Page 105 of Romeo

Georgie shifted near the doorway. “Fiona, you don’t have to go if you don’t want to. No one’s forcing you.”

Josie glared at him. “Georgie, you’re not helping.”

“I’m just saying...”

“She’s going.”

“Josie—”

Her expression softened when she looked back at me. “Fiona, listen to me. You deserve to go to prom. You deserve to have fun. Prom isn’t something you want to miss because nobody had enough sense to ask you.”

“Easy for you to say. You’ve never been the girl sitting alone.”

“You’re right. I haven’t.”

That stopped me until Josie glanced toward Jasmine. The little girl sat on the couch with the jewelry case in her lap, running one finger carefully along the silver chain.

“She’s watching,” Josie said quietly.

I frowned. “What?”

“What do you want her to learn? That she needs a boy before she gets to put on the beautiful dress? That she should stay home from something she wants because she might have to walk into the room alone?”

That was dirty.

Josie knew it too.

I glared at her.

Her expression remained perfectly innocent.

“Or,” she continued, “she can watch her aunt get dressed up, walk into that school with her head held high, and have a good time because she decided she deserved to be there.”

Jasmine looked up at me.

Dammit.

“Fine,” I muttered.

Josie’s grin exploded.

“Fine, what?”

“I’ll go.”

She clapped her hands once. “Good. Now let’s get you ready.”

I should’ve known from that tone that the rest of my afternoon no longer belonged to me.

The next few hours turned my bathroom into something resembling a salon under military occupation. Josie took charge of my hair. Sugar handled makeup. At some point, Granny appeared with snacks because apparently getting ready for prom required provisions.

I let them fuss.

Mostly because arguing took more energy than I had.

Also, because somewhere between Josie curling another section of my hair and Sugar experimenting with three different shades of eyeshadow, the knot of dread in my stomach began twisting into something else.

Nerves.