Stiletto Secrets (24 page)

“Bull-twang.” Lizzy threw her arms in the air. “If a guy like Nicholas thinks that you’re the right kind of woman for him, you do not question that, Emma. You are going to that damn ball even if I have to drag you there myself.”

Emma had never seen Lizzy so determined before. But Lizzy wouldn’t understand. She was still young, filled with hopes of romantic fairy tale endings. Emma knew better. There was no such thing as a happily ever after ending, living a fairy tale life.

“Lizzy—”

“Emma,” Lizzy came closer, “you haven’t even given this thing with Nicholas a chance yet. Sure, I’m not an idiot, I know there is something you’re not telling me. But whatever it is, you owe it to yourself to at least try and figure it out with him. You’ve placed your own hopes and dreams on the backburner for far too long now.” Lizzy took her hand. “You deserve at least the chance at happiness.”

Tears prickled Emma’s eyes but she blinked them away.

“Thank you, Lizzy.”

They hugged each other and Emma felt a new appreciation for her sister. Sure Emma had left her hopes and dreams locked somewhere deep inside of her so that her sister could have a better life, but it was worth it. Seeing her sister like this, all mature and grown up, after everything she had been through, dealt with, Emma felt proud at how Lizzy had chosen to rise above it.

“I’m proud of you, Lizzy,” Emma said, and hugged her tighter.

“And I’m proud of you.” Lizzy leaned back. “But right now we need to get you ready for the ball, Cinderella.” Lizzy winked, and Emma’s stomach churned. If only Lizzy knew how appropriate that little remark was.

Just then the message tone of her phone went off. It was Nicholas.

Your fairy godmother is on her way ;-)

Emma wasn’t exactly sure what that meant.

By fairy godmother you mean…?

A few seconds later, he answered,
Beth is on her way over to your place. I can’t wait 2 c u, Emma.

What?

Nicholas…how does Beth know where I live?

Emma felt nervous all of a sudden. Knowing Nicholas he had probably known where she lived all along.

All he sent back was a smiley face.
A smiley face?

As Emma stared at her phone all confused and as nervous as hell, someone knocked on the door.

Emma looked at the door, Lizzy looked at Emma, and then Emma turned to Lizzy. “I guess Cinderella is going to the ball.”

* * * *

Emma sat across from Beth at the kitchen table. Lizzy had quickly stepped out, saying that she needed to go get something. Emma didn’t ask. She felt a little relieved since Lizzy’s excitement over it all was kind of making Emma even more nervous.

“You okay there, sweetheart?” Beth smiled warmly at her.

Emma glided her fingertip all along the rim of the cup of tea in front of her. Beth suggested some chamomile tea before all the craziness of the “epic make-over” as Lizzy put it, started.

“Beth, can I ask you something?” Emma asked softly.

“Anything.”

Emma looked up at Beth and for a moment she saw just a glimpse of her mother in Beth. The same compassionate eyes, and loving smile. So much of Beth reminded her of her mother.

“If you had a secret that had the potential to let you lose something you weren’t even sure was yours to begin with, would you rather keep it to yourself?”

Beth seemed like she was contemplating the thought before taking a sip of her tea. She placed her arms in front of her on the table. “Well, that depends I guess.”

“On what?”

“Is the secret hurting that
something
,” Beth lifted a brow, “or
someone
you risk losing while it remains a secret? Or will it only hurt once it’s out in the open?”

Emma thought about it, scrunching up her nose. Thinking about it the way Beth just put it, she guessed that it was hurting him more while her secret remained, well, a secret. According to Hunter, Nicholas was beating himself up for feeling the way he did toward Cinderella—
her.
Plus, she could see in his eyes last night that he was completely torn. He admitted being in love with someone else—
her
, Emma—yet he couldn’t get Cinderella out of his mind, which was also her.

Emma sighed. “I’d say it’s kind of hurting more now while hidden, than it will out in the open.”

Beth smiled. “I guess you have your answer then.”

Emma looked down at her cup of tea. She knew what she had to do, she just didn’t know if she had the courage to do it. Plus, there was the threat of Claire learning her secret and Emma would much rather be the one to tell Nicholas than have someone else tell him.

Beth reached across the table and placed her hand over Emma’s. “You have to trust your heart, dear. It’s easy to see that you are ruled by your heart, and it seems that so far, it hasn’t let you down.”

