Page 9 of Deny Me

Three

Two weekslater we were sitting in European Bridal, one of the many stores in the Reading Bridal District. This was our first stop of the day, but with the number of bridal shops lining the street I knew it would be a long one. Thankfully this place served champagne. Who cared that it was only ten in the morning?

The workers had greeted us with smiling faces, hopeful to make a large sale. They hovered as we picked out dresses from along the gray walls and led us back into the gilded cream and gold fitting room.

The place screamed Victorian glamour with the chandelier hanging from the ceiling above the open area where brides would fall in love with dresses. Three fitting rooms lined one wall, covered by heavy rose-colored curtains. Across from them were three oversized, floor-to-ceiling, gold-framed mirrors to offer the best view of the bride.

“Did you need any shoes or a special bustier to try on with your dresses?” the attendant asked, setting our selections on a rack outside the room.

Luella turned to look at me with a panic in her eyes. “Shit! I forgot my bag that was filled with the stuff I wanted to try on with the dress.”

“That’s okay. We have plenty of items to choose from that you can use for today,” the attendant spoke excitedly, probably adding the commission up in her head.

“No, no.” Luella shook her head as a blush creeped up her face. “I, uh… I have special lingerie I need to make sure works with the dress.”

“You, naughty girl, you.” I grinned approvingly. “Already bought some sexy wedding night goodies. I’m bummed you didn’t take me with you.”

“It was a spur of the moment thing. I saw it when I was down the street from work and made an impulse buy,” she murmured with her head down.

“Well what are we going to do? Do you want to come back another day?”

“No, no.” She paused. “I can’t call Jack because he’s at work.” Lips pursed, she looked around the room as though it would give her the answers. The wedding attendant must have sensed defeat because she left us to figure it out on our own. Finally, Lu snapped her fingers. “Jameson.”

“Jameson, what? How is Jameson the answer to your lingerie woes?”

“He’s not at work and he has a key to my apartment. I left the bag sitting on the table, so it’s a simple grab and go.” She was already pulling her phone out.

“Oh, yeah. Jameson in a wedding store.” I shuddered for effect.

“Ironic coming from you,” she said with a straight face.

“Hey! I design these things. It’s like work for me.”

“Yeah, but Jameson is dating that girl he actually talks about now,” she rambled on, scrolling through her phone.

Even though I knew that, it still came as a shock to me that he found someone he was serious about. My chest pinched at the idea of having a new person come into our little makeshift family. Everyone was pairing off, and eventually, I would be the fifth wheel.

The thought made me uncomfortable, and surprisingly, angry. I was happy with my life and I didn’t want or need a man. Why should I care that people would pair off? Luella would never make me feel alone.

“Well, more power to him,” I said with a sniff. “Hey, ask him to bring food.” Effectively stopping any more conversation about Jameson and his possible future.

“We can’t have food in here, Evelyn,” she dragged out my full name in reprimand.

“Just a granola bar to temper this champagne. Or else we’re going to be drunk by noon.”

While Lu made the phone call to Jameson, I stepped into the gray-blue room. This one held all the evening and bridesmaid gowns. I grabbed a few to try on while we waited for Lu to get her sexy lingerie. I picked a few to make her laugh and a few that held some potential. Nothing compared to what I could design, but potential.

Some would call me arrogant, but frankly I just had the self-confidence to know that I was good at my job. End of story. I wouldn’t apologize for not being meek, and I wouldn’t pretend to be anything less than amazing.

Walking back into the fitting room, I asked, “Do you think they will be mad you’re not buying a dress? Blondie seems really hopeful; she’s gotdollar signs in her eyes when she looks at you.” I moved to a room and hung my selection up before popping my head out and flicked my eyes to the entrance, whispering, “Maybe they’ll think of me as an enemy.”

Lu looked around to see what I was looking for and broke into laughter when I whipped the curtain away and flattened my back to the wall, making a gun with my hands close to my chest. Humming a spy song, I slid down the wall and twirled across a fitting room opening, plastering my back to the wall on the other side.

Lu wiped tears from her eyes from laughing so hard. “Maybe they’ll see my dress and want you to design more for their store.”

I dropped my pretend gun and whipped my head in her direction. “You think?” I knew they wouldn’t because they’d never be able to see the dress, but the idea still created a buzz in me.

“They would be crazy not to have you! Who doesn’t want a dress by…” she paused for dramatic effect, dropping her voice to a sensual whisper, “Evelyn.”

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