Page 98 of Until He Confesses

“That's what you plan to do?” he asked, and I smiled.

“Yeah?”

“That sounds great. Better than the fashion show.”

I almost slapped myself then to keep my delight for absolutely no reason in check and then sighed.

“You really do drive the hardest bargain ever.”

“What do you mean?” he asked, but I didn't bother explaining.

“How about we do both?” I asked. “We're sure to be hungry after the show, right? I mean, do they serve food there?”

“I have no idea,” he said, and I smiled again.

“Alright, I'll consider it, but can I see the dress first?”

“It can be delivered in thirty minutes,” he said, and I had absolutely nothing to complain about.

In half an hour, to be exact, the dress arrived in a massive box, and after signing for it and hanging the magnificent, ruffled bubblegum pink attire, I hung it in my closet and called Anna.

“Oh my fucking God,” she screamed. “That's the Gucci spring-summer pink bubble dress.”

Of course, she knew the brand, season, and name.

“Yeah,” I said.

“It cost eight thousand dollars!” she exclaimed, and my nose immediately wrinkled.

“What? I'm not wearing that.”

“Shut the fuck up,” she cursed. “Now this is what's going to happen. You're gonna wear it, and if you put a stain on it, I will kill you. And then you're going to wrap it up in that zip bag and bring it home to me. He doesn't expect you to return it. He can afford it, and you can't sell it in exchange for cash so that only leaves it with one last final use.”

I couldn’t wait to hear her explanation.

“And what might that final use be?”

“This is the dress I will be buried in,” she said in such a severe tone of voice that my head began to ache. Eventually, I was able to manage my amusement and get rid of her. And then I looked at the dress again with a sigh because how in the hell could I say no to it?

46

LUCAS

“Should I have sent her more options to choose from?” I couldn't help but ask as I finished up the day's tasks with Dahlia while we were in the car. We were waiting in front of Callie’s hotel, waiting so that we wouldn’t be late, as she took even longer than expected in coming out. I wondered if she hated the dress. Pulling my phone back out, I called her.

“That dress has been loved by every woman that has laid eyes on it so far, sir,” Dahlia told me. “I'm sure she'll love it."

I was inclined to believe this since I was well aware that if she didn't like it or couldn't wear it, she would have called to inform me. Or perhaps she had something better in her possession.

Regardless of what the case was, I just couldn’t wait to see her. Eventually, she came down from the shabby hotel in the gorgeous dress flowing in ruffles down her sides and then settling into the gown in a train. She held it up, showing the sleek length of her toned legs and thighs as well as the white strappy sandals she had donned. She looked so beautiful that it hurt. When she stood on the street looking around for my car, I forgot to respond.

Dahlia got out instead and ushered her to the opposite side. I had wanted to get out myself, but given that I couldn’t get my brain to work, I remained seated and shut my eyes, savoring her scent as she got in. She met my gaze briefly before turning to arrange her skirts in the car, and then she looked straight ahead.

I wanted to compliment her, needed to tell her how breathtaking she was, but this was already crossing the boundary of our agreement in so many ways. So, I kept to myself until we arrived at the venue. Just as the car stopped, she held onto my arm and stopped me from getting out. There were cameras all around, flashes, people gathered outside, and screams. None of it was for us, but we would soon be part of the attention, no doubt, and I could very clearly tell that this made her extremely nervous.

“We can go back,” I told her. “We don't have to attend.”

She looked at me and I couldn’t hold back then. I just needed her to know that she was breathtakingly beautiful.