“Speaking of,” I told her, “I believe you need to find something nice to wear for tonight.”
“I guess I can ask my friends.”
I shook my head. “I need to go with you. I don’t want any surprises. Everything has to be perfect tonight.”
“You’re willingly going shopping with me!” She clapped her hands together. “Best fake boyfriend ever!”
* * *
A crowdof reporters hovered outside the condo building.
“Who is calling them?” Avery hissed.
“It’s probably a slow news week,” I told her. “It will blow over. We’re not that interesting.”
“Is your mother coming to the wedding?” one man called out.
“Of course not. She’s in jail!” Avery yelled.
“Is this the woman you want as the mother of your child?” another reporter shouted to me.
“Just ignore them,” I said, grabbing Avery by the hand and leading her past the handful of reporters to the subway.
“The Schultzes are fairly conservative,” I told her when we were in the train heading to a boutique downtown. “In researching him and his wife, I learned that Rose Schultz’s favorite store is the Alexa Boutique near the Upper East Side. I have a private appointment booked for you to find an outfit for the dinner tonight.”
Avery made a face. “I thought I was going to buy a nice dress. But now you’re telling me it’s going to be one of those shapeless box dresses.”
“I’m sure you can find something nice,” I told her. “This is business after all.”
27
Avery
“Thank you for opening up early for us,” I told the saleswoman when she unlocked the shop. Across the wide avenue was a boutique that sold Weddings in the City dresses. I sighed longingly.
“Is that where you want to get your wedding dress?” Blade asked, a hint of a smile on his mouth.
I hoped he wasn’t too mad at me. “They have this really pretty ethereal lace dress that I love,” I said as the associate of the Alexa Boutique brought out several outfits for the business dinner.
“I think you’ll want something bigger than that,” Blade said with a small smile. “You’ll want all two thousand people to be able to see you.”
“You’re having two thousand people at your wedding?” the sales associate said in surprise.
“I have a big family,” Blade said grimly.
“And my grandmother has invited half the town!” I smiled weakly.
“It’s nice that so many people want to come out and support you when you start your new life together. Of course we’re here to support you for your formal dinner. How do you feel about any of these? Blade mentioned that you were meeting with the Schultzes. Mrs. Schultz really likes these dresses.”
They were retro-inspired nineties dresses, and not in a good way. When I had imagined going shopping with a billionaire, I had envisioned cute shoes and sexy little outfits, not playing dress-up in my stepmother’s closet. I squared my shoulders.
“Do you like any of these?”
“They’re fine!” I said, hoping the smile didn’t look too pained. I grabbed the closest dress and went to the changing room. It looked even worse on me. The shoulders drooped, and the waist of the skirt hit at my hips and flared out to a flaccid flounce. I looked like I was cosplaying Princess Diana on a bad day. I looked at the price tag on the dress. Five thousand dollars. What the fuck?
I took out my phone and snapped a few shots to send to my friends.
Edward:I’m sorry did you die thirty years ago and just get exhumed?
