason Prescott.

Sure, intellectually he knew that Jason was peripheral to this venture Lucy had undertaken. He was merely a symbol. But there was no law saying Grady couldn’t hate the symbol.

“Check that trio out,” Jana was saying as he coasted around the circular drive toward the stone walkway leading to the house.

“Ah,” Grady said, as he watched the three diversely coiffed older ladies emerge through the stained-glass doors and pause on the porch at the top of the stairs. “Those would be Lucy’s fairy godmothers.”

Jana half stifled a snorted giggle. “Honestly? You said they were an interesting bunch, but wow, how different are they from one another? Hard to really picture them as makeover mavens.”

“True. But they have a hell of a track record.” When Jana shot him a considering look, he haltingly added, “Business section of the
Post,
you should read it sometime.”

She continued her considering gaze for a moment longer. “Yeah. Right. Because I don’t follow the news enough as it is.”

“Whether or not the Capitals have a hope in hell of making the Stanley Cup play-offs this season—or any season, really—is not news.”

Jana clutched her heart. “Blasphemer!” Then, when he grinned, she stuck her tongue out at him before turning back to the house. “Well, well, well. Maybe you know something I don’t.” She pointed. “That one didn’t turn out too badly.”

A tall woman with straight blonde hair emerged from the house and paused next to the godmothers. Even without the tottering high heels, she towered over two of them, and had an inch or two easy on the third.

Grady watched the young woman because, well, he was male. Her legs went on forever, the fitted pin-striped blazer, short suit skirt, and downright hormone-inciting come-fuck-me spikes merely enhancing nature’s gift. But if this was the result, he was all for enhancement.

She hugged the redheaded godmother the longest. Vivian dePalma, Grady recalled. Then, after another bit of chatting, turned toward the stairs.

“Good thing Lucy doesn’t have to watch supermodel there,” Jana said dryly. “She’d be in rehab before even leaving the joint.”

Grady only half listened to Jana. His heart had come to a complete stop and was presently lodged in his throat. It was a battle with the sick knot in his gut as to which might kill him first.

“She . . . ah, damn,” was all Grady managed.

“I can’t imagine why someone who looks like that thought she had to come here,” Jana said. “I mean, I know models can be vain and all, but how bad could she have looked befo—oh, my God.”

All Grady could do was nod dumbly. The testosterone side of him wanted to thump his chest and howl. His heart, on the other hand, wanted to splinter into a thousand tiny pieces.

“That can’t really be—” Jana broke off yet again, shaking her head wordlessly as the “supermodel” descended the porch stairs, her slender, elegant hand resting lightly on the railing.

“Lucy,” Grady groaned. Dear God. What had they done with his Lucy? And yet he couldn’t have dragged his gaze away from her under penalty of torture.

He’d have thought himself incapable of any movement, but when Jana started to open the car door, his hand flashed out and locked onto her arm. “Not yet.”

Jana shot him a surprised look, but even she couldn’t keep her eyes off the miracle presently walking toward them. “Why? My God! Look at her. I’m—it’s—she’s . . . I just can’t believe it,” she ended on a hushed note of awe.

“Yeah” was all he could mumble. “Me, either.”

Jana seemed to snap out of it then. Or so the sudden fist thwack she delivered to his chest would seem to indicate.

“Ow! What was that for?”

Jana turned on him. “You better not ruin this for her,” she said hurriedly as Lucy drew closer.

“What? What makes you think I’m not happy for her?”

Jana merely rolled her eyes. “Please. I didn’t say anything last week down on The Mall because your puppy-dog eyes beseeched me not to.”

Grady’s chest tightened even further. Oh, for Christ’s sake, she wasn’t going to do this now of all times, was she? “Jana, please.” He heard the begging note in his voice and didn’t give a damn how pathetic he sounded.

“Don’t worry. I haven’t said anything in all the years I’ve known you two, have I? I love you both, you know that. I know this is probably eating you up inside, just like I know it doesn’t have to if you’d just stand up for yourself and—”

“Jana,” he said, warning her.

She waved a hand. “God, of all the millions of ways I’d planned to talk to you about this, this was definitely not the place or time I’d have chosen. But it’s situation critical, dammit. You’re going to have to suck it up and realize that if you’re never going to stake a claim, then you sure as hell can’t keep her from figuring out how to go out and stake one of her own. She’s been unhappily alone long enough. If this is what she needs to believe in herself, well then, you’d damn well better—”

A tentative knock on the window had them both jumping around in their seats. Lucy waved at them, a big smile creasing her new face.

Only Grady noticed the nerves pinching the skin around her eyes. The eyes were still the same. His Lucy was still in there somewhere.

Rather than lower his window, he opened his door to get out. Jana was right, Lucy clearly was worried about introducing them to the new her. And since that was the role he’d cast himself into, it wasn’t fair to hold the final destruction of everything he’d held dear against her.

Only, when he swung his door open, it caught her off guard. She took a quick step back, then teetered dangerously on her heels.

Jana had climbed out of the other side, but she couldn’t clear the front of the car fast enough. Grady shrugged out of his seat belt and scooted out just in time to grab her arms and yank her forward before she went down.

The momentum shift bucked her forward so hard she plastered him back against his car . . . and herself all over him. From knee to chest they were perfectly aligned.

