"I mean, it needs done and I can do it, so, yeah." He shrugged, reaching for the various fabrics to get a good feel.
"Right now?" Piper asked.
"Bad timing?" Not like they had a ton of time to work with here.
"No, I can totally do it now. I just had some…."
"Some?"
"Some organization for my D.I.C.K. clients. But that can wait," Piper said, feeling the dress. "You're the absolute best."
"Let's grab that mannequin over there. The smaller one. Maybe if we stuff a bra on it, it'll be close to Anna's size?"
"Borrow mine," Piper said, already starting to undo the clasp. Then she hesitated, fingers stalling on the clasp as though torn by whether to be professional or not.
"I was hoping you might offer, because I am fresh out," he said, and damn it came out huskier than he'd intended.
"I'm generous like that," she said with a sly smile.
Zach leaned back on his heels as he assessed the drape of the silk organza across the torso. Holding the folded edge in place with two fingers, he reached for a straight pin with the other hand.
Piper handed it right over. Her breath shallow and barely audible above the faint hum of the fabric iron warming on the console behind them.
"Turn it a little left," he murmured, voice low, professional.
She did as asked, the hem of the gown shifting with the movement. Her dark eyes met his in the studio mirror and held.
The chemistry had been there since day one. Volatile in all the best ways.
In the quiet studio, nothing had changed. Though, they were both giving the wedding dress the reverence it deserved since it wasn't theirs. A guy didn't make a pass at a woman while working on his sister's wedding gown. Even he knew that was wrong.
Zach swallowed and reached again for another pin, and her fingertips brushed against his palm as he handed it over.
"So?" she teased, eyebrow arched.
"So…?" he shot back, eyes locked on the fabric but grinning like he'd been caught.
She tilted her head slightly, only enough to glance back at him.
"Tess?" The name hung in the air like a dropped pin. Sharp and precise and not something you wanted to pick up wrong and get stuck with.
He stood and stepped around to face her, his hands sliding from fabric to his pockets with practiced ease.
"She clearly needs you," he said, exhaling through his nose. "And I'm glad I told you, so you weren't totally blindsided by everything the other day."
"It was a lot," she said with a laugh. "How'd you convince Babushka to help out? And bring her friends?"
"You think she'd let us do it without her? Hell, no. As soon as she got wind that it was happening, she jumped right in and brought her friends along. That's what she does."
Piper didn't say anything. A beat passed, and then another.
He ran a rough hand through his hair.
"You know," she said slowly, "I'm impressed that you can do this. Prince Charming never made Cinderella's dress. He just showed up with a shoe."
The air between them crackled with sparks and, for a second, Piper forgot the dress wasn't hers.
Zach snorted. "Well," he said, voice low again, "Nobody's perfect. Not even Prince Charming."
