Page 32 of Gracefully Yours

Let’s hope they fit.

Ha. Ha. Did you forget who you’re marrying? I’m a whiz with a sewing machine. I could fix it if they didn’t.

How could I forget? You made last year’s costumes, after all.

It had surprised me how well she could sew on spandex, but I guess it shouldn’t have surprised me. I’d seen her whip up dozens of dance costumes for her girls, and it was crazy how fast she could pull together a project anymore.

See you tonight? We can plan more over dinner.

Sounds good. Have fun at work!

I leaned back in my office chair, settling in to work on my current project, but a new idea was forming in my mind. Charlotte was going to move into my house, but what if…

Pulling out a blank sheet of paper, I got to work.

CHAPTER7

Charlotte

OCTOBER

Two weeks. That was how long it had been since I’d agreed to become Daniel Bradford’swife.Which meant that I also only had a month left in my crappy apartment, since I’d given notice that I’d be moving out at the end of my lease a few days ago.

Was I completely in over my head here? Maybe.

Juily was waiting for me after class, pinning me with her knowing stare. “Seems like everything is back to normal with that man of yours.” She said, and I turned my head to hide my blush.

“He’s notmyman.” I waved her off.

“Sure sounds like denial to me. No one shows up to whisk their best friend away on a romantic birthday dinner with flowers if they don’t want to be with them.”

“I… It’s not like that. We’re just friends.”

Friends who agreed to get married because they made a marriage pact in college, but… Friends.

“Sure.” She hooked an arm through mine. “How are the designs coming along for the winter formal costumes? I haven’t seen them yet, and I’m just dying to know what you came up with.”

“Let me grab my sketchpad from my bag, and I can show you. I went and got swatches this weekend for fabrics, as well.”

It was safe to say I was obsessed. There was something about sewing the tiny dance costumes for our little students that filled my heart.

Would I make clothes for our kids someday? It was a topic Daniel and I hadn’t brought back up, but I couldn’t stop thinking about it. A fake marriage, but… I’d have my best friend by my side. And we’d raise our kids together. It was strange how fast I’d gone from thinking about having kids on my own, to knowing that I would have him.

I quickly shuffled through my dance bag for the aforementioned items to show to her, and she ran her fingers over the fabric. “Oh, Charlotte. This is going to be beautiful.”

“Thank you.” I practically beamed. I loved to teach dance, but dress design and sewing really was my passion. “They’re like little snowflakes, see?” I picked up the white lace overlay fabric, running my fingers over the sparkles sewn in. They would glitter on stage, just like freshly fallen snow.

It would be a lot of work, but it would be worth it versus the cheaply mass-made costumes.

“I’m going to have to have you make something for our little one,” she smiled. “We just found out it’s a girl.”

“Juily!” I exclaimed, pulling her into a hug. “That’s incredible news!”

She patted her stomach. “We’ll see if she takes after me, or herinfinitelycooler programmer Mom.”

I smiled, picturing a little dark-haired girl in a pink Leo and a black leather jacket, riding on a skateboard home from dance class. The perfect mix of girly and edgy. “She’ll be perfect, either way,” I decided.

“Yeah.” She agreed, looping an arm through mine. “Now, come on, let’s go home. I’m sure your man wants to see you as much as my wife wants to see me.”

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