“Okay,” Georgia said, taking the delicate glass fairy out of my hands, “I’ll hold on to that!”
Did I make that wish out loud?
I flicked my gaze to Georgia, who was laughing, then to my mum, who looked like she’d had an epiphany.
“What?” I asked.
“Isabelle Ann Mills,” Mum whispered. “You can’t spend so long staring at a boy and expect me not to notice!”
My eyes widened in panic. Obviously I’d been looking long enough for her to register what was happening.
“Don’t look so worried,” she laughed, keeping her voice low. “Jesse’s a lovely boy, and very good-looking too.”
“Mum,” I moaned, “Please don’t make a big thing out of this. I’m not going to marry him or anything!”
“How do you know?” Georgia asked. “He might sweep you off your feet, fall madly in love with you, and you can live in L.A in his mansion and make lots of beautiful children together!”
“Oh shut up,” I said. “That’s never going to happen.”
Mum smiled, knowingly. “I said something similar about your father once.”
“Well you and Dad have lots in common,” I pointed out.
“You and Jesse might have lots in common if you ever spoke to him!” Georgia teased.
“Like what?”
“You both like comedy movies.”
I rolled my eyes. “One thing. I hardly think that is going to make him interested in me.”
Mum, sensing my discomfort, placed some gold tinsel around my neck like a scarf. “Come on then,” she said. “This tree isn’t going to decorate itself!”
Thankfully, Mum and Georgia didn’t make any further comments about Jesse. It was embarrassing that everyone had started to catch on to the fact that I fancied him. If Hunter got wind of it, I’d never live it down.
The rest of the decorating passed by without me making an idiot of myself, and when we were finished, the living room looked beautiful. The tree was hung with red and gold baubles and tinsel, and matching garlands were strategically hanging from the ceiling. We celebrated by having another mug of mum’s homemade hot chocolate, then Georgia and I went upstairs to start getting ready for our night out.
Even with a couple of hours to go, I felt sick. Georgia was way more excited than me. I wanted to puke up my lunch, but she kept me calm by telling me how amazing I’d look when she’d finished with me. My bedroom turned into a mini beauty parlour as Georgia carted all of her make-up into my room, arranging it carefully on my dressing table.
“Georgia,” I said, nervously. “Do we really need all this?”
“Relax,” she laughed. “I know you’re not crazy about make-up so I’m not going to put too much on you, but I want to have everything here so I can figure out what will work best. I need to do your hair first, though.”
“What are you doing to my hair?” I asked, as she sat me down in front of the mirror, and ran her fingers through my freshly dried locks.
She stared into the distance for a moment, and I could tell she was really considering the best option for me. Eventually, she said, “I think we should curl it. Not too much, just in romantic, wispy curls.”
I opened my mouth to stop her going off on another tangent about Jesse, but she held up her hands, and said, “I’m only thinking about what will look good on you. I promise.”
I knew she was lying when the corners of her mouth twitched, but I smiled. “Whatever. Do what you want, before I change my mind and sling my hair up in a ponytail.”
An hour later, the transformation was complete.
She had done an incredible job. My hair swung softly around my shoulders in loose curls, and my make-up was … not as subtle as I’d hoped, but pretty, all the same. Georgia had found the perfect shade of purple eye shadow to match my dress, and my lips were painted with some very pale pink lip gloss.
And the dress.
It was a lot shorter than I was used to, and strapless too. To be honest, I felt naked, but I’d bought some tan coloured tights which helped me feel a little less exposed, not to mention, more protected from the biting cold outside. While Georgia dressed in her own sexy mini dress, I almost changed three times. I rose from the bed, started towards my wardrobe, then sat down again. I was pleased when Georgia announced that the cab had arrived, because once we left my room and went downstairs, there was no going back.