Page 2 of Knight's Desire

Hope eyed Kayla with bewilderment. “I will if you’ll explain what I’m thanking you for.”

Kayla pointed to the phone. “That was Tally O’Leary. She asked to speak with you, but I told her you were busy with a client. You should have spoken with her though. She apologized for her mother’s behavior. I take it Ellen O’Leary called you before I got here this morning.”

Hope nodded and filled Kayla in on the earlier conversation. Kayla responded to the story with looks of disgust and eye rolls, all of which made Hope smile.

“I know the rule of thumb is the customer is always right, but I believe whoever coined that phrase never met Mrs. O’Leary.” Hope straightened the brochures and catalogs on the counter.

Kayla grinned. She’d been on the receiving end of Ellen O’Leary’s hover-mom act more than once. “If I was her daughter, I’d just elope, just so mom would stop trying to run the show.”

“Tally wouldn’t do that. She’s an only child, and her mother has looked forward to her wedding since she was a girl playing dress-up. Considering how much Mrs. O’Leary is spending on gowns for this wedding, I can suffer through the appointments. I just may need a vacation when it’s all said and done.”

“No doubt. If it makes you feel any better, Tally said not to cancel the dress order she put the deposit on, but I did schedule a time for her and Mrs. O’Leary to come in the day after tomorrow. I can take that one if you want. They’re only narrowing down choices for the ceremony gown, and I can play nice long enough for them to do that.”

Hope shook her head. “No, I want to see this through. I have a gown coming in today that would be perfect for Tally. It’s a modern take on a ball gown, but I think it’s traditional enough to please Mrs. O’Leary. It should be delivered today.”

“It was. The truck came early, and I had him put everything in the main salon. And there is something else that came today that I think will cheer you up.”

Hope felt her stomach dip, and her heart skipped a beat. “They’re here?”

Kayla nodded, her long blonde curls bouncing about her face with her exuberance. “And we don’t have any appointments for another couple of hours. I say we switch the sign to closed and have a little fashion show.”

Hope couldn’t hold back her squeal of delight. She turned on the heel of her expensive pumps, the skirt of her black dress billowing around her. Kayla hurried over to the front door, twisted the lock, and flipped the “open” sign over to “closed.”

When Hope’s eyes landed on the box in the middle of her largest salon, a shiver crawled along her spine. She stood transfixed, her mind barely comprehending what she was seeing. Her dream often seemed so overwhelming that she couldn’t believe the product of that dream actually fit in the shipping container.

“Oh, Kayla,” Hope breathed. “I’m almost afraid to open it.”

“Girl, you have to because I’m dying to see them!”

Her assistant’s enthusiasm was just the motivation she needed. Kayla produced a box cutter, and Hope made quick work of slicing open the top of the package. She peered inside with the wonder of a child on Christmas morning. All her eyes could detect were fathomless piles of fabric meticulously packed for shipment. Tears pricked her eyes as her slender fingers caressed the material.

Kayla jumped in excitement. “Pull them out.”

She reached in and removed two Hope Robertson originals, slipping them onto hangers and delicately placing them on an empty rack nearby. Then she looked her fill, emotion tightening her chest. The first was made of the purest white organza adorned with delicate lace and enough crystals to add drama without detracting from the elegance of the ball gown. The illusion neckline and sleeves provided a modest but lovely effect.

The second was all drama with an understated sexiness. The crepe would hug every curve of a woman’s body, the sweetheart neckline emphasizing her assets without being vulgar. Once the skirt skimmed the calves, it billowed out in a dramatic flair. The side panels were sheer lace from ribs to hips, and the back dipped low to accentuate the lovely arc of a woman’s back.

“They’re amazing,” Kayla gushed, but Hope was without words.

For years, she sketched the images of wedding gowns that floated around her imagination, as much a part of her as her next breath. With her boutique doing so well, she took the plunge to have two of her designs made for sale in her store. She found a company willing to create the samples for a reasonable price, and she’d been waiting patiently for the dresses to be shipped. Seeing them, the fabric and embellishment just as she imagined, she couldn’t believe the moment was real.

“You should try them on.”

Kayla’s suggestion pulled Hope from her daze. “What? These are for clients.”

“Yes, but it would be good for us to know how they fit. It would help us better sell them. Plus you should be the first to wear them. They’re your designs. Come on. It’ll be fun.”

“Ok. I’ll try on the ball gown. You try on the fit and flare.”

Kayla shook her head vehemently. “Oh, no! I plan to park my butt on that sofa and ooh and aah over you in your own wedding dresses. Try on the ball gown first. I want you to save the sexy one for last. You’re going to look amazing in both.”

Hope hesitated only a moment longer. Then with a brilliant smile, she reverently cradled the ball gown in her arms and crossed over to the dressing room. She managed to shed her dress and don the gown without any assistance. She smoothed the small strands of sable hair that escaped her French twist. Turning this way and that, she critically studied her reflection in the dressing room mirrors, the skirt’s fabric rustling as she moved.

Wedding dress designers typically assigned feminine names to their designs, and Hope was no different. The ball gown she wore carried the name Savannah after her hometown in Georgia. The dress represented the town’s mixture of old world and modern themes with the right touch of romantic whimsy. It was perfect.

“Hope, what’s taking so long? Come on! I’m dying out here.”

With a deep breath, Hope emerged and crossed the salon to stop in front of the sofa. She almost laughed at the comical way Kayla’s eyes bugged out in her face. Her jaw dropped, and happiness flooded Hope’s body. This was the reaction she hoped to have for her dresses. She just didn’t expect to get that reaction when she was wearing them.

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