He shakes his head. “That’s not how it works. It’salwaysat the forefront of my mind, but acknowledging it doesn’t have a negative impact.” He lays his hand on my forearm and looks up into my eyes. “I’ve been kind of a wreck most of the week, and I was still unsettled this morning, but your message helped me be less nervous.”
I swallow. “Good. Uh, did you?—”
“I fuckinglovethis thing!”
Daria’s shout breaks the moment, and we both turn to where she’s striding out of the dressing area. “Look at the range ofmovement I have!” She swings her arms around energetically in all directions. “And it’s not ugly.” She faces the mirror and studies herself. “Although I’m not sure how I feel about these colors.”
“This is just the mock-up,” Phil assures her, moving away from my side. Dammit. “We constructed it using scraps of fabric we already had to give you an idea of the overall look as well as the fit. Could you stand still with your arms by your sides, please? Let me see how it’s sitting.”
Daria obeys, still looking in the mirror, letting Phil and Heidi move around her, adding the occasional pin and scribbling notes as they murmur to each other.
“Hold your arms like this?” Heidi asks, demonstrating, and then they go back to murmuring and pinning.
Daria meets my gaze over their heads and grins.“I want fifty,”she mouths, and I roll my eyes but nod. It won’t actually be fifty, but if this design works for her, I can definitely make it a staple of her wardrobe.
Finally, Phil stands back with a nod. “I think that’s what we need. Daria, is it okay if I give you a couple of rulers and ask you to pretend they’re drumsticks?”
She shrugs. “Sure.”
Phil steps out, and Calla takes over. “It’ll help us to see how your arms move when you’re working. We can make sure we leave you the room you need.”
“Seriously, I love you guys. If you don’t want a baby, maybe Phil does? Anything for the people who saved me fromlong sleeves.” She says the last two words the way someone else might say, “bubonic plague.”
“I’ll make sure Phil knows he has options,” Calla says with a wink.
“Lots of options,” Dorian adds, and I wonder how much Daria really loves her brother. Maybe she wouldn’t mind if I punched on him for a bit.
“Options?” Phil asks as he comes back in. “You mean for the fabrics? Yes, we have a lot to show you.” He hands Daria the rulers, smiling innocently, and I glare at Dorian when he opens his mouth. Thankfully, he takes the hint and drinks his coffee instead.
Once Daria has established that she does, in fact, have full range of motion in the topandthat it’s slouchy enough for the fabric not to annoy her, we start studying swatches. Per my instructions, Calla and Phil stuck to a monochrome palette in blacks and grays, but they’ve found some really fun and interesting fabrics, some of which will look incredible under camera lights.
Daria rules out two that don’t pass the touch test for her, and another because the pattern is “ugly.” But she’s good with the rest, and I pick out three that I think will specifically work for the video.
“That’s great, thank you,” Calla says. She’s been making notes of the things Daria liked and disliked, and I know she’s hoping it will come in handy for future orders. “I don’t know if Griff told you that he also wanted us to show you some jeans?”
Daria glances at me. “I don’t remember this?”
“It came up just a few days ago. I happened to see a pair Phil designed that would work well for you.” I’m still not sure how much Phil has told Calla, so I try not to be too detailed.
Shrugging, Daria says, “I always want more jeans. Show me what you got.”
CHAPTER SIXTEEN
PHIL
If I hadn’t beena fan of Quixotic before, I would be now after meeting Daria. Dorian seems nice too. But even though I have two genuine rockstars right here in our workroom being enthusiastic about my work, part of me really wishes they’d all just disappear so I can have some alone time with Griff. I’d forgotten how big he is, and even though last time we met his size was a little intimidating, this time I just want to climb him like a tree.
My face gets hot at the thought, and I’m grateful I’ve turned away to get the lookbook Calla and I put together.
Daria is seated comfortably on the sofa against the wall with Dorian perched on the arm beside her while he sips his coffee, and I sit on her other side. Griff immediately takes the spot beside me.
“Do you mind?” he asks Calla, who waves him off with a smile that’s verging on delighted. She better not embarrass me by saying something she shouldn’t.
“Of course not. You need to be able to see.”
I let out a tiny exhale of relief but immediately regret it when she winks at me. I guess it’s a good thing that she’s got something to focus on other than fangirling over Daria.
Flipping open the book, I say, “This?—”
