“Of course, it matters. You must be able to walk in with style and confidence. If you’re not confident, it will show, so tell me. Are they comfortable?” I stood and walked around the room to show him how steady I was on my feet. My confidence wasn’t shaken by shoes but more by what was going to happen in the next hour or so when he finally sat down with my family.
Dad had said something about clearing the air, which only added to my anxiety. Becky and Victoria have always been good at hiding what they are, which has made it impossible in the past to expose them. Will he be the same? If Becky puts on her Susie Homemaker voice and makes a fuss over him? And Victoria bats her lashes and smiles innocently. Will, he too fall for it like so many others had done in the past?
“They’re comfortable.”
“Good, that’s good. I see the twins for once did what I asked.” He was still a bit salty about the whole video thing, but I’d come to enjoy it sometime during the day. No one came right out and asked, but more than a few made it a point to comment in earshot of me about how hot we looked together. The fact that they were reading more into it than what actually went on behind the scenes is neither here nor there.
His last comment was referring to my hair. The twins had appeared as soon as I left the shower with their torture implements, which is what I call that thing they use to keep my hair straight in hand. I have to say it was worth it, though. They’d pulled my hair away from my face, leaving it to fall down my back in a perfect cascade.
My new Tiffany earrings had been changed for ones they called chandeliers that hung almost to my shoulders, Gabriel’s idea again, and I must admit I looked amazing. I looked in the mirror, and for a split second, a memory of mom flashed into my head. “I think I look like mom.”
“I bet you do.” He seemed very pleased by that, and I didn’t stop to wonder why.
He held his hand out for mine and led me from the room. “You look amazing, you smell like a dream, and your eyes sparkle.” Those words were just the boost I needed as he led me outside to the waiting car—some kind of red low-slung sports car, two-seater with the top down.
“What kind of car is this? How many cars does your family have anyway?”
“This is the Vanquish, by Aston Martin, and to answer your other question; I have no idea. There’re about fifteen here, but there’s more in other places, I never asked.”
“Geez, and I thought my little car was special.”
“It is; your mom left it for you.” He squeezed my hand before helping me get seated and belting me in. Something else he does that makes me feel ten feet tall.
GABRIEL
Lancelot is right; I’m relentless. That’s what he called me when I let him in on just a little bit of what I had planned for the evening. He’s been hopping around here like a concerned maiden aunt, threatening to follow us to Fontane’s until I had the twins Shanghai him to get him out of my hair.
He has every right to be on edge after the lengths I’d gone to for this evening. When I’d asked her before who else was close to her mom, it wasn’t just to ask, I don’t ask pointless questions, what’s the point? The fact that the women she named were the mothers of the girls who'd been expelled didn’t deter me; in fact, it was of more help once I contacted them.
If they wanted their precious little darlings not to be blacklisted from every prestigious school in the state or even worldwide, they’d give me what I wanted; all I wanted was any pictures they had of her mom. I could’ve waited and asked her grandmother for the same, but this was way more fun. How dare they leave the young Gianna alone after her mom died? Not only that, but let their spawns ostracize her as well.
That’s like Sheila turning against the family if Ma was suddenly no longer here. Now they know, and like roaches will scatter to tell their friends, that Gianna Fontane was no longer alone. She now had the backing of the most powerful family in the area behind her. Yes, I’d used Pop’s name to get my way. I can’t have these people know what I truly am; it’s none of their business.
Ma had come through with the jumpsuit, having her shopping assistant find one and making sure it got here in time. It wasn’t exactly like the one her mom had worn, but you’d have to look damn close to find that out. I’d robbed nana of the earrings. She’s the only one who had anything like the ones Gianna’s mom wore in one of the pictures I’d received. Altogether, with the hair and perfume, I’d turned her into a miniature of her mom. Scary as it sounds, there’s a reason.
And that reason was the first hit of the evening when we rang her father’s doorbell, and he rushed to answer as if he’d been waiting by the door. He took one look at her and fell back, clutching his chest. “Dad!” She knelt over him while I kept my eyes on the other two, especially Becky, who looked like she was about to join her husband. If she had balls, they’d have shriveled at the smile I gave her.
“Aren’t you going to help your husband?” I took Gianna’s arm and all but stepped over the passed-out man on the floor in the doorway. One down, two to go. He should be so lucky if that’s all I had planned for him, but no, we’re just getting started.
“Hello Victoria, aren’t you going to say hello to your…. what is she to you again, Gianna?”
“Um, I’m not sure?” Poor thing, she looked like an actress who’d forgotten her lines in the middle of a play. That’s okay, though; I have her covered.
“That’s right, your parents only had one kid, didn’t they? Well, now you have two sisters in mine who more than make up for it, don’t you think?”
Felix started to stir, and I turned and looked at him with my most innocent expression. Something tells me he wasn’t buying it, though, as he kept looking from his daughter to me as if he’d seen a ghost. Becky, on the other hand, was trying her best to stay as far away from Gianna as she could and avoided even looking at her. I saved my best smirk for her when she deigned to look in my direction.
“Felix, you, okay? Do you need a doctor?”
“No-no, I’m fine; it was just a shock, that’s all.”
“What was?” I looked at him with a concerned frown. He turned to look at Gianna with what looked like tears in his eyes.
“For a moment there, I thought you were your mother. You look just like her.”
“Oh? I’ve never met your wife; she must’ve been gorgeous.”
“She was the most beautiful woman in the world.” I chuckled insincerely. “Watch it, Felix, your… Becky will get jealous if you keep talking like that.” Take that you witch, I’ve got a lot more where that came from.
“Becky, you don’t look so good. Are you okay?”
“Ye…yes I’m fine. Why don’t we go on inside? I have refreshments ready.” I’ll bet you do.
“That won’t be necessary; my family is holding dinner for us, so we can’t be long. Gianna just wanted to come see her dad, make sure he’s doing okay here without her.”
“Is that true?” Yes, you mope. The jackass sounded hopeful. Hah, it won’t be that easy. We followed them into the parlor where Becky had indeed set up a tray of store-bought cupcakes and a tea tray. “Becky, can you get Gianna a bottle of water, please? Her dad’s fainting seems to have upset her.” She looked flustered as she left the room.