As I was sitting by the pool, I heard Adalynn’s voice coming from inside.
“There you are. I was looking for you.”
“You were? Why?” I asked as I opened one eye and looked at her.
“Because I want to know if you’re up to going out?”
“Going out? Where?”
“It’s a surprise. Just tell me yes or no.” She smiled.
To get out of this house sounded like a wonderful idea. But I was kind of scared at what Adelynn had planned, and I’d only met her that one time at breakfast. I agreed anyway because I was desperate to get away from here for a while, and I wanted a friend.
“Just let me run upstairs and change.” I smiled.
As soon as I changed my clothes, I met Adalynn in the front, where her town car was waiting for us. “The first thing we’re going to do is get our hair done. I thought we’d have girls’ day out with some shopping and pampering.”
“But I don’t have any money,” I said.
“Aw, sweetie, don’t worry about that. Ian is paying for everything.” She winked.
“Does he know about this?”
“No, not yet, anyway.” She laughed.
I was really starting to like Adalynn. She was funny and she had an aura about her that gave off friendly vibes. “If he doesn’t know, how’s he going to pay?” I asked in confusion.
“Ian Braxton has accounts all over town. Don’t worry, sweetie. He won’t mind.”
“How long have you and Ian been friends?”
Adalynn looked at me and smiled as she took a hold of my hand. “Ian and I have known each other since college. I’m sure he didn’t tell you, but I’m his ex-wife.”
My stomach dropped. “You and Ian were married?”
“For a short time. Only a couple of days.”
“Why? I’m sorry, but I don’t understand. Why wouldn’t he introduce you to me as his ex?”
Adalynn laughed. “We don’t talk about it. Ian and I have been good friends for years. Friends with benefits, if you want to know the truth, and one weekend we went to Vegas. We got really drunk and Ian said we should get married. I agreed, or should I say, the alcohol agreed, and we went to the chapel and got hitched. After we realized what we did, the next morning, we had it annulled the minute we got back. Neither one of us wanted marriage. It was just a random act, one drunken night.”
“How many friends with benefits does Ian have?” I blurted out.
“Well, if you’re asking if Ian and I are still doing it, the answer is no. We stopped all that a couple of years ago. I’m currently dating someone and we’re very much in love.” She smiled.
A sigh of relief washed over me when she said that. I didn’t, in any way, feel threatened by her. I was just glad she wasn’t sleeping with Ian. One less woman in this rich town to worry about. We pulled up to the salon and, once inside, we were immediately taken back to our stylists. Adalynn introduced me to her stylist, Renee. As I sat in the chair next to her, I heard a boisterous voice from behind.
“And you must be Rory!” he exclaimed as he clasped my shoulders with his hands. “I’m Benny and I’m going to be styling you today. Now, tell me what you’re thinking.”
“Nice to meet you, Benny. I just found out I was coming here, so I didn’t have a chance to really think about what I want. What do you suggest?” I asked.
He ran his fingers through my long, brown hair, examining the ends. “Hmm...I’m thinking about two inches, long layers and caramel highlights. With your bone structure, it will look fabulous.”
“That sounds perfect, Benny,” Adalynn said.
“What do you think, sweetheart?” he asked.
“Sure. That sounds great.” I smiled.
Two hours later and Benny was finished with my hair. He turned the chair around and I gasped when I saw myself in the mirror.
“Oh my God, Rory. You look fantastic,” Adalynn said.
“Well?” Benny asked.
Tears began to form in my eyes as I stared at myself. “It’s beautiful.”
Benny helped me out of the chair and led me to another section of the salon. “Take a seat here, sweetheart, and Joey will be right with you.”
I looked at Adalynn as she sat in the chair across from me. “What’s going on?”
“You’re getting your makeup done.” She smiled.
Joey walked over and introduced himself. Adalynn said he was the best makeup artist in all of California. Once he was finished, I looked across at Adalynn, who had tears in her eyes. “You look gorgeous.”
As I looked in the mirror, I stared at the girl staring back at me. I desperately wanted to cry happy tears and Joey knew it because he told me to look up at the ceiling so the tears wouldn’t fall and I wouldn’t ruin my makeup.
“You’re gorgeous. You’re a natural beauty and you don’t need makeup, but with it, wow, all the men better watch out.” Joey smiled.
“Thank you, Joey.”
As Adalynn and I walked out of the salon, she put her arm around me. “You look simply stunning. You’re a beautiful woman and don’t ever let anyone tell you otherwise. Now, let’s go buy you some clothes.”
I was grateful to her for doing this for me. I felt like a charity case and I hated it. I’d always been a charity case. My aunt always led people to believe that no matter how hard she tried, she couldn’t find a job. So, Stephen and I were always given hand-me-downs and people looked at us with pity.
Adalynn grabbed the clothes that I tried on in the dressing room and took them to the register.
“I don’t know about this, Adalynn. It’s really expensive.”
“Listen to me, Rory. Ian is buying. He doesn’t care. The man has more money than he knows what to do with.”
“What exactly does he do?”
She looked at me with surprise. “He hasn’t told you?”
I shook my head. “I don’t know a thing about him. All I know is that he has money.”
“Well, he certainly is rich.” she smiled. “The thing about Ian is that he’s a very private man. He likes to talk about business and not his personal life. We’re close friends and there are still things I don’t know about him.”
“He likes women,” I said as I looked down.
“Yes, Ian likes a lot of women.”
“He brings a different one home almost every night,” I said.