A Cinderella Seduction. Karen Booth

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СКАЧАТЬ are so lucky,” Lizzie said, looking at Emma with eyes full of wistful envy. It was a bizarre feeling. Emma and Lizzie were more alike than she and Sophie or Mindy.

      “Maybe we can figure out a way for you to come with us next year.”

      “Really?”

      Emma nodded. “In fact, I promise to do whatever I can to make it happen, okay?”

      Lizzie grinned from ear to ear. “Wow. Something to look forward to.”

      Mindy walked in wearing a supershort magenta dress with a plunging neckline and sky-high Christian Louboutins with the signature red bottoms. She surveyed Emma’s new look. “They did wonders. You hardly look like yourself at all.”

      Gee, thanks. “You look great, too.”

      Lizzie rushed out of the room when the reception phone started to ring.

      “Hey, so, I need a favor from you tonight,” Mindy said, digging through one of her prized Hermès clutches. “I have a friend meeting me there, so I won’t be able to spend much time with you. But I don’t want you to tell Sophie.”

      “Does this friend happen to be the guy that Sophie doesn’t like?”

      Mindy pursed her lips. “His name is Sam, okay? He’s in town for a few days and I really want to see him. And yes, Sophie hates him. But that’s her problem, not mine. It has something to do with her fiancé, Jake.”

      Emma was tempted to ask what was in it for her to keep the secret but decided against it. She needed to forge a connection with Mindy, somehow. “Okay. My lips are zipped.”

      “Awesome. I owe you one.”

      Well, that was something. “No problem.”

      Mindy’s phone beeped with a text. “My driver’s here.”

      Downstairs, they climbed into the back of a black stretch SUV. As they whizzed through the city, Emma tried to ignore her nerves. She tried to ignore that little voice inside her head that said that every last person at this event was going to know she didn’t belong. There was only so much refinement she could fake. What if someone asked her where she went to school and she forgot the canned story Sophie and Mindy had cooked up about private school in France? What if someone asked about her family and she accidentally blurted the truth, that until three months ago, she was the deep dark family secret? Even worse, what if no one asked her anything at all?

      As the driver pulled into the line of limousines and black town cars, Emma could see the paparazzi’s camera flashes popping like crazy. The red carpet. Emma’s stomach wobbled. She wasn’t practiced in the art of posing for cameras. She didn’t know how to hold her head at the right angle or slant her leg to make herself look skinny, or even how to properly plant her hand on her hip. This could be a disaster.

      “Anything I need to know about this first part?” she asked Mindy.

      Her half sister eyed herself in a compact mirror, them clamped it shut. “Follow my lead. You’ll be fine.”

      Mindy climbed out of the car first and Emma followed. A woman with a clipboard was checking names, but she took one glance at Mindy and knew exactly who she was. “Mindy Eden. Nice to see you. Who do you have with you tonight?” the woman asked, her tone syrupy.

      “My sister Emma.”

      A deep crease formed between the woman’s eyes. “I thought your sister was Sophie.”

      “Long story,” was all Mindy said, patting the woman on the shoulder and waving Emma ahead.

      Emma stepped onto the red carpet, her heart thundering in her chest. She followed every move Mindy made, mimicking her stance and posture, every elegant quality Emma did not possess naturally. The paparazzi were quite taken with the couple in front of them, but then a few spotted Mindy and she quickly became their focus.

       “Mindy! Over here!”

       “This way, Mindy!”

      Emma didn’t know what to do, so she hung back, letting the photographers focus on her sister. Mindy smiled effortlessly, turning her head just so, shaking her shiny red tresses with all the confidence in the world. She was such a pro. Emma felt like a kid standing on the edge of the pool with water wings.

      “Who’s with you tonight?” a photographer asked.

      Mindy cast her sights at Emma. Emma worried that Mindy might throw her under the bus and pretend she didn’t know her.

      “My youngest sister, Emma, of course.” She reached for her hand, and before Emma knew what was happening, a million flashbulbs went off as she stood next to Mindy. These strangers were taking her picture and saying her name.

       Emma! Emma!

      Mindy stepped back and left Emma at center stage. She smiled, willing her face to be relaxed and natural. She planted her hand on her hip in what she hoped was the appropriate place.

       Why are we just meeting you now, Emma?

      She hadn’t prepared for questions. “I’ve been living in France. Just came back to the States to help my sisters run Eden’s.”

       Who are you wearing?

      “Nora Bradford, of course. The gown is an Eden’s exclusive. It’ll be available in the store starting tomorrow.” She glanced down for an instant and knew that if she didn’t move, they’d miss the most dramatic part of the design. Hands on her hips, she turned in a circle, the skirt flying up and showing off her legs. She was nearly blinded by flashbulbs when she’d completed the three-sixty.

      “Let’s get out of here,” Mindy mumbled in her ear.

      “Did I make a mistake?” Emma asked nervously.

      “It was fine. You just can’t give them too much.”

      She and Mindy strolled the remaining length of the red carpet and stepped into a lavish room already packed with people. Emma’s eyes were still adjusting from the bright lights of the cameras to the moodier party atmosphere, but she could see enough to know that beauty was everywhere.

      Mindy tapped Emma on the shoulder. “Sam’s here.” She waved across the room, and sure enough, a tall and handsome man with jet-black hair waved back. “I’ll see you later.”

      “Wait,” Emma blurted. “Will I see you at our seats?”

      Mindy was distracted by her quickly approaching guy. “I’ll be with Sam. Not sure where I’ll see you. My driver will take you home. You have his number?”

      Emma nodded. Mindy’s driver had taken her all over the city before she had a driver of her own. “I do.”

      Just like that, Mindy was gone. Emma turned to the crowd, unsure what to do. She disliked being by herself. If Sophie had been able to come, Emma still would have been the person nobody knew, but at least she wouldn’t have been alone. In this big room filled with fabulous people, she felt insignificant. СКАЧАТЬ