Kissed Blind (Hot Pursuit #2)(79)
At the end of a windy road, we stopped in front of a set of stone walls separated by a large wooden gate. The driver rolled down his window, pushed a button, and we were buzzed in. A long driveway twisted to the top of a steep hill.
The white stucco house had one large main blue tiled roof in the middle and two smaller sections branching off on either side. The entrance to the house was tucked inside a canopied walkway held up by two large columns. A set of hedges were pruned to look like soft serve ice cream cones. Next to those were beautiful, newly bloomed bright orange and purple lilies. It was a stunning display.
The driver let us out, and we walked across a bricked driveway toward a set of towering frosted glass doors. As we approached them, they opened, and Cici came walking out.
“Hey! Welcome to the Pierce estate! How are you guys?” She stepped in between me and Vance and wrapped her arm around his waist, giving him a side hug, and led us inside.
“Good,” Vance answered. “Looks like it’s going to be a great day as far as the weather goes.”
Vance talking about the weather? Um, okay. I rolled my eyes.
Cici crossed her hands over her chest. “I know! Mid-seventies and no rain. We couldn’t have asked for better. Sometimes it’s so ungodly hot I practically melt under my gown, but the rain is the absolute worst. It’s going to be perfect.” She shut the door behind us after we stepped inside.
A grand white and black lacquered staircase stood at the center of the space, and the ceiling must have been fifty feet high. I could hear the chatter of several voices coming from above. A spectacular twinkling crystal chandelier was suspended over our heads. The floor was white marble and had a large black crest set into the middle near where we stood. At the center of the crest was an elaborate tiled letter “P.”
A breeze blew through the house, and sheer, white silk curtains blew into the hallway next to us carrying the scent of freshly cut clover. This house was the epitome of what I would imagine the fanciest and most glamorous house in Hollywood to look like.
“Camille is going to be in hair and makeup for a while longer. Lunch is being catered and should arrive around eleven thirty. Oliver might need to step out briefly, but I’m sure you both can handle that. He doesn’t have much more he needs to take care of.”
“I assume he’ll go with more natural makeup for tonight.” I snorted.
“Actually, men wear makeup for the red carpet too. You’d be surprised how hard it is to make him look like he has a natural glow without being made up. I’ve seen some actors walk the carpet almost looking like drag queens. Having a quality team doing you up is worth every penny, so don’t poke fun at him.”
The tips of my ears grew hot, and I tried to shake it off. “Oh, I guess with what happened they’ll try to cover up the bruise under his eye.”
She waved off the thought. “No, no. He’s already prepared a statement that he was injured on set during the filming of his movie. It’ll work in his favor.”
“And what about you? Are you going to disappear soon to get all done up?” Vance asked.
“Me? Well, this Cinderella will be getting herself together shortly. I have this beautiful dress, but not too beautiful. Can’t show up Camille.”
“I can’t wait to see you all dolled up.” He grinned.
I wanted to punch him square in the throat and couldn’t control the gag that left my mouth, but I covered it by following it up with a cough.
“You all right? Sounds like you almost choked on something.” He flashed me a cold smile.
I almost choked on something all right. “Probably just some pollen. You know how sensitive I can be this time of year.”
“Do I?” He guffawed.
My eyes narrowed to tiny slits, and I slapped a smile on my face.
“Um, so, anyway,” Cici interjected. “I’m going to head up and get changed. I’ll be down in a few. Hopefully Camille will be ready on time. Being late to these things is a major hassle and looks bad, you know?” She only looked to Vance for understanding.
“Totally. I can see how that could make your job more stressful. Go and do what you need to do. We’ll be here when you’re ready.”
“Great!” Cici ran up the stairs. “You guys make yourselves at home, please. Have a look around and get comfortable.”
I walked down the hallway of blowing curtains toward a living room. A very practical white sectional couch sat in front of three black framed, glass French doors that looked out onto a beautiful courtyard with an Olympic-sized pool off in the distance. The walls were a deep cornflower blue that coordinated with the scroll tile rug the couch rested on.
I took a seat and picked up a magazine off the table. The featured image on the cover was of Camille in a gorgeous pale jade strapless dress. It was her at the Academy Awards, and she’d made the best dressed list with that number; the Henry Winston diamond choker hadn’t hurt either. No one could have denied she’d looked her best that night. Her platinum locks were pinned back above her ears and showed off her features. Her lips were painted the most perfect shade of fuchsia. The look had been talked about for weeks.
I flipped through the pages while Vance stood at one of the windows behind me. I’d become absorbed in an article about the latest trend in textured nail polish when Oliver entered the room.
“Good morning, all.” He paused and looked at the chunky round faced watch on his wrist. “I need to run out for a second. Diana would you accompany me, and Vance would you mind staying here and watching over things?”