Mafia Queen

Chapter Thirty Four

Charlotte

"Char, I want you to meet somebody." Angelo came into the bedroom again. He and Marco had given me some privacy when the man was doing my tattoos, and I'd just been staring at them in the mirror ever since he left.

I never pictured myself having many tattoos, and now I had a full array covering my shoulder and parts of my chest. Flowers were drawn down my ribs and up between my boobs, and even through my tank top, you could see them. It didn't even look like my body, but I kind of liked it.

I turned to see Angelo standing with a blond woman I didn't recognize. "This is Elle, friend of Jace's."

"Hi." I smiled, reaching out to shake her hand.

She took it, smiling back. She was strikingly beautiful, and I already felt comfortable with her. "It's so nice to meet you. I've heard a lot about you."

I smiled sheepishly, wondering why I hadn't heard anything about her, if she knew so much about me. Was Jace dating this girl?

"Elle is a fashion designer from Los Angeles. She brought a few dresses for you to look at, and is going to help with your hair and makeup so you can look the part tonight." He smiled.

My eyes widened. "Wow. Thank you so much. I didn't realize all this was necessary."

"Oh, it's my pleasure. I don't get to play around with this stuff as much as I used to when I was in Los Angeles." She smiled. "Besides, you have so much natural beauty, I will hardly be doing anything at all."

"We want her to look somewhat different, though." Angelo clarified. "Just in case Niko knows her face."

"Absolutely." Elle nodded. "Say no more."

"I'll leave you girls to it, then." Angelo said, before glancing over his shoulder at me. "Nice tats." He winked with a smirk.

I shook my head, laughing as he walked out. It was nice to see Angelo mellowing out a bit. It made me feel more confident about the situation and helped take my mind off of what I was about to do.

Elle walked towards a trunk in the corner of the room that I hadn't noticed until now, opening the doors and revealing at least a dozen evening dresses.

"I didn't know what you'd like, so I brought a bit of everything. Go ahead and look through them and then you can try a couple on and we'll see which you like best." She grinned. As I sifted through the rack, it reminded me of when I went dress shopping at the boutique in Miami for Luca's opening. These dresses were even more beautiful than those, and I wasn't sure how I'd ever pick.

The dress was important. It had to catch NiKo's attention and pique his interest enough that he would approach me. I pulled a few of my favorites off of the rack and started slipping them on.

The first two were stunning, but not exactly what I was looking for. When I put the third one on, I knew it was the one. A skin tight black lace dress that hit mid thigh. It clung to every curve I had and had a plunging neckline that showed off my new tattoos. I hadn't worn anything like this in years, and even when I was young, it wasn't exactly my style, but it was fit for a Mafia queen.

Little by little, I was beginning to look the part. And maybe if I looked like I belonged, I'd feel that way, too.

"Wow." Elle stared back smiling. "You look absolutely stunning. Like that dress was made for you."

"It really is beautiful. Did you design it?" I ran my hands down the sides of it, taking in all the details.

Elle nodded excitedly. "It'll debut in fashion week this year, but it looks incredible on you. You have to wear it."