Page 152 of Dream Girl
I started with a black shimmery one.
“Can you zip me?” Riley called from her dressing room.
“Sure.” I left my room and went over to hers. “You look great.”
She wore a black and white sleeveless formal romper. I zipped her up. Riley looked at herself in the mirror, then had me take a picture.
We tried on dresses, spinning in the mirror and taking pictures of each other. Occasionally, Riley would go out and get Spencer's opinion–or chat with the girls trying on blue dresses for something called anexcellent eighteenth.Spencer was back out where the racks had first been, drinking a glass of champagne and answering work emails on his phone.
Andre came back to check on us a few times.
“Nothing is the one, is it?” he finally asked me.
“They’re all beautiful,” I replied. No, none of them werethe one.
He nodded. “I have better ones. Ones that fit the dress code, but might be a bit flashy for the queen mum’s idea of what family should wear.”
“I’d like that. Thank you.” It was pretty funny how people referred to Brennan’s mom as thequeen mum.It also explained a hell of a lot.
Andre came back with an armful of dresses. “You try these.”
“Thanks.” These were puffy, princess-y numbers.
I took out all the low back ones and then tried a blue one first.
“Ooh, that is more like it,” Riley breathed when I came out.
I looked in the mirror; it was very Cinderella.
She had on a tux and spun. “I could match the boys. Like?”
“So dapper. You need a hat,” I told her, twirling.
“I want a hat.” She nodded.
I tried on the rest of the dresses. The yellow one didn’t look right. The green one was a little fussy for my taste.
Last was a silver gown, with puffy sleeves and a little train. It had a corset back I couldn’t quite lace up. The neckline showed off the girls but wasn’t too daring. It showed my scars a little so I threw on the wrap.
I walked out into the dressing area and looked at myself in the mirror. Oh, my God. It was exquisite, with light sparkles in the brocade.That train.I looked like I was going to the Met Gala.
“Oh, my dear, you look extraordinary,” a woman said as she stood there. “Are you getting married?” She was old enough to be my mother.
“This is for a gala. I think it’s too much.” The train was massive. How would I navigate in that?
She smiled. “At your age, there’s no such thing.”
Andre came back and beamed. “Perfect. The train bustles for dancing.” He showed me. “We’ll have it altered for length.”
“Wow.” Riley came out in a silver jumpsuit, looking adorable. She took a picture of me. “Evan needs to see you in that.”
She went to try more things on, and I just stood there, looking in the mirror.
The older woman came back out, in a demure blue beaded number. “You are precious in that. Which gala is it for?”
“The Morris Foundation. I’ve never been. I don’t know if it’s appropriate. All the dresses I’ve tried are lovely, but this…” I felt like a princess.
“I’m going as well. You’ll be fine. I’m Evangeline,” she introduced.
