“Cooool,” Georgia Huntingdon purred, smiling at Olivia and revealing perfect teeth, “is about to be the new hot.”
“But like I said,” Ivy told her apologetically, closing the door to the cold, “my father’s not home right now.”
“Oh, I’m not here for Charles,” replied Georgia. “I’m here for you. And your sister. I’m putting you two on the cover of Vamp.”
Sophia gave an involuntary scream of excitement. Ivy seemed too stunned to speak. Georgia Huntingdon brushed past her and walked up to Olivia. She extended a cool, firm hand. “Georgia Huntingdon, Vamp magazine.”
“Nice to meet you,” Olivia replied, shaking hands.
“Does the look on your face tell me you are unfamiliar with Vamp?” Georgia asked.
Olivia nodded.
“We are a high-fashion monthly, catering to vaaaaaa—”
Vampires! Olivia thought.
“—rious Goth tastemakers,” Georgia finished, smiling coyly. She studied Olivia’s face carefully, as if trying to detect whether Olivia had noticed her slipup.
Olivia decided to play dumb, since no one was supposed to know she was in on the vampire secret. “Sorry, I don’t read your magazine,” she said, wrinkling her nose. “I’m not really into heavy metal.”
Georgia laughed uproariously. “Chaaarming,” she cooed. Olivia exchanged a secret look with Ivy, who nodded approvingly. It seemed Georgia had bought her innocent act.
“I’m sure your father wouldn’t mind me doing a shoot right here right now?” Georgia half asked, half told Ivy as she looked around the hallway. “It wouldn’t be the first time we’ve photographed in this house.”
Ivy shrugged speechlessly.
“Excellent!” exclaimed Georgia. “Shall we begin?” She pulled open the front door. “Kitty! Kong!” she called.
A pale woman in a dark business suit and angular glasses appeared at the front door with a clipboard. She entered and surveyed the room, silently greeting everyone with a professional smile.
That must be Kitty, thought Olivia. Behind Kitty, a bald man with huge muscles and a tight black top appeared with an armful of camera equipment. And that must be Kong!
Georgia beckoned to the girls as Kitty and Kong began scurrying around. “I am sorry for the short notice, but we are on a verrrrry tight deadline,” she said. “The magazine comes out on Wednesday, and I only just learned of your story—but it’s much too big to leave for the next issue. Don’t you agree?” Suddenly her eyes fell on Sophia.
“Who are you? A trrrriplet?” she said, rolling her “r” mercilessly. Then she gave a full-throated laugh.
“My name’s Sophia Hewitt,” Sophia said, shaking Georgia’s hand firmly. “As an aspiring photographer myself, I am a huge fan of your magazine, Ms. Huntingdon.”
“Oh?” Georgia said. “Then how would you like to assist Kong today?”
Sophia tried to speak, but all she could do was wiggle around excitedly. It was like she’d been turned into a jellyfish.
“Go on,” Georgia smiled, waving her away to where the muscle-bound photographer was unpacking some lights across the room.
As Sophia went to help Kong, Kitty appeared, pushing an enormous rack of clothes with each hand—one filled with dresses in shimmering dark shades, the other with lighter and brighter ones. On the second rack, Olivia immediately noticed an ivory satin sleeveless cowl-necked gown that looked like something Marilyn Monroe would have worn. She reached to look at the label. “Is this a real Margot Chenille?” she gasped.
“Of course!” exclaimed Georgia.
Ivy fingered a sequined black flapper dress with a fringed bottom. “How do we know what will fit?”
“It all will,” Georgia answered with an obvious gesture, “because Kitty has only selected the latest fashions in your size.”
Olivia and Ivy exchanged excited looks— Olivia could tell her sister was nervous about all the attention, as usual, but they were both total fashion hounds.
For the first shot, Kitty had draped a pale sash of silk dramatically over a chaise longue in the foyer. After consulting with Kong, Sophia helped pick the sisters’ outfits. For Olivia, they chose a bright pink Coco Loco cocktail dress with a formfitting sleeveless top, while Ivy wore a midnightblue off-the-shoulder number from Before Dawn.
This is so fun! Olivia thought, carefully walking to the chaise in her specially selected, superhigh heels.
“Olivia,” Kong’s deep voice boomed from behind his camera, “I want you to make a face like you are blowing the biggest bubble gum bubble ever.” Olivia puffed up her cheeks and widened her eyes. “Bigger!” Kong commanded. “Bigger!” Olivia felt like her face was going to pop off.
“Now, Ivy, pretend to pop your sister’s bubble,” Kong instructed.
“Yessss!” Olivia heard Georgia hiss approvingly as Kong’s flash started popping.
After a few minutes, Georgia clapped her hands briskly. “The camera looooves you,” she said. “Time for the next outfit!” and whisked them away to change.
Next, Olivia and Ivy put on matching tight satin dresses, except Olivia’s was white while Ivy’s was black. The dresses had this really cool thing happening, like they were being peeled back layer by layer as they rose up the body, from tons of fabric on the bottom to just a thin layer on top. Ivy looked gorgeous. I guess since we’re identical twins, Olivia realized happily, that means I look gorgeous, too!