Montgomery’s Sin seemed to have affected her more than ever.
She gave Roni a weak smile and watched the other woman’s expression toughen up.
“You’re not. But you will if you don’t come on out there and play with the boys.”
“I don’t think I can.” She heaved in a panicked breath. She was going to burst into flames in front of everyone, and then what would happen?
“What’s the matter with her?” One of the women poked her head around the compartment door.
“She’s shy.” Roni tapped her talons against the doorframe.
“Looking like that? You’re kidding.”
Insult bubbled at the woman’s tone, and Ginny’s lips parted, ready for a reply.
“I dressed her,” Roni confessed, a wry smile on her perfect lips, and Ginny wondered if the place had caused her to overreact.
“Ahhh.” All three women stared at Ginny from the doorway. The older two nodded wisely as though it explained everything, and her breath came in shorter, harder hitches.
“I can’t breathe.”
The blonde woman leaned in, hauled her to her feet, and before she could heave in another lungful of air, the lady dragged her through the booth door into the main bathroom area.
“I’m not surprised, honey. Your lungs must be crushed flat in that dress. You need to stand. I wish I could pour my body into something so delicious. Here…” The woman wrangled her in front of the bank of mirrors, shoved a comb into her free hand, and gave an insistent nudge of the champagne glass toward Ginny’s lips. “You need to drink up. It’ll give you Dutch courage. You’re going to need it with those boys on the rampage, especially when they get an eyeful of your skin in that slutty little dress.”
Ginny choked on her drink, and the woman gave her a hearty slap between her shoulders. She caught the reflection of her own eyes in the mirror just as they started to glow an ethereal, icy cobalt, and wondered how long the woman had to live. She didn’t really have the power to kill anyone, but the screeching chorus she conducted in her head could sure as hell make the woman’s ears bleed. Ginny just had to concentrate on not letting the sound escape from her mouth. The whole swirling ice storm in her eyes was just a glimpse into the blizzard in her soul.
“Wow.” The darker-haired lady stepped in close and stared hard into her face. “I love your contact lenses. Where did you get them?”
Voices screamed inside her head, and she tried her best to contain them. She licked her lips, and a brief swell of noise emitted from her throat, making her wonder how the heck the women weren’t bleeding by now.
The blonde gave a comforting rub between her shoulder blades. “Oh, honey, maybe you shouldn’t drink champagne. You sound like you have gas.”
The three of them stood in front of the bank of mirrors, and Ginny pursed her lips in a tight pout while she allowed her gaze to scan them all.
The two older women fussed, touching each other’s hair and smoothing one another’s clothes, full of genuine kindness and sweet concern, no different than they had shown her, and Ginny suddenly started to giggle. She’d been about to incinerate the darker-haired one for no other reason than her own fear and panic. The way she was feeling, Ginny was pretty sure she could send someone else up in a ball of flames if she concentrated hard enough. She looked them over. These sweet ladies didn’t deserve it.
One of the women rummaged in her purse and produced a red lipstick. Ginny hoped she wasn’t about to lick her thumb and scrub it across some imagined blemish on her face like her mother used to. She smiled. There was a similar look to them that meant the two small women were possibly related to each other, but their attitude reminded her of her mother.
“I think this is your color, sweetie. Put it on. Blot. Go get a big handsome football player. Maybe you should tug your dress down an extra inch. You don’t want the boys to get the wrong