Moon Tower

32.

this chapter has been edited and updated. enjoy!xx

Standing in front of Harry's bathroom mirror, I turned from side to side as I held my phone up with an outstretched hand. I was on the phone with my older sister, trying to get an opinion on the dress I was wearing.

"You sure it looks okay?" I asked, resisting the urge to bite my thumbnail so as not to ruin the lipstick I was wearing.

Sara stifled a yawn, rocking little Mia in the chair she was sitting in. It was late back home, and I never would have called my sister at this hour, but she actually called me first. I sighed in relief when I saw her name pop up on my phone screen, having at least someone to talk to as I finished getting ready for Harry's fancy New Year's Eve party. My own family usually has a big party back home, but I think it was just my parents, the littles, Austin, and Sarah and her kids, the twins and Tico having their own parties to go to this year. Despite the little party my family threw, Sara's kids, and Marissa and Sebastian for that matter, were still young, so it was a pretty quiet affair.

My older sister called because Mia refused to sleep, so that meant she couldn't either, and figured FaceTiming me would pass the time. "I told you, Luz, you look great."

She had told me, but for whatever reason, I was having a hard time believing it. Maybe it was because I was in a dress that I never could have afforded on my own with my current salary, or maybe it was because I couldn't remember the last time I got this dressed up, but as I looked at myself in this dress, my makeup done, and my hair up and carefully messy, I couldn't help but feel like the person in the mirror looking back at me was a stranger.

"It's not too summer-y, though is it?" I ask, ignoring Sara's compliment. "It's the dead of winter here and I'm in such a bright color."

Letting me have my moment of worry, Sara asks me to show her the front of the dress one more time. I bring my phone down so that she can see it, watching as she quietly eyes the dress for the hundredth time.

"I mean, it kind of is, but it suits you," she says, looking down at Mia to see if she'd finally fallen asleep. She hadn't. "London could use a pop of color in the dead of winter."

I nodded, letting her reassuring words wash over me. Harry, Lambert, that is, said something similar to me when we were combing through racks of dresses. We'd been sifting through some of the stuff he brought to his office where we decided to meet, thinking it was best to look through what he already had before venturing out onto the streets of LA to find something for the events Harry wanted me to attend. Harry said you weren't the biggest fan of shopping, Lambert had said when we met. I cursed my boyfriend internally while I smiled and laughed along with the stylist. I mean, he wasn't wrong, but Harry Lambert, who I had to assume loved shopping, didn't need to know that.

Among the varying fabrics, textures, and colors, the peachy-pink of a satin dress caught my eye. Lambert clocked my piqued interest and pulled it off the rack immediately. I remember loving the smoothness of the satin paired with the little beaded flowers scattered around the front, the feeling of rightness when I slipped it on for the first time.

"It's perfect," Lambert had said as he helped me zip the rest of it up. "Your skin is practically glowing." The dress felt like a no brainer at the time. I looked good and felt good in it, and that's all there was to it. Only now I seemed to need a little help believing it once more.

I talk to my sister for a few more minutes, showing her my shoes and coat that Lambert and I paired with the dress. Sara was telling me to add some lip gloss to my lips for some extra shine when there was a knock on the door. "Luz love, you ready to go?"