“Friends,” I replied. “It’s new. Very new.”
“New like a week or new like yesterday?” Tangie asked. “Because I didn’t have to see that kiss to know what was up. I know that’s right, nephew.”
“New like I’m still figuring out what it is,” I admitted, but I was already smiling, and she caught it.
I didn’t even believe that shit.
He’d spent a week planning this. Coordinated stylists. Picked out a dress. Handled every detail. And he’d done it without asking me first because he knew I’d talk myself out of it.
He’d taken the choice away from me, and I knew that should have pissed me off.
It didn’t. I knew what kind of man I was dealing with.
“Close your eyes,” Unique instructed.
Time went blurry. They talked while they worked, telling me about Tang Luxe, how they’d moved here and started the business with his help. DaVinci had put her on, and now she and Unique traveled the world doing glam. Tangie was from the trenches, and it showed in the best way. She was grateful but not impressed by anybody. I found myself relaxing into it. Letting myself be taken care of instead of always being the one doing the caring and tending.
“Okay,” Unique finally said, stepping back. “You can look.”
I opened my eyes and did a double-take at the woman in the mirror.
My skin looked airbrushed but still like mine. My eyes were smoked in bronze, bigger and more intense without looking heavy. My lips were a red-and-pink combo, lined in dark brown. My hair was pinned up in a ponytail, so my face and shoulders were open.
“Oh my God,” I whispered.
“Right?” Tangie grinned. “Told you. Now let’s get you in that dress.”
I grabbed the gift bag with my underwear for the night. A beautiful Agent Provocateur lace bra and panty set, slipped them, and snapped a photo. I quickly sent it to DaVinci. He brought a different side of me out, and I didn’t hate it.
I made it back, and Tangie unzipped the garment bag, revealing the dress piece by piece, and everything in me stalled for a beat. The dress was black velvet, structured and boned to celebrate every curve. The sweetheart neckline showed just enough to make the point without saying a word.
The straps were gold chains with little sunflower charms linked in. Some big, some small, attached to three horizontal chains that covered mostof my back. The chains moved and shifted with me, either loose or pulled snug across my skin. They were beautiful.
The bottom hugged my hips and thighs like it had been poured on, then flared at the knees into a subtle mermaid that grazed the floor. The back dipped low enough that I felt air on a part of my back that never saw daylight.
When I moved, the velvet moved with me, and those charms caught the light like their own little signal.
“He picked this out?” I asked, running my fingers over the fabric.
“He sent us your measurements and your Instagram, and we sent him options,” Unique replied. “But yeah, he made the final call.”
Goosebumps rose on my arms. I turned back to the mirror. The dress fit like it was made for me—because it basically was. He’d paid attention. Not just to my body, but to my style, what I gravitated toward, what made me feel like myself.
“Girl,” Tangie breathed. “He’s going to lose his mind when he sees you in this dress.”
I was already lowkey excited to see his face. His eyes always told me how he was feeling. His appreciative stares made me want to melt.
My phone buzzed. A text from him.
My One and Only:You a sexy muthafucka bae. On my way to you. You ready?
Me:Almost.
My One and Only:I haven’t even seen you yet, and I already know you look beautiful as fuck. See you in ten minutes.
I slipped my open-toe gold heels on and ran to the bathroom. I grabbed the Canvas Pink Velvet body glaze and sprayed My Devotion by Dolce and Gabbana perfume on my wrists, behind my ears, and in the valley between my breasts where the neckline dipped.
The scent settled over the velvet and gold. Sweet, bright, warm.
