Abigail
sped ho, fingers tight on the wheel.
By the ti I got through the front door, I had already run through a thousand different scenarios in my head.
I barged into the living room.
"What happened?! Annie? What did you need to show ? Is it emaw?"
Annette swirled around, her face split into a wide grin as she held up a green, beautiful, beaded dress draped over both of her arms,
"Happy birthday, baby. Let’s go out."
I stared at her in disbelief. My blood pressure had been spiked as hell because of her. I closed the distance between us and smacked her arm.
"Ow!"
"Don’t you ever, ever do that to again," I cried. "I thought sothing happened to emaw and Gramps. I was terrified."
"Okay, okay, I’m sorry, I’m sorry, alright?" She was still grinning, completely unrepentant. "But look at the dress, babe. Look at it. It’s a freaking ergency."
"Oooh, yeah, it is," I agreed, running my fingers over the green colored bodice. "Did you book a restaurant? Because that dress is fancy."
"Sothing like that." She pushed it into my arms and steered toward the bedroom. "Go get dressed."
"Wait," I turned in the doorway. "When is the reservation?"
"Three."
I frowned. "Three in the afternoon?"
"Yes."
"Annette." I folded my arms around the dress. "I get off work at five usually. You know I get off work at five. Why would you book a dinner at three when I wouldn’t even be ho by then?"
Her eyes widened, and she shrugged.
"I booked it for seven pm, but since you had a half day, I called and asked if they could move it to three."
My brows shot up. She was such a terrible liar. "I didn’t tell you I had a half day. I don’t rember telling you that-"
"Wear the freaking dress," Annette groaned, grabbing my shoulders and pushing into the room toward the bathroom. "Gosh! Surprising you is like pulling a tiger’s tooth out. Go. Get. Dressed."
The door closed behind , and I chuckled. Just what had she planned?
The dress was perfection. It was beaded from the sweater’s neckline down to a few inches above my knees, clinging to my curves like a sexy second skin. It gave way around my knees down to the floor.
Gorgeous did not even begin to cut.
I twirled around beaming at my reflection in the mirror. For the first ti all day, I felt like it was actually my birthday.
I did my makeup, a little gold at the corners of my eyes, a deeper red lip, my hair pinned loosely at the nape of my neck with a few pieces left to curl around my face. I found the small gold earrings emaw had given for Christmas and slipped them on, too.
When I ca out, Annette was standing in the living room in a deep burgundy wrap dress, gushing all over .
"All hail her Majesty,"
"Gosh, Annette, this dress must have cost a fortune."
"Oh, don’t worry about it. Wait until he sees you,"
"Who?"
"Uh?" She blinked. "I ant they. They see you."
I narrowed my eyes, and she cursed, shaking her head, muttering sothing under her breath before grabbing my arm.
"Ready, birthday girl?"
"Ready as I’ll ever be," I chuckled, interlocking my arm with hers.
When we arrived downstairs, there was a Maserati, a black sleek baby waiting outside on the curb. A driver stood by the back door, wearing a chauffeur hat and a black uniform.
"Okay, did you rob a bank?" I stopped on the front step. "You did not seriously get a chauffeur. Babes, all that money!"
"You only turn twenty-five once," She said dryly, tugging down the stairs. "Abigail, co on. It’s done. Stop worrying about it."
"Annie, what on earth is going on?"
"Get in the car, Abigail. Please?"
I eyed her warily before slipping into the backseat. Annette climbed in after .
The insides of the car slled like new leather. I pressed my lips together to keep from smiling too hard.
The city blurred past as I tried to guess where we were headed, but I didn’t recognize the route after the first few turns.
By the third turn, I knew sothing was going on. How convenient was it that we had a half-day on my birthday?
The dress, the car, and my grandparents’ phones were going straight to voicemail all day like they had both dropped off the earth simultaneously.
My grandparents had never once in my life missed wishing happy birthday.
I stiffened in my seat when the car slowed down and drove through a set of open iron gates.
Gravel stones on the path crunched under the wheels, and through the window, I caught a glimpse of where we are.
It had to be sothing out of a fairytale.
There were stone walls draped in climbing roses, the late afternoon light shedding its golden light across the grass.
The car pulled up before a path that was lined with roses on both sides.
"We’re here," Anette drawled excitedly. "Go ahead, I’ll sort the chauffeur.
"I could wait until-"
"Abigail, I love you, but you’re so fucking stubborn," Annette groaned. "Just go already, enjoy the princess treatnt, babes. For once. Geez, relax already."
"Fine, fine," I grumbled, sliding out of the car. My gold heels struck against the smooth cobblestones on the garden path.
Cool air whipped against my hair and neck. The path was bordered on both sides by low hedges of roses climbing the walls in deep pink and white, the sll of them seeping through the air. There were even fairy lights woven around the roses.
The cost must have been insane. If Annette did this, she was definitely bankrupt at this rate.
Unless she didn’t?
My heart thudded harder as the path curved and I followed it. It led to a garden area, and what I saw had stopping in my tracks.
No way!
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