Pretty Face by Sable Hunter

then jerk the bag off. Tada!”
    “Stop it.” Trinity grabbed her hands and forced Cody to look at her. “This has been the problem the whole time. There’s nothing wrong with you. You don’t need a bag over your head. Your family was messed up, especially your brother. They hurt you, but they didn’t destroy you. You’re beautiful, Cody. And if Hunter can’t see that, it’s his loss.”
    “At this point in time, after everything…” Cody looked from one to the other. “It’s not the scar I’m afraid of him seeing, it’s me and the lies I’ve told. Hunter values honesty. He hasn’t lied to me, I’ve lied to him.”
    “Well, let’s think of a plan. We can do this.” Marnie, always the problem solver, put her finger to her chin and tapped it. “We need to think of a way that you can get Hunter’s attention, have him in a romantic setting where you explain it all, hopefully with appropriate amounts of alcohol.”
    “Yea, but what?” Trinity asked. “I guess she could fix a romantic dinner here and just lay it all out.”
    Cody wasn’t saying anything, she had grown very quiet.
    “What are you thinking?” Marnie touched her on the shoulder.
    “The other day I was at Dr. Rowan’s.” Cody began, only to be interrupted by Trinity.
    “Oh, how is that going?”
    Cody made a face at her. “She annoys the heck out of me. Anyway…she mentioned that she is hosting one of the balls at Mardi Gras. There’s three of them this year, three different themes where everyone is supposed to stay masked until the last night.”
    “Sounds great. I love to get dressed up.” Marnie was about to go off on a tangent, so Trinity pinched her knee.
    “Stay on subject.” She looked at Cody. “What are you thinking? Do you think Sage ought to invite him to the ball?”
    “Oooooh, I like that idea.” Trinity gushed. “You could use the time to gradually explain things, reveal a little more of yourself…and enjoy him a little bit—if you dare.”
    “Sounds like more deception to me.” Cody didn’t think it would work.
    “No, you’re wrong,” Marnie stated bluntly. “Sage is you too, you’re that amazing woman he fell in love with. You need to show him how wonderful you really are. Everyone will be in costume. We’ll get Sage a beautiful wig, you can wear some darker blue contacts, get your nails done, wear some killer gowns. Take him in your arms and love him, let Cody shine through. And then when you reveal who you are—”
    Cody put a hand over Marnie’s mouth. “When I reveal who I am, he’ll hate me.”
    Trinity piped up while she set everyone’s mugs on the tray to take to the kitchen. “Maybe. Maybe not. But I think it’s a better plan than just springing it on him with the jambalaya or whatever.”
    Cody put her hands over her stomach. “I sorta feel sick. The balls start in two days.”
    “Yes, two days, we can work miracles in two days. I think you’re hungry, let’s go eat and we can go over this plan one more time.” Marnie pulled Cody to her feet. “I want to know how he knew about TRO, where he’s staying, and how long his cock is.”
    “Ha!” Cody snorted. “You don’t want much, do you?” She let herself be led along. “Okay, I feel like I’m about to partake of my last meal, like some death row inmate who has to pay for his crimes.”
    “Quit feeling sorry for yourself, Hunter is richer for having known you. Come on, you can tell us more while we chow down.” Trinity pushed Cody toward the door. “The whole world looks brighter after you’re full of pizza.”
     
     
     

Chapter Five
     
     
     
    “Where are you, Sage?” Hunter mumbled as he checked his computer for the fortieth time in the last hour. She’d left a message that she wanted to talk and then she just vanished—again. He’d left Cody’s and came straight home, still feeling like a heel about the way he’d picked at her about dating. If he wasn’t worrying about one of these women, he was