“Not yet,” Emma mumbled.

Beth squeezed her hand and then got up from the chair. “Come on, we have much to do before the ball.” Beth winked at her. “Wait until you see the dress I picked out for you.”

“You picked the dress?”

Beth chuckled. “Of course I did. I told Nicholas that you, young lady, will be his surprise tonight.”

And then all the craziness started.

Lizzy was back at the apartment, and both she and Beth were scurrying around while Emma took ten minutes to soak in the tub. Her nerves were all over the place. She had never experienced such an array of emotions. Excitement, panic, hope, dread, love, fear. It was all there crashing and churning in her soul, making it almost impossible for her to breathe.

She had to tell Nicholas the truth, and she had to do it tonight. Hunter was right. She didn’t know how much time she had until Claire figured it all out, so the sooner she told Nicholas her secret, the better.

Emma got out of the tub, toweled off and then made her way down the hall to her bedroom where Beth and Lizzy were waiting for her.

When she walked in, she stopped and stared at the dress Beth held in her hands. “Oh my God, Beth, it’s gorgeous.”

She stared in awe at the azure blue dress Beth was holding up. She walked closer, and traced her fingers down the delicate fabric.

“I take it you like it?” Beth asked with a glint in her eyes.

Emma gawked at the dress. “Like it? I love it.”

“Okay, okay,” Lizzy said, all excited. “Let’s get you in that dress, already.”

Within half an hour Emma was standing in front of the mirror staring at her reflection. She hardly recognized herself. The beautiful blue sweetheart neck, mermaid dress with crystal belt made her look…elegant.

“This is almost too much,” Emma said as she continued to stare at herself in the mirror.

Lizzy moved to stand next to her. “You look beautiful, sister. Tell me again that you think you’re not good or beautiful enough for Nicholas.”

Emma nudged her sister with her shoulder and they both chuckled.

“Oh,” Lizzy reached for her bag. “I brought you this.” Lizzy held out a little pouch in her hand.

“What is it?”

“Open it.” Lizzy smiled.

Emma took the pouch and slowly opened it. Inside she found a beautiful, delicate hairpin with little diamond flowers on top.

She looked at Lizzy. “Is this—”

“Yes. It was mother’s. It was the only thing I managed to take the day we left the estate.” Lizzy stared at the hairpin Emma was holding like it was the most precious thing in the world. “You should totally wear it tonight.”

“Are you sure?”

Lizzy nodded.

Emma pulled Lizzy in for a hug. “Thank you.”

It was such a sweet and tender moment that passed between sisters, and seeing her mother’s hairpin had Emma almost in tears.

“Now, now.” Beth reached for the pin in Emma’s hand, and then pulled a few curls to the side after which she fixed the pin in Emma’s hair. “None of that. We can’t have you crying off the makeup we spent almost an hour applying now, can we?”

Beth searched around the room. “Now we just need the shoes, and we’re good to go.”

Emma turned around and walked over to her closet, reaching for a white box. “I have a pair of shoes I’d like to wear, which I think would go perfect with the dress.”

Beth stilled and faced Emma as she pulled out the shoes Nicholas had given her—his mother’s shoes.

“That is marvelous,” Beth said looking elated and thrilled.

Emma slipped on the clear stiletto shoe with the diamond heart on the back of the heels.

Lizzy gasped, Beth smiled, and Emma felt beautiful.

“Are we ready to get Cinderella to the ball?” Lizzy asked excited.

“Not quite. There’s one more thing.” Beth turned around, reached inside a bag and then pulled out the most exquisite mask Emma had ever seen.

The mask was a silver-gray, with the finest, intricate pattern engraved in royal blue. It was shaped like a butterfly, almost like the one she wore the night before with Nicholas, but this one only curved around the cheek on one side, the other side shorter, only covering the cheekbone. There were so many detailed, refined patterns, beautiful curved lines decorating every inch of the mask. It was stunning.

Beth held it out to her. “It was mine back in the day. You wouldn’t guess it if you look at me today, but there was a time when masquerade balls and celebrity dinners were a part of my life as well.”

Emma noticed a sadness sweep over Beth, and she had to wonder what had happened down the road for Beth to have ended up where she did.

