Page 74 of Drawn Together

“Do you think Daddy is taking you because he can’t find anyone to go with?” Gabriella asked as she made two thin French braids that met in the center, leaving the rest of my hair in loose waves to cascade down my back.

“I doubt it,” I answered as I looked at my face in the mirror and cursed, wondering how I was going to cover the cuts on my face. If I didn’t do it right, people would think someone had beaten me up. The thought made me shudder.

As my sister continued fixing my hair, I began to hide the marks on my skin the best I could and tried to reduce the swelling around my eyes in a way that looked natural but accentuated their color.

“You have to wear this, Mar. You’ll be even more of a showstopper,” she said, handing me a bright red lipstick.

“You don’t think it’s too much?”

“Everything about you is too much,” she answered, looking at me in the mirror.

I still had to get dressed and put on that damned hat, but my face looked smooth as alabaster under the foundation, and my eyes were extra green thanks to the mascara, which had taken my already long eyelashes to unexpected lengths.

I used the red lipstick that my sister suggested, but only dabbing it onto my lips very lightly so that it looked a little more natural. When I put on the dress and heels, only one thought came to mind: What would Sebastian think when he saw me dressed like this?

I didn’t have to wait long to find out, since he was standing beside the car along with my father, who was smoking a cigar as he waited for me to come down. When I stepped out of the front door, they both turned to look at me. My father’s gaze held admiration and pride, though not fatherly pride, more like when he bought himself a new Ferrari that made him feel like he was better than everyone else. Sebastian, on the other hand, looked dazzled, as if he hadn’t expected to see me that way.

I walked down the steps toward them. “The hat itches like crazy, so I don’t plan on wearing it until we get there,” I said, waving it like a fan, “and the heels are super uncomfortable,Dad. They might’ve cost you a fortune, but they’re already rubbing blisters.”

And the bubble was instantly burst. My father frowned in disapproval, his normal reaction to me, and Sebastian tried to suppress a smile.

We got in the car, and I realized that Sebastian wouldn’t be riding with us as he climbed into the passenger’s seat of Logan’s car.

“Who is that?” I asked, looking back at the four well-dressed men, including Sebastian—My God, he looks so good in that jacket and tie!—who were following in an SUV.

“I hired additional security,” my father said, taking out his cell phone as we turned onto the same road where we’d had the accident the day before.

He spent the entire ride talking to someone named Malcolm, and I got so bored that I fell asleep in the back seat until my father shook me awake once we arrived.

Someone opened the door for me, and I immediately felt ridiculous when my eyes landed on the crowd of people entering the racecourse, understanding that the custom of dressing up for the races was a thing of the past. Most of the people there were wearing blue jeans and sneakers. But when we reached my father’s private balcony, his social circle was as snobby as he was, and my attire suddenly made sense.

Rows of seats were positioned up front with a great view of the racetrack, and glass doors at the rear opened onto a room furnished with sofas facing a gigantic TV, where servers endlessly passed trays of champagne and canapes.

I began to feel nervous when I noticed Sebastian was nowhere in sight. After scanning the space, I finally spotted him on the other side of the room, looking around with a stern expression. He even had one of those earpieces in his ear. He was all bodyguard that day, and I hated that he had to stand in theshadows, leaving me surrounded by people I didn’t know and had no desire to talk to.

As I was lifting a glass of champagne to my lips—I needed to get a buzz if I was going to survive the evening—my father came over to me, flanked by two very tall and attractive men.

“Marfil, let me introduce you to Emilio and Marcus Kozel,” he said, pointing to each man in turn. The older man, Emilio, was obviously the father of the younger, more handsome one, Marcus. I held out my hand as my gaze lingered involuntarily on Marcus Kozel. He was very good-looking… and he seemed intrigued by me as well. “This is my daughter Marfil, whom I’ve told you so much about, Emilio.”

“And you did not do her justice, my friend,” Emilio said, taking a step forward and shaking my hand with an amused smile.

I turned toward Marcus and shuddered involuntarily.

“They told me you were very pretty, but I thought they were exaggerating,” he said, kissing my gloved hand instead of following his father’s example and simply shaking it.

His hair was very dark, like mine, and he had startlingly blue eyes that left me with a strange feeling when they rested on me.

“People tend to exaggerate,” I said, grateful to have my hand back.

Marcus smiled and continued to openly stare at me as if I were a work of art. I had always felt uncomfortable receiving attention from men like him. Although I had to admit that this one was uncommonly handsome.

“Your father told me what happened yesterday with your car,” Emilio Kozel said, bringing our attention back to him. “I can’t believe anyone would want to harm a single hair on your head. I’m sorry you’ve had to go through something so traumatic.”

“You don’t need to be sorry. The idiot who thought they could kill me is the one who’s going to be sorry, sir,” I said,blushing as I realized I’d shown my anger in front of a total stranger.

Marcus laughed loudly. “She does have a strong personality, Alejandro. I thought you were exaggerating there, too.”

My father smiled and sipped from his glass, then said, “It’s impossible to exaggerate when it comes to my daughter, Marcus.”