Be Good Mrs. B | Spies, Lies & Butterflies Book #2

12. keep your legs closed

"Will you stop wiggling so much?"

I rolled my eyes, "I'm not wiggling."

Sadie pinched me.

"Sadie!"

"Don't roll your eyes at me."

I rolled them again, sidestepping quickly enough to evade her.

She laughed, lunging to swat me on the butt.

"I was nice to you in your ignorance, but now that you know what you know, I won't hold back."

Sadie swatted me again, this time with a dish towel.

I laughed, fastening an earring, "It's like you're begging me to put you in a chokehold."

"The only person I'd beg to put me in a chokehold is Alex."

"Saaaadie. That image will be in my nightmares for at least a week."

"Serves you right for acting like a little brat. Let me finish your hair," Sadie patted the desk chair she procured for my makeover.

I sat back down, folding my legs so that I was cross-legged in the cozy chair.

"Out of the two of us, you are – hands-down – the bigger brat. Remember when you were running for homecoming queen junior year?"

For all her thoughtfulness, Sadie had wanted the night to be perfect, sending my mother into a mild tizzy. She had our seamstress aunt make the dress per her design. She had scheduled her makeup appointment at the Mac counter and begged my mom to let her get long nails. And her hair had to be curled in such a way that a crown could rest on top, just so.

It was a testament to her thoroughness more than her inclination to be a diva, but I couldn't resist the opportunity to call her out anyway.

She snorted, pinning a piece of hair in place, "I won, didn't I?"

"Earth to Sadie. You win at everything. I can't even remember you ever not winning."

"That's not true at all. I failed at plenty of things. Victories are usually just louder than defeat."

Sadie's sage insight had always comforted me. I weighed the logistics of the evening, the uncertainty provoking a smattering of goosebumps to spring up on my skin.

It'd be my first return to working in this capacity, unofficially.

"Are you nervous?"

I didn't lie, "A little."

"You've worked really hard to get where you are, Annie. You've trained and studied and have poured everything into this job. You've given up a lot to protect people who will never even know who you are. This is your arena. This is your turf... you have the homecourt advantage – not the other way around."

I was smiling on the inside and the out, "Thanks, sissy."

"You're welcome."

Sadie began removing the scarf around my head, "What will you do if you see someone you know?"

"Give them a taste of their own medicine."

"Normally, I'd ask what that means, but I think I'm happy to not know. Whatever you do, make it count." She patted my shoulder, in a silent gesture, letting me know she had finished.

With bare feet, I walked to where a rolling rack stood in the middle of the living room with a handful of dresses I rented for the occasion. Usually, the agency had supplied my costuming, but I had none of my usual faculty.