I showed him how I was using draping techniques to mold the chicken wire into shape. And then explained how I could attach it to the iris sculpture frame to make a complete dress that could be filled with moss and then plants.
I pulled the chicken wire taut over Ruby’s chest. “The clips will hold it in place while I shape it.”
He took the clips and started attaching them to the back. “Ouch. The edges of the wire are tearing the fabric back here,” he said. “Your dress form will be damaged.”
“Don’t worry about it. It’s nothing that can’t be fixed. Right now, this is more important.”
I hadn’t realized the significance of what I’d said until the words left my lips, but it was true. Right now nothing, not my dress form, not even fashion design, was more important than the Bloom. I had nothing to gain from it professionally anymore, but I was more dedicated to this floral sculpture competition than I ever had been.
We worked together, me draping chicken wire and forming the shape, while he clipped, trimmed, and wired to create a woman’s bodice made of strong chicken wire.
“How are we going to take it in here?” I said, pinching the extra under Ruby’s bust. If it were fabric, I’d be sewing darts.
Rowan bit his bottom lip, thinking. And I completely forgot what we were supposed to be doing because he looked so incredibly hot.Stayon task, Tahira ...Just because he was helping me now didn’t mean he wanted things to be back to the way they were.
He raised his brows. “Staples?”
I laughed. “That could work.”
He grinned as he headed to the greenhouse, returning a few seconds later with a staple gun, staples, and pliers. “These are rustproof, so they’ll be fine once we stuff this with wet moss.”
“Wait, Rowan.” I stopped him. “You said ‘we’ ... does that mean...”
A small smile transformed his face. “I think this is amazing. I think we should do this for the Bloom.”
The smile just for me was back. I wanted to jump for joy.
“But what about the rest of the team?” I asked. “We can’t make this decision ourselves.”
He squeezed his lips together a second, then shrugged. “June and Leanne will agree.”
“But we have to at least ask them.”
He shook his head. “They’ll love it. I don’t want to bug them now. They’re...out.”
I grinned. “Together?Where are they?”
He shook his head. “Don’t read into this...but they went to hang out after the three of us finished working on the sculpture earlier, and they’re not back yet. Let’s not bother them. They said they were leaving the design up to me, anyway.”
I laughed, giddy. This was excellent. Yes, Leanne and June needed this time alone.
Rowan gave me that secret, just-for-me smile. “Let’s make this happen. You and me.”
I grinned so big I thought my face would split. “Yes. Let’s do it.”
I stepped back to look at Ruby with a critical eye. The bodice piece looked more or less like a metal tank top right now, but I hoped it would be less like casual wear made of chain-link fencing and more like an avant-garde ball gown once it was attached to the skirt piece and filled in with plants.
I squinted and tilted my head. “I’m not feeling that neckline.”
I picked up the iPad and used the eraser tool to delete one of the shoulder straps. “If we go one-shoulder, then we can add big blooms on the strap. It will tie in to the front-to-back asymmetry on the skirt.”
Rowan nodded. “Yes. And the big blossoms can be the nod to the theme, ‘Things in the garden.’”
I nearly dropped my iPad. “Crap.” I turned to Rowan. “I forgot about the damn theme. The sculpture is supposed to be of something you find in agarden.”
Rowan waved his hand. “It’s fine. It’s covered in flowers, and people wear dresses in gardens, right? For, like, weddings and garden parties.”
“Yeah, butthisdress is not for gardens. It’s for the red carpet at the Met Gala.” I pictured the finished sculpture in my head. How could I make this work for a garden party? The floor-length hem and the small train were the problem. I inspected the chicken wire iris upside down on the grass. What if it was shorter? I lifted it up a foot off the ground. “We can take some of the length off the top before we attach the bodice. Then it would be tea length, which is totally perfect for a garden party.”
