Chapter Fifteen
I spent the rest of the day getting my hotel room to feel as much like a home as possible.
I unpacked all my clothes, displayed my books on shelves that used to hold decorative items, put out pictures of my mom, grandmother, and Angela, and scattered several of Belle’s favorite toys on the carpet.
I even put Belle’s cat tower in front of the large window so she could enjoy the view of the pool and river.
After that … I didn’t know what to do. I hadn’t had time to be lazy in well, forever.
I liked it, but I also felt tense, like I was late for a task that I’d somehow forgotten about.
There wasn’t anything else to do, though.
Remy had honored his promise to have another nurse cover my shifts at the hospital, and housekeeping laundered my dirty clothes even though I protested that I could do it myself.
By the next afternoon, I was more than ready to meet Remy’s family. Or so I thought. At ten minutes to twelve, I was cursing as I watched another group of elegantly dressed people join the others on the wide pool deck, which had been cleared of chairs and cabanas to leave more space for guests.
What kind of pool party was this? I hadn’t seen this many gowns and suits since I’d been to a fancy wedding as a child!
The knock at my door made me curse again. Then my anxiety hit the red zone when I opened the door and saw the stylish navy suit Remy wore. “Great,” I snapped before Remy could speak. “You look like a million bucks, too.”
Remy blinked in the way many men did when they couldn’t understand why a woman was angry at them. “That’s a problem?”
“Yes.” I made an impatient gesture at my pale green sundress.
It would have been totally appropriate for a normal pool party, but compared to what his family was wearing, it may as well have been a burlap sack.
“I look like Cinderella before her fairy godmother got to work on her, and everyone else is all glammed up for the ball.”
Remy’s gaze swept me. “Nonsense, you look lovely.”
I ignored that as I headed back to the closet.
My nicest dress was the bronze one Angela had gotten me, but the Beast had ripped and bloodied it, so it was at the hotel’s version of a tailor right now.
Maybe I could spruce up the blouse and skirt I’d worn on my job interviews when I first moved here?
“You should have told me this was a formal event,” I muttered. “I would’ve bought something appropriate.” Or charged it to my only credit card, to be more accurate.
Remy closed the door behind them. “It’s not a formal event. Some of my family just likes to overdress.”
I shot him a look as I continued to rummage through the closet. “Your family’s already going to think I’m a gold digger because you’re rich and I’m broke. Showing up in a thrift store–style dress when everyone else is decked out like it’s a red-carpet event makes me look like I’m clueless, too.”
He stared. “You’re genuinely upset by your appearance.”
The surprise in his tone was the last straw. “Of course I am. And I know I shouldn’t care what they think, but I’ve never done the whole ‘meet the family’ thing before, so even if this is a fake relationship, I didn’t want to screw this up!”
My voice had risen at that last sentence. At once, I lashed myself. So what if his family thought I was a clueless gold digger? I’d never see them again once this charade was over. For obvious reasons, we didn’t run in the same circles.
“Never mind,” I said as Remy opened his mouth to speak. “Wow, that was a lot, right?” I added with a fake laugh. “I don’t know why I blew up like that. I must be PMSing.”
I wasn’t, but I needed an excuse for my bewildering behavior, and PMS was one of the few that people rarely questioned.
“Pick up those flowers,” Remy said in a newly brisk tone.
I looked at the vase filled with peach and white roses. The flowers had come with the room; a nice perk along with other upgrades like a plush robe, slippers, and a stocked minibar.
“Why?”
Remy’s tone hardened. “Pick. Them. Up.”
He wasn’t making sense, but I’d just lost my temper over something trivial, so who was I to call him unreasonable?
I picked up the bouquet—
It came apart in my hands. For a second, I thought the vase had broken. That was the only logical explanation for the flowers falling to the ground while the vase crumpled into countless shards, but then the roses stopped falling and melded themselves onto my dress.
Before I could gasp, the fabric of my dress became petal-soft and changed from pale green to layers of peach and white.
It also simultaneously shrank and grew. The skirt extended until it billowed to the floor while everything from the waist up molded to my body.
Rose clusters arranged into stunning patterns around my breasts and hips before spilling in twin arcs down the newly long front.
Crystal shards from the vase glittered as they embedded into the new fabric, and the roses’ green stems became darker accent colors in the new peach-and-white skirt.
All of it happened before I could let out my gasped breath.
The mirror confirmed that my plain cotton sundress had transformed into a gown that was so stunning, I couldn’t believe my eyes. Queens wore gowns like this. Not someone like me.
“Ready for the ball now, Cinderella?”
Remy’s husky voice drew my attention back to him. For once, I agreed with every admiring thing I saw in his eyes. I actually felt beautiful, monster and all. I hadn’t felt that way since before I’d become infected with the Beast, and it was both utterly foreign and achingly wondrous.
“Remy…” I didn’t know what to say.
He flashed me a quick grin. “No need to thank me. Just look at me the way you looked at that dress when you meet my family. Then everyone will believe you’re madly in love.”
I breathed out a laugh. “I’ll do my best.”
Angela was the first person I saw when Remy and I got off the elevator. I’d told her to meet me in the lobby. Her gaze landed on my dress and stayed there, only making it to my face when I waved a hand at her.
“Raine?” She blinked, and then laughed as she came forward and hugged me. “I almost didn’t recognize you, honey!”
I hugged Angela back, noting the new silver in her thick black hair.
Her face had a few more lines in her deep brown skin, too, but Angela’s arms felt just as strong, and I breathed in the familiar iris, jasmine, and vanilla notes of her perfume.
Sometimes, when I was very lonely, I took out the Shalimar bottle I’d saved up for and sprayed it in my apartment so I could pretend that Angela had recently been over.
“I’m so glad you came,” I said into her neck.
Angela patted my shoulders. “I’ll always be there for you.”
God, I didn’t deserve her. Not when I’d been a terrified, violence-eating teenager, and not now.
Angela drew away with a final pat. “Enough hugging, now. Introduce me to your man already.”
I swallowed the denial that leapt to my lips. I hated to lie to Angela, but this was hardly the first time.
“Angela Dubois, this is Remington Byrne.”
“A pleasure,” Remy said, extending his hand.
Angela shook it while giving him a polite once-over. “Likewise, Mr. Byrne.”
He gave her a charming smile. “Please, call me Remington.”
She smiled back, but that protective gleam didn’t leave her eyes as she glanced at me. “Call me Angela, Remington.”
Angela hadn’t dressed like this was a regular pool party.
She must have known that rich people always made a big event out of things.
She was in a hazy blue skirt suit that was lightweight enough for the July heat, and yet elegant enough to blend in anywhere.
Her curly black hair was swept into a bun with neat, braided rows framing her regal, lovely features.
Angela looked around the lobby. “Seems kind of empty in here for a hotel.”
“I closed it to everyone except invited guests today,” Remy replied.
Angela’s brows rose, but she only said “Oh.”
“Remington!”
The call came from a group of well-dressed strangers crossing the lobby toward us. Remy’s arm went around my bare shoulders. I knew what that meant. Showtime.
Angela gave me a brief, knowing look. “I saw waiters with champagne trays in the atrium. I think I’ll go get some.”
“See you in a few,” I replied.
Angela waved. “Take your time.”
She left as the group reached us. I gave them a bright, practiced smile. Time to look madly in love.