“Yeah.” I walked over to the closet and pulled out a simple, elegant black silk dress. “I don’t know what we’re doing, but this seems like a safe bet.”
She tilted her head, fingering the material. “Hmm.”
“What?” I looked at the dress. It was one of the nicest items of clothing I owned. “What’s wrong?”
“I don’t know if you should wear silk, it…might not be a good idea.”
I paused, then nearly jumped with excitement. “Wait! You know what he has planned, don’t you?” I shouted.
Adriana winced at the volume of my voice. “Let’s see.” She rifled through my closet, evading my question. “This is nice.” She held up a draped white jersey dress I’d worn for my parents’ ten-year anniversary dinner.
“That kind of looks like my homecoming dress,” I murmured.
She shrugged. “It’ll be fine. Trust me, this will work better.”
I took her word for it. Adriana had exquisite taste, and considering she probably knew what Roman was up to, I should probably take her advice.
For the next two hours, she helped me primp, pluck, moisturize, exfoliate, and depilate in preparation for the big night. In fact, she did so much I’m a little scared of how crazy she’s going to get once our one-year anniversary rolls around.
I bit my lip. Hopefully, Roman and I would still be together in one year. After all, we were both seniors, and college can change a lot of things…
“Don’t do that, you’re messing up your lip gloss,” Adriana scolded, spritzing me with her own Chanel perfume.
Normally, Venice would be here too, but she was probably off in la-la land with Zack, chasing puppies or something. I smiled at the thought. Those two were too perfect for each other.
The doorbell rang, causing me to nearly shoot out my chair. “He’s here!” I squealed.
Adriana pressed her hand firmly down on my shoulder. “Your mom will get it. We need to finish getting ready.”
“Yes, m’am,” I joked.
I guess she was right after all, because Roman stopped ringing the bell, and I could hear the low hum of conversation float up the stairs. When Adriana finished, I stared at myself in awe. This was even better than homecoming. I swear, that girl is a genius.
“Where did you learn to do hair so well?” I marveled, touching my perfect waves.
“Boarding school,” she answered matter-of-factly, tossing her Mason Pearson brush back into her giant bag, along with her Hot Tools curling iron, Bumble & Bumble hairspray, and various other products from brands I couldn’t pronounce. “One of my best friends there is the daughter of a famous hairstylist.”
I was so startled by this nugget of information I almost fell out of my chair. I’ve never heard Adriana talk about boarding school before, but now I was more than a little curious. What made her leave her elite Swiss campus and its international princes and whatnot to come back to Valesca?
“Wow. She must be really good, if she can afford the tuition on a hairstylist’s budget.”
“Yeah.” Adriana shrugged. “She’s nearly impossible to get an appointment with, booked five years in advance. She charges something like $1000 per highlight. But anyway, she doesn’t pay for tuition. Chantal—that’s my friend—her father is a huge media mogul. He pays for almost everything.”
She didn’t offer any more information, and I didn’t ask, because at that moment I heard Roman’s laugh float up the stairs, and I was suddenly itching to join him.
Adriana must’ve noticed, because she grinned and shooed me toward the door. “Go to your lover boy,” she said, rolling her eyes good-naturedly. “I have to get ready for the boat get-together anyway. Have fun, and be safe.”
I blushed. Little did she know, what I planned to do tonight was quite dangerous indeed.
* * *
“Are we almost there yet?”
“Just wait. You’re so impatient,” Roman teased.
I pretended to pout, but secretly, I loved the mystery. When I saw Roman in my living room earlier, my eyes nearly fell out of my head. He’d looked absolutely amazing in a perfect black tux, and he’d handed me a single, perfect red rose—after greeting me with a kiss (kept chaste for my parents’ benefit). He’d whisked me into a private jet for a very short ride and then into a limo, where proceeded to blindfold me. I assume that was so I wouldn’t know where we were going.
Like I would know anyway. I didn’t even know what town or city we landed in.