The Hybrid Mate

Chapter Twenty Two

Tia's POV

The Celebration

After three full hours of hair and make-up and trying on dress after dress, I was finally complete. I went to my full-length mirror to take a look at myself all put together. I looked stunning. These ladies worked some serious magic. My normally fluffy hair had been straightened to perfection and loose curls formed at the ends. My make-up was light and paired with an ombre eyeshadow and a plum lip. The outfit was a hot pink, off shoulder top that hugged at waist then flowed to a floor length tail of tulle and matching ¾ length pants. We finished off the look with a pair of nude heels and a french manicure.

"Mate is gonna flip his lid when he sees us, girl. I told you we were the shit!" Deva chimed as I took the whole look in.

I accepted that fact. My confidence was through the roof! I didn't believe I had all of this beauty hiding under a blanket of low self esteem. As I outwardly smiled at myself a knock came to my door. When I opened it, it was Jenny.

"Jenny. What are you doing here?"

"I was sent to tell you that your escort is waiting for you in the foyer. You look really beautiful, by the way."

"Aww. Thanks, Jenny. You say the nicest things. I thought you were here to bombard me with questions like April did today."

"No, no. Nothing like that. I heard what happened though. Word spreads fast around here."

"Tell me about it."

"Well, if you need anything, let me know."

"I'm fine, thanks. I'll be down in a sec."

Jenny bowed her head and scurried away. I turned back to grab my phone and set it to vibrate. I was about to stuff it in my bra when I realized I wasn't wearing one. The top had cups in it but no support to hold my phone in place. Shit, I thought. I'll just leave it here on the charger. Nobody calls me anyway, all they do is mindlink. With that thought I left the room and made my way to the foyer. I thought it would be my brother coming to escort me to the ballroom. I had been there once by just roaming around the villa, and it was huge. About the size of a football stadium without bleachers. It had all colors of whites and creams with tan accents and giant crystal chandeliers. The bars were located in a different room off to the side along with seating for more personalized conversations in a relaxed atmosphere. There were restaurant sized buffet tables on each side of the entrance. And about fifty huge round tables laced with white tablecloths and surrounded by a dozen chairs each on both sides of a white carpeted aisle. It has an enormous white tiled dance floor. And a stage that was covered in white sheer curtains. It was soft lit by recessed lighting and had skylights with golden accents. The place literally had trees planted and in full bloom with white flowers. It was beautiful. I couldn't wait to see it buzzing with people and all set up.

As I rounded the corner to enter the foyer, I saw Liam. He turned around and smiled immensely showing his deep dimples and perfect teeth as he gazed at me up and down. I did the same. He looked incredibly sexy. He was wearing a tailored, hot pink and black peak lapel suit jacket with fitted black slacks, a black button down shirt, and a pair of black Christan Louboutin oxfords (red bottoms). His hair was neatly styled in his usual slicked back man bun. He. Looked. Incredible.

After we took each other in, he opened his arm as a gentleman and turned on his heels. I came forward and took my place at his side. As we started to walk arm in arm to the ballroom, he finally spoke.

"You look absolutely breathtaking."

"Thank you. You clean up nice yourself."

He turned and smiled. We finished the walk in a comfortable silence. As we approached the main doors, the guards opened them. The place was bustling with people. Some I knew, but a lot of them were just familiar faces. We made our way through the crowd with a lot of stares and whispers. It didn't affect me at all. I was on top of the world. Liam asked if I wanted champagne from the many servers that were floating around, I told him I'd prefer a cocktail so we headed to one of the bars in the next room. We looked around to see which one had the fewest people and decided on the one closer to the back. Still arm in arm, we made our way. I ordered a Sex on the Beach and he had a double Blood and Sand, heavy on the whiskey.