Page 56 of Loving Lucia

The ugliest dress had been the priciest, which didn’t surprise me but did amuse me.

Pavone narrows his eyes at me. “Are you mocking me?”

My eyes widen and I quickly shake my head. “No, of course not, Emilio. I… I’m sorry. I didn’t know there was a limit. I’m used to shopping on my father’s credit card.”

He scowls at me. “I didn’t give you a limit because I thought you’d be reasonable. How many dresses did you buy?”

“Five,” I say. Two out of sheer guilt, two because Victor had marked them with his cum, and the last because… Well, more guilt. I don’t envy whoever had to clean up the dressing room when we were done. I’d never be able to return to that shop again, which is a pity. They really do have nice gowns.

“What did you need five dresses for?” he growls. “Where are they? I want to see them.”

“The rehearsal dinner, the reception…” I start to list. “Plus any other events that come up. I didn’t want to wear the same thing twice and embarrass you.”

I almost smirk, thinking about the other things I did on the shopping trip that would absolutely humiliate Pavone if it came out.

“You didn’t want to embarrass me?” he repeats. Pavone grabs me by the wrist and yanks me close. “You think you spending twelve thousand on some pretty fabric makes me look good?”

“Well… Yes,” I say honestly. “You want me to be dressed well.” And Victor had spared no expense when it had come to dressing me.

Pavone growls unpleasantly and turns to Rossi and Angelo. “She had to spend my money out of thoughtfulness forme. You hear that, Damien? It’s not her own desire to wear expensive brands that spurred her purchases.”

While he gesticulates, my eye is drawn to his heavy watch. A Rolex, if I’m right, which makes Pavone’s current rant infuriatingly hypocritical. I’m wasting money for spending a few thousand on a dress, but his single twenty-thousand-dollar watch is a worthwhile investment?

Rossi, for his part, doesn’t react to Pavone’s anger. I catch Angelo narrowing his eyes, but he’s smart enough to stay quiet, too.

Which means I’m left with nobody to defend me.

Pavone’s finally done with his rant about women and fashion, and he turns back to me. “You know what, fine. Let’s see these dresses.”

My heart stops. Out of five dresses, I currently only have three. Two had to be dropped off at the dry cleaner thanks to Victor.

“All right,” I say, heading to the closet and trying to come up with an excuse. I bring back the three dresses and hold them up for Pavone.

He notices the two missing dresses immediately. “You saidfivedresses, babe.”

“I had to get the other two tailored,” I say quickly. “I loved the design, but they were a little loose on the waist, and while I was at it, I told them to take in the hem a bit.”

“They weren’t short enough for you?” Pavone asks snidely. “Needed to show off more skin? I thought I told you I don’t like sluts.”

Never mind that he likes me dressing to flaunt my assets.

“They’re both long,” I protest. “And I’m not that tall.” I’m notshort, but I’m not as tall as Vanessa. Then again, she’d have needed the chest area taken in, so we had different… blessings.

“They’d better look fucking amazing on you,” he says.

I feel queasy. I shouldn’t have bought the two ugly ones, no matter how guilty I’d felt. “I’ll try them on for you,” I tell him. Should I start with the worst one? Or the best? I decide on the first one I’d tried on, the navy-blue dress that had been exceptionally unflattering on me.

I get out of my nightgown and toss it on the bed, so used to Pavone’s daily assaults on me that I barely even care when he sees me naked anymore. I pull on the dress and zip it up, bracing myself for Pavone’s reaction.

It’s very clear that Pavone doesn’t like it. “The fuck is this? You look like a nun.”

Nuns would not wear anything so tight, showing off every curve of the torso. The mermaid cut flares out a bit too low since I didn’t get this one tailored. The way the fabric bunches at my shoulder is strange, too, draping over my breasts yet getting strangely tight once it reaches my belly.

Angelo winces in sympathy, although he’d had a very similar reaction to Pavone just a few hours ago.

“I like how it feels,” I lie smoothly. “It gives me an air of… je ne sais quoi.”

I startle when Pavone grabs my wrist. “Sure. Damien, grab the other two dresses. Let’s go see what everybody else thinks of Lucia’s sense of fashion.”

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