CHAPTER ONE
________
EVA
“Stop messing with it,” Jasmine said from across the car. “If you don’t get out of the car in the next two minutes, you’re going to miss your red carpet slot.”
I finished adjusting my lipstick in the little mirror she kept in her purse before I grinned. “I wouldn’t have to mess with it if they’d listen to me when I tell them my lip line is uneven.”
The rich color wasn’t one I normally wore, and I was savoring every second. It matched my darker, plum-colored dress. Plunging sweetheart neckline, a sky-high slit through delightful, flowing ruffles, and sparkly jewelry on my neckandthigh wasboth the result of fighting tooth and nail and the beginning of my rebellion.
The Designation Choice Awards was the award show that was the most casual and the most fun. The awards weren’t as serious, but I liked them more because they were chosen by actual people voting rather than a stuffy bunch of industry insiders. Plus, the rules were looser, and my team let me out of my wholesome box.
Not that I wasn’t grateful for the box. It got me where I was today. But I would kill for the chance to be looked at as an adult and notEva May Williams, former child star.
It would happen. Eventually. I would make sure of it.
Jasmine sighed. “If you don’t like Jenny, we don’t have to keep using her.”
“Is there any way to do that without offending her or making me look like an asshole?”
She winced. “Not really.”
“Exactly. She does great with everything but this. It’s an easy fix.”
The car pulled up to the edge of the red carpet and slowed to a stop. Neil got out of the front seat and came to open the door. I put on my public smile. “Showtime.”
Stepping out of a car onto a red carpet was always dizzying. It was far brighter than anyone realized, and you had to stand there without squinting while people flashed a million shattering lights in your direction.
Cheers went up as I stepped onto the carpet, and I waved to both the crowd and the overwhelming number of reporters. At least it was easier to ignore their questions when they all blended into a wave of sound.
I felt Jasmine fix the back of my dress so it fell properly as I posed for the cameras.
“Eva, you’re still alone on the red carpet. When are you going to settle down?”
It was easier to ignore them, but that didn’t mean nothing could be heard. I said nothing. Because if my mother had her way, both Esme and I would be married or bonded already.
But neither my twin sister nor I were in that place yet. We wanted to be, but I wasn’t looking. If it happened, it happened. But like hell was I going to sit through pack interviews with people who only wanted to get close to me for my fame. And I would never hurt Esme like that. She wasn’t ready.
Her grief was still too close to the surface. Neither of us thought we’d be doing any of this without Dad. Now that we were… it was a whole new world. How did we handle that?
Esme had been closer to our father than I had been. Losing him hurt like hell, and itstillhurt like hell every time I thought about it. But Esme…
I never thought I’d see her like that.
Now I’d do just about anything to make her smile, even if it meant sacrificing things. Because there weren’t many smiles anymore.
My thoughts slammed back into the present as I reached the end of the red carpet, Neil and Jasmine ushering me in and away from the lights.
“Phew.” I took the water bottle Jasmine held out and delicately drank through the straw. “Hardest part is over.”
I was nominated for an award and I still had to present one, so I couldn’t completely check out, but everything was a downhill slide from here.
She handed me my phone and my clutch. “I’ll be backstage when it’s time.”
“Thanks.”
My phone had a bunch of notifications that I ignored. Except the texts from my sister and friends.
