Page 89 of Sincerely, Butterfly

“Okay, okay.” She holds her hands up. “But… you can still have fun and dress up with me, right?”

If it gets her to stop asking me about who I like, then fine. “I don’t have anything.”

“It’s a good thing I do.” Her lips curve into a slow grin.

Oh boy.

“Are you sure about this?” I ask Callie as we walk down the stairs. The party started ten minutes ago, but I was terrified to leave her room. This dress is… a lot. Almost too much. It’s not something I’d normally wear.

I can’t deny I look hot in it, though.

Callie let me borrow one of her dresses. It’s a forest green dress with off-the-shoulder sleeves and a neckline that shows off my cleavage, with the bottom half having some flowy layers.

She also did my hair, putting it half up and half down in loose curls. I’m not one to wear makeup, but I did put on some pink lip gloss and mascara.

I feel cute.

But god, do I ever feel out of place.

I refused to wear the heels she recommended because I’d fall and break my neck. So, I opted for a pair of strappy white sandals that go up over the ankle.

“Is it too formal?”

“No,” Callie promises. “It’s perfect. I made sure to say in the invitation, casual dressy, so it’s not too little, not too much. Just right.”

“Okay, Goldilocks,” I snort, and she laughs.

“Come on. Let’s go have fun!”

“Yay,” I reply dryly, making her laugh harder.

When we reach the bottom of the stairs, I take a moment to look around. This place is a hell of a lot bigger than mine.

We’re in the Garden District, so while there are lots of mansions, they’re built higher than wider. And not on a ton of land.

At least not the ones near me.

For the guys, on the other hand, I guess bigger is better.

I love that it still has all the original foundation, by the looks ofit. They didn’t seem to do a lot of renovating to keep up with the times. I like it.

However, I haven’t been able to see anything else but the front entrance and Callie’s room yet.

It was too risky to sneak off and set up the cameras earlier. I wanted to wait until the party started because if I do get caught, I can use the good old ‘Sorry, I was trying to find the bathroom’ line. Being considered sweet and naive might come in handy if that happens. No one would believe I was doing something I shouldn’t be.

“Callie!” I hear Sylas’ voice before I see him. “You throw a fucking party but can’t even be there to supervise it?”

“Relax. We were just getting ready. I believe being fashionably late is more than an adequate reason.”

“You’re such a girl,” Sylas whines. I still haven’t turned around to face him, frozen on the spot. He’s never seen me dressed like this before.Oh god, what if he hates it?

“Whatever. I look hot,” Callie states proudly. “And so does Nola.”

“Nola?” Sylas asks. “Where is Nola? She’s here?”

“Are you blind?” Callie asks, grabbing my shoulders and spinning me around. “She’s right here.”

The look on Sylas’ face is comical. “What the fuck?” he whispers.