Feeling immensely grateful, Emma leaned down and placed a kiss on Beth’s cheek, then pulling her in for a hug. “Thank you, Beth. For everything.”

“Oh, it’s my pleasure, child. You just go out there and get your prince. The limousine is already waiting for you downstairs. Nicholas asked me to tell you that he will meet you there.”

Emma nodded.

Lizzy came up from behind and placed her chin on Emma’s shoulder. “You deserve this, sister. You deserve all the happiness in the world.” And then she squeezed tight.

“Thank you. Both of you.”

Beth sniffed, and Lizzy inhaled. It was another one of those emotional, deep moments and Emma knew if she didn’t leave now, she would never make it to the party with her eyeliner intact.

As Emma settled in to the back of the limousine, she heard a phone ringing.

“Um, excuse me,” she called out to the driver, “I think the phone is ringing back here.”

“It’s for you, Miss Tremaine. You can go ahead and answer it.”

Feeling a little off sorts, Emma stared at the phone for a few seconds before she slowly reached out and picked it up.

“Hello?”

“I suppose now I can ask you what you’re wearing without it sounding dirty?”

There was a slight flutter in her chest when she heard his voice. “Nicholas,” she breathed out into the receiver.

“Why haven’t I heard from you since last night?”

She sighed. “I’ve just…I had a few things to sort out today.” It wasn’t a lie exactly. She did have things to sort out. Emotional things. Heartbreaking things.

There was a few seconds of silence before Nicholas spoke again. “I can’t wait to see you, Emma.” She heard the longing in his voice, and it tugged on her heart so bad, she could barely breathe. “I miss you.”

Emma closed her eyes and relished the feeling of bliss upon hearing him say those words with so much…love. She let the words sweep through her soul, allowing it to take root in her heart. Just hearing his voice gave her enough hope that maybe, just maybe there was a future for them.

“I’ll see you soon, Nicholas.”

“Yeah, I’ll be the one looking dashingly handsome in a tux,” he teased and Emma smiled before she hung up.

The wheels were in motion. Emma was going to tell Nicholas that she had been Cinderella all along. And all she could do was hope that he would be able to see past it, and still care for her—for Emma.

Soon the limousine pulled through the big black gates of the South Shore Cultural Center. Emma stared out the window in awe as the limousine cruised down the long driveway showcasing beautifully manicured lawns and gardens, the spring flowers creating the most colorful display along the path.

Even though Emma had been in Chicago for years, she had never been here before, and it almost seemed magical. Especially with all the lights and lit up fountains.

The driver opened the passenger door, and Emma stepped out. She stared up at the huge, beautiful Mediterranean Revival style building. Her stomach was one giant ball of nerves and she wished she had a shot of tequila stuffed somewhere in her dress just to help her take the edge off. Tonight had the potential to be great, or to smash her hopes and dreams to smithereens. She hoped it wasn’t the latter.

Emma looked around. Couples were already making their way into the building. It was easy to notice that everyone here were VIPs—people stemming from high society circles, money and class, a society her parents had once been a part of.

Feeling incredibly overwhelmed, Emma wished that Nicholas was there with her at that moment. She had never been to an event as elegant and classy as this, and she didn’t know if she would be able to act the part.

She took a deep breath and decided to follow the crowd into the magnificent building in front of her. Hopefully she would find Nicholas soon. Somehow she knew she would feel less
obvious
if she was at Nicholas’ side.

Once she stepped into the ballroom, Emma gasped. There weren’t a lot of people yet, but there were champagne towers and candles, waiters walking around with plates of hors d’oeuvres and appetizers. A big, elegant, stunning chandelier hung right down the middle of the ceiling, and the lovely whites and beiges of the walls and tiled floors looked exquisite under the lights. Soft, slow music played in the background, and Emma stood in awe as she took everything in.

And then she felt him.

Warm tingles moved across the back of her neck and down her spine. She knew it was him. Only Nicholas had the ability to electrify her body from across a room.

When Emma turned around, she saw him looking striking and handsome in his tuxedo. Like a prince, a beautiful creature sent to capture her heart and save her soul. Blue eyes framed with thick, dark lashes stared at her, and she knew that she had fallen. She had fallen so hard for the man in front of her that she would never be able to get back up. Not without him.