Page 9 of Dark Night Golden Dawn
Enzo grinned again. “You will be beautiful at every event. I’ll do everything I can to make your season perfect, right?”
“I don’t need to be perfect. Just presentable.”
Enzo rolled his eyes. “Come on, Harls. It’s just you and me. Admit it, you want to slay them all with your devastating curves. Especially after Section Seven called you frumpy this morning.”
His tone was matter-of-fact, not judgmental. She knew he was seeing what Selene and Aurelia did—her outer appearance as a reflection of her inner turmoil. Harlow bit her bottom lip. “I do, a little, but here’s the budget.”
She pulled up the amount she had to work with on her phone and Enzo barely glanced at it. “You’re good.”
“What? That’s barely enough for two of your couture gowns, let alone a season’s worth of wardrobe.”
“Come here.”
He pulled her off the couch and back towards an area of the shop where a desk sat in a corner nook flanked by tall bookcases, all full of books about costuming and fashion throughout the centuries. There were several marble pedestals arranged in front of the tall windows, which displayed some of the books with illustrations. One particularly beautiful one depicted different pallyra, showing off the ceremonial robes of the Immortal Orders in all their glory. Harlow stood gaping at the spectacular collection of rare books.
Enzo touched her arm, guiding her toward the book of pallyra designs. “Your sister finished my collection last year, for the remodel, and it’s so popular with clients that they wrote an article about it in the Times. Apparently, I have the most extensive collection of books on fashion history in the country.”
Harlow smiled. “Thea is so good at sourcing collectors’ material.”
“I don’t think you understand, Harlow. She tipped off the Times. My business has tripled since the article. They’ve been calling me fashion’s greatest scholar, which is true, but still bizarre to read in print. I’m dressing your entire family for the season on whatever budget you can afford. Your family means the world to me, they always have.”
He took her by the hips and guided her in front of a floor-length gilded mirror. “You’re going into this season with a killer wardrobe. I won’t have it any other way. In fact, come look at what I’ve put together for you already. I have a few options for the Statuary party I think you’ll love.”
Enzo showed her to a rack with her name on it, full of jewel tones that would set her skin and hair aglow. Most of the clothes were for daytime events and he began the work of measuring her for the gowns she’d need for Solon Mai and the Solstice Gala, helping her onto a platform so he could have access to her limbs. She tried to chat with him, while he did so, but he hushed her.
“I won’t be able to keep my numbers straight if you talk, so zip it.”
She did as he asked, grateful for everything he was doing for her. Grateful to Thea and her parents for always treating Enzo like family, and that they all loved him as dearly as she did. His parents had been killed in a horrific train accident when they were in secondary school and the maters had welcomed him to every family dinner, brunch and high holiday celebration after that so he’d never be lonely in the huge townhouse they’d left him.
When he was finished measuring he helped her down from the platform. Tears pricked the corners of her eyes; she’d missed Enzo so much it hurt sometimes, and spending this time together made the ache in her heart sharper. She looked him straight in his dark brown eyes and tried to be brave. “I made a lot of mistakes when you were honest with me about Mark and I regret them all. You have always been a good friend to me, my best friend aside from Thea, and I am sorry for shutting you out.”
Enzo nodded solemnly, accepting her apology with his signature grace. “Are you okay?Really?”
Harlow knew he already knew the answer. That she wasn’t okay. That some days she worried she was too damaged to go on, that no one would ever be able to love or respect someone as foolish as she was. That she feared that she was the kind of person who simplyattractedbad people.
Enzo cupped her face in his hands. “Harls, you know that’s not true, don’t you?”
He didn’t often let on that his empathy sometimes worked a little like mind-reading, as he knew it made people uncomfortable. But now, Enzo’s eyes were soft with love for her, apparently caring little for whether or not his supernatural ability to read her creeped her out. Harlow averted her eyes, wiping hot tears away.
“You had other partners between Finn and Mark that were good to you. What about Kate Spencer?”
Harlow smiled. Katerina Spencer had been a supremely good girlfriend for the few short months they’d had together. When she’d moved back to Nea Sterlis to help her sire open a new winery and transferred to Aphelion, Harlow had been sad to see her go, but they’d only dated for a few months and she’d understood. She’d met Mark just a few days later. “She left me too.”
Enzo rolled his eyes. “That was different and you know it. What happened with Mark wasn’t your fault. It was his. I wish you could see that.”
“I’m sorry for everything that happened between us,” she whispered, wanting to avoid talking about Mark more. “I should have handled things differently. Especially when I came home. I needed time to sort things through.”
Enzo squeezed her arm. “I know, Harls. You didn’t have to say it.”
Her head tilted to the side. “I didn’thaveto say it, but you should expect better from me.”
“Fair enough.” He squeezed her hands hard. “Want me to help bring the first round of things to your new place?”
Harlow shifted her weight uncomfortably. “I know you’re busy, with things starting up tomorrow and everything...”
Enzo’s chiseled brow furrowed. “Why don’t you want me to see your apartment?”
Harlow looked at the herringbone pattern in the expensive wood floors, tracing it with the toe of her shoe. “It’s… It’s… Not very nice. But it’s what I could afford when Mark kicked me out.”
