“Blair, don’t make me confiscate that thing,” my father warns.
I close the screen and clutch my phone behind my back with a tense smile.
“Sorry, Father. I’ll go out and make my rounds with the guests and make sure Mrs. Acostil is far away from mom. It’s just…”
“Yes?”
“Is it alright if I use the restroom upstairs first? This skirt is just so big that the guest bathroom down here is a nightmare.”
His gaze sweeps over the mass of tulle. “Fine but be quick.”
“Of course.” I place a peck on his cheek and then move as quickly as I possibly can to leave the kitchen before he can renege.
I’m a woman on a mission as I weave through the crowded living room, careful to keep an eye out for my mother so I don’t get caught in her web. People try to stop me, but I just give them that classic close-lipped, overly sweet grin and keep moving.
Once I safely get upstairs and hit my bedroom, I let all pretenses drop.
“That little shit.”
I can’t believe Josh got to leave and didn’t even try to sneak me away with him. So much for partners in crime.
I unlock my phone again, checking that I didn’t misread the message from Phantom.
Yeah. Nope. That’s totally him.
Gnawing on my lower lip, I type out a response.
BlairHanes_:yeah, I’m in
My heart is beating so loudly, I can practically hear the blood pumping against my eardrums.
Phantom:can’t wait
Holy crap.
A winky smile?
Is he hitting on me?
I space on what to type back, but it doesn’t even matter. Three little dots appear as he shoots off two more messages.
Phantom:one hour
Phantom:tick tock, princess
This cannot be real.
Oh my God.
I contort my arms behind my back and unzip the beaded bodice. Then I get to work on untying the corset. I can’t take too long. I need to get out of this costume and out of this house before my father realizes too much time has passed and comes looking for me.
Willing my fingers to work deftly through the satin ribbons, I finally get death-trap off, and take the biggest inhale known to man.
God. I’d forgotten what it was like to actually breathe.
The beaded tulle skirt is easy to remove. One zip and it falls to the floor. I pop out of the petticoat and then carefully remove the tiara from my head without tangling my hair. I seriously don’t have the time to redo my look.
Now, the real question.
