“Of course not.” The smile he gives his wife is so full of gooey sweetness that it’s surreal. What happened to Mr. Grumpy Manners? Or is that just for me?
He unzips both. One is red with an asymmetrical hemline and strategically placed sequins to look like flames. The second one is deep blue and has a gorgeous flower on the left shoulder, leaving the right bare. The bodice and skirt are both ruched for texture.
Oh wow. They’re both amazing—something I might only see in fancy fashion photos. If this is a sample of what’s in Sophia’s closet, she must have one of the best wardrobes in the country.
The red one calls to me, like fire seducing a moth. But I don’t think I have the pizzazz to pull it off. Besides, it’s too vivid and bold. I don’t want to be an attention magnet. And David will have Charlotte on his arm. He won’t want me to stand out too much. Whatever I’m to do at the auction must require me to blend in. That’s what assistants are for, anyway.
“I think the blue will be best. It’ll bring out my eyes,” I say, like that’s the real reason.
“Great choice,” Sophia says. “The red would look amazing on you too, with your complexion, but blue is also fantastic. Why don’t you go change? If it doesn’t fit right, we’ll do the red.”
Giving her a small smile, I take the dress to my bedroom and put it on, praying it fits perfectly because I really don’t want to put on the red dress.
But my prayers are in vain. The ruche on the fabric won’t sit right, and it keeps pulling the hem up to a point that’s just too short. I stare at the mirror, wanting to cry. I have no choice but to put on the red one. The one that screams, “Look at meeee.”
Sophia knocks on the door. “Erin? You okay in there?”
“Um. I think I might have to try the red one.”
“Okay.” She opens the door a crack and slips the red dress through.
I take it, feeling like a failure that I can’t make the unobtrusive blue one look right on me…then feel ridiculous about my reaction. These aren’t even my own clothes. “Thank you.”
Now I say another prayer…that the red one fits worse than the blue so I have to choose the lesser of two evils.
But no. The red flows over my body perfectly. And no matter how I twist and turn, it looks gorgeous.
I sigh. There’s no way I can wear the ruched dress because I’ll be fiddling with it constantly. And if I’m going to be ill at ease at a big social gathering anyway, I might as well not have to tug and rearrange my outfit, too.
Since my everyday sensible Mary Janes won’t work, I dig deeper into my closet until I find a pair of silver sandals I bought on impulse th
e day David hired me. I felt so buoyant that I couldn’t resist them when I saw them on display, even though they’re incredibly impractical. But finally my frivolous purchase is going to prove useful.
When I leave the bedroom, Sophia whistles. “You look amazing. Here’s the matching clutch and earrings.”
I gape at her. The earrings she’s holding are chandeliers made with what have to be real rubies. They’re too gorgeous to be plain red stones. There’s no way I can wear something that expensive. If I lose her earrings, I’ll have to sell a kidney to replace them. The dress and clutch are already too much.
“The clutch is fine, but I can’t accept those earrings. I think I’ll do the pearl ones.”
“I don’t know,” she says dubiously.
“Pearl earrings will look terrible,” Dane says flatly, startling me. He’s been so quiet that I almost forgot about him.
“He’s right,” Sophia says. “You’ll look better with these. You can give them to David after you’re done.”
I hesitate, torn between the desire not to borrow something so expensive and the equally strong desire to not embarrass my boss. Finally, I nod. “Okay. Thank you.”
Sophia beams. After putting in the earrings, I put my credit card, phone and a few small bills into the clutch.
“You ready?” she says.
“Yes. And thank you. I wouldn’t have been able to pull this off without you.”
Dane scoffs. “The person who should be thanking us is David.”
My hackles rise instantly. Nobody gets to talk like that about my boss when he’s not around, especially not to me. On the other hand, Dane’s wife just let me borrow her dress, clutch and earrings, so maybe I shouldn’t chastise him too hard. “Maybe so, but I’m his assistant, so…”
“But you didn’t ask. He did.” Dane’s voice is so icy that my skin breaks out in goosebumps.