Total pages in book: 81
Estimated words: 77359 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 387(@200wpm)___ 309(@250wpm)___ 258(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 77359 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 387(@200wpm)___ 309(@250wpm)___ 258(@300wpm)
“We’re so glad you’re here, Miss Striano,” said a woman who introduced herself as Gladys. “We’re going to make you the most beautiful bride ever. Of course, she’s already most of the way there, isn’t she, Mr. Moretti?” Gladys took me by the upper arms and turned me to face Carmine. His eyes fixated on her hand as she ran it through my hair.
“He’s not my—”
“Just wait until he sees how you look in the first dress,” the older woman said, and she ushered me away. Looking back, I saw Carmine fold his long frame into a plush, lavender chair, and I stifled a giggle.
It felt strange standing in a mirrored room in my bra and panties while Gladys and her assistant held up various fabrics against my skin. The fabrics came in white. Off-white. Ivory white. And somehow, white-white. Gladys explained that she was going to show me some dresses with features she thought I might like, and then a one-of-a-kind dress could be made that combined all my favorite aspects.
A few minutes later, I stared at the mirror, keeping as still as possible so that the pins they’d used to make the dress fit me didn’t stab me.
“Oh my,” Gladys gushed. “What do you think of that one, dear?”
Honestly, I thought I looked like Little Bo Peep about to look for her sheep. “Are there any without such a wide skirt?”
“Certainly. Wait until I show you the next one. It’s downright slinky. That’ll keep that handsome hubby of yours from straying!”
The bodice was beaded and snug, and lower cut than anything I’d ever worn. The silky fabric clung to my hips. As I turned slightly, still looking in the mirror, one of my legs pushed through the long slit.
“What do you think?”
“I like it,” I breathed. It wasn’t the dress… somehow, I knew that, but I liked the way it made me look older and more sophisticated. I swept my hair off my shoulders and gathered it at the back of my head, like an updo.
“Perfect,” Gladys crooned, and her assistant stepped behind me and pushed something in my hair. When I lowered my hand, my hair stayed up. “With such slim, lovely shoulders like that, you should definitely show them off. Now, let’s go see what Mr. Moretti thinks.”
“What?” My voice was so loud I was surprised Carmine didn’t dash in here to see if I’d been injured.
“My dear, we don't hold with superstition here, and he’s the one paying the bills? Besides, whatever dress you choose will go through lots of alterations, so by the time your wedding day arrives, it’ll be a completely different dress. Come on, let’s show him.”
She helped me off the platform and I followed her in a daze. No man had ever seen me show this much cleavage, especially not a future brother-in-law.
Carmine looked ridiculous in the tiny, feminine chair. His eyes were on his phone screen, but when he heard us, he looked up.
For a moment, he just stared. Then he slowly got to his feet. “Wow.”
Gladys beamed as if he’d given her high praise. “Isn’t she gorgeous? Turn around for him, dear.”
My cheeks heated, and I shook my head.
“You young girls today—so modest! But honey, he’s going to see a lot more of you than that on your wedding night.”
Now my cheeks were burning enough to catch my hair on fire, so it was a good thing it was still up. Slowly, I spun around, very aware of how the silky fabric moved against my skin. By the time I was facing Carmine again, I couldn’t meet his eyes.
“Stand up straight, dear.” Gladys pulled my shoulders back, causing my chest to stick out and my head to pop up. Now I could see Carmine, and he looked stunned. His mouth was open, and his pupils were dark.
And all of a sudden, there was a throbbing between my legs. A sensation I’d only felt once before. My pulse spiked, and I wondered what it would be like, on my wedding night, to have a man like him look at me with hunger in his eyes—as he was doing now.
Would Massimo ever look at me that way?
“It’s, uh, very pretty.” Carmine’s voice was hoarse.
Gladys made a disapproving sound, as if underwhelmed by Carmine’s words. But I couldn’t drag my eyes away from the rapt expression on his face. Under the beaded bodice of the dress, my nipples hardened.
“Ma’am?” It took me a moment to realize that the woman at the front desk was talking to Gladys. The older woman walked away, leaving me and Carmine alone.
And I didn’t have the slightest clue what to say. It took me a full thirty seconds to come up with something. “Do you think Massimo will like it?”
“Yes,” he answered instantly, and he blinked several times as if coming out of a spell.