Lucy laughed self-consciously. “Miss Congeniality in the flesh,” she quipped, though there was still a hint of nervousness in her expression. She struggled to get her balance, making Grady clench his teeth . . . and several other parts of his anatomy, in an effort not to react in a way even Lucy couldn’t possibly mistake.

“Sandra Bullock’s got nothing on you,” he said, hoping the raspy edge to his voice was mistaken for having the wind temporarily knocked out of him.

More like his common sense. He should be helping her straighten away from him, and he did have his hands on her elbows, with the intent to do exactly that. But his gaze was momentarily all caught up in hers, and for a second longer, he couldn’t do anything but stare.

“What have you done to yourself, Luce?” he murmured.

Her eyes widened a bit, and a tiny telltale blush bloomed on her expertly made-up cheeks. “You hate it, right?”

“I don’t know what I think.”

Jana was there, then, tugging her away. “I do,” she said, shooting Grady a sideways glare. “God, turn around so I can see all of you.”

Lucy did a little twist turn, only wobbling for a moment, then held her arms out to the side. “Can you believe it?”

Jana shook her head. “My little Lucy, all grown-up,” she said, her accompanying sniff only half teasing. She stepped closer and peered intently at Lucy’s face. “Nice makeup job. And your brows. Fantastic arch.” She brushed her fingers over them. “Are they stenciled on or what?”

Laughing self-consciously, Lucy batted Jana’s hand away. “No, they’re all mine, but with a little pencil.” She grabbed Jana’s arms and leaned in. “The real shocker is I put on my makeup myself today. Brows and all. And I only look partly like Frankenstein’s bride.”

Jana’s teasing smile faded. “Honey, you look amazing.” She brushed a hand over Lucy’s newly straightened and streaked hair. “My best bud is a hottie. Good thing I’m already taken or I’d be jealous as hell.”

Lucy snorted. “Yeah, I’ll be lucky if I make it home in this getup. I was out here practicing those front-porch stairs for an hour this morning so I wouldn’t humiliate myself in front of you guys.”

“Aww,” Jana said, hugging her.

Grady stayed back, watching the reunion, saying nothing. It wasn’t that he couldn’t contribute, or had nothing nice to say. He just couldn’t seem to pull his head out of his ass long enough to stifle the stupid sense of betrayal he felt. Stupid because he knew it was totally unfair to Lucy. But there it was.

Beyond the hugging twosome, he spied the godmother trio approaching, along with several Glass Slipper employees toting the suitcase Lucy had arrived with and several garment bags and shoe boxes she definitely hadn’t.

Vivian reached them first. “Isn’t she marvelous?”

Her smile was wide and sincere, but Grady didn’t miss the intent look in her eye, warning them to tread carefully. So, Grady thought, Lucy had managed to find herself another rescuer. He supposed he should be thankful her White Knight was female this time. Even if she did look more the dragon than the knight.

“Yes, she is,” Jana gushed, her eyes glassy now, as she stood back and looked at Lucy again.

“I owe it all to Vivian,” Lucy explained. “I was ready to walk on day two, but she stopped me.”

Now Grady had a real reason to dislike Dragon Lady.

“She kind of took me under her wing.”

Dragons had wings.

“And really forced me to dig deeper than I thought I had it in me to dig.” She smiled at Vivian, then stepped over, with more grace than she might realize she had, bent down and hugged the much-shorter woman. “I know I’ve thanked you a zillion times, but—” She broke off, sniffed, then, horrified, dabbed her finger under her eyes. “I’m going to ruin my masterpiece here.”

Vivian laughed and whipped out a tissue, dabbing her clear. “Now, now, you know I’m only a phone call away.”

“Thank you,” she sniffled. She looked over her shoulder and realized her gear had been packed safely in the trunk, then glanced back at Vivian. “Here goes nothing.”

“Knock ’em dead,” Vivian told her, then looked at Grady and Jana. “And if she chickens out at the last minute, I expect you both will see to it that she follows through, or contact me and I will. She’s worked quite hard and she deserves to ace her final exam.” She looked to Lucy. “I’ll expect a full dishy, gossipy report the morning after.” She winked. “Or the afternoon after, as the case may be.”

Grady watched the byplay between the two women. Out of the three, he would never have picked Vivian as a role model for Lucy. The soft and maternal-looking Aurora was more the kind of person he’d presumed she’d gravitate toward. But then, what he was witnessing was so far afield of what he’d dared to imagine, why bother second-guessing any of it at this point?

Vivian fussed over Lucy for another couple of minutes. Jana even got pulled into their little hen circle. Traitor. It took considerable willpower on his part to stay put, appearing to lean casually on his car, as if he had all the time in the world, when there was absolutely nothing casual about the way Lucy was making him feel at the moment.

He couldn’t even begin to sort out the myriad emotions whirling around inside of him. Only one stood out, and that was the undeniable and quite cavemanlike urge to stuff Lucy in the car and take her far, far away from here. Not because she was so hot now that his libido had gone into overdrive. Well, not that parts of him weren’t threatening an all-out mutiny. But the predominant thought was to get her away from Glass Slipper and Wicked Witch Vivian so he could start detoxing her. He wanted his old Lucy back. Gorgeous women were a dime a dozen and usually about as interesting. Once you got past the lacquer and heels, there wasn’t much left to stimulate the mind.

Lucy was different. She was vibrant and funny, smart and compassionate, and a complete and total klutz. They could find a way to heatedly debate the stupidest of points for hours on end, or just as easily sit side by side in complete, companionable silence.