Vanilla

Chapter 41

"You were always the bravest person in the room in my eyes."

Rosalie's POV: 

My stomach had been upset the entire day. I did not eat a single thing--there was no time. I was way too worried. Somehow, I led myself into believing that inviting POWA's most powerful "stretters," which was the name for all the agents who organize POWA missions, according to Luke, to the Moore mansion was a good idea. And now I was completely freaking out.

Jack managed to talk himself out of attending. Especially because having a former POWA captive present at the meeting for POWA stretters would not be a good idea. Plus, I was sure that him being here would just cause more chaos. I was definitely jealous of him right now.

Why would they approve of us to go investigate? We were just a bunch of kids. Especially me, I wasn't even a POWA agent. Not that they knew that, of course. But if pretending and kissing up to them meant stopping my dad, then that's what had to happen.

I came out of my room, heading downstairs to one of the large dining rooms in the mansion. I had been living here for months, but I was still not used to any of it. My hand hovered over the knob. I just needed to relax, things would be fine, I hoped.

Stepping inside, I realized that most of the stretters were already here. My eyes widened as I realized and went to sit by Luke. I looked around, examining all of the agents. I caught sight of Iris and Zach sitting far away and waved at them. Mr. Moore sat at the head of the table, leading the conversation as everyone nodded along.

My eyes then landed on one of the few women at the table. However, she was much younger than the rest of them--and very, very beautiful. I didn't even know how it was possible to look like that.

She had thick, dark brown hair, matching her beautiful, flawless skin. I'm pretty sure she was glowing. Well, if POWA didn't work out for her, at least she had an opportunity as a model. She was dressed in a formal business suit, making her look even more sophisticated. I guessed that she was about our age, maybe one or two years older. She looked at me across the table, catching me watching her and gave me a warm smile. I returned it and followed her gaze as it shifted next to me.

She was looking at Luke. 

I tensed, my smile faltering a fraction. She shot him a flirtatious smile and a confident wink.

Man, she was really pretty.

I looked between the two of them, gauging Luke's reaction. He gave her a small smile, nodding his head and acknowledging her. He looked completely normal.

I didn't understand how he wasn't flustered at all--she had just winked at him for goodness sake! And she looked like a true agent--her clothing, her ease and confidence. She was everything I wanted to be.

My cheeks reddened as I looked down at my own clothes. I had put on a simple dark green sundress, patterned with small white flowers. I thought it would have been appropriate for a lunch meeting, but looking at everyone right now, I felt ridiculous. Who was I kidding? Why did I think I would be able to pull this off?

This was a serious meeting for a government agency, not Sunday brunch with Iris. Without realizing what I was doing, I began to play with the hem of my dress nervously, zoning out of the conversation entirely.

I jolted in my seat as I felt a sudden warm presence beside me. Luke had leaned in close to my ear. I heard him whisper, "I like your dress."

I inhaled sharply, sneaking a glance at him. But he kept his focus on the meeting, a small smirk grazing his features.

My lips quirked up involuntarily as I smoothed my dress down and zoned back into the conversation. I had to stop worrying about my wardrobe and start worrying about the meeting. Especially the food that came with it. I hadn't realized how hungry I had been until now. I dug into my food, being extra careful not to be messy.