Page 4 of Tailored for You

I bet I’d think of something clever to say in the shower tonight.

“Stupid,” I muttered to myself. This crush I had on Enzo had to die a fast, brutal death.

Over a year, I still hadn't figured out how to squash the flutter in my stomach every time he was around.

He was a client. He paid me to shop for him and tailor his clothes. That was the nature of our relationship, regardless of whether we had some of the same friends and our worlds touched tangentially.

None of that mattered. Especially because I’d already walked down that road before, and it ended in nothing but pain.

I walked over to my design table and did what I always seemed to do after an encounter with Enzo. Draw.

This time, I couldn’t stop thinking about his chest and what the tattoo was. The picture flew out of me, my creativity flowing. For the hundredth time, I wondered why I felt so inspired after being around him, but I didn’t question it.

Everyone had to have their muse, right?

Who cared if mine was a Made Man so big he could break me in two and couldn’t stay on the right side of the law if he tried?

CHAPTER 2

Serena

The following week was quiet, and I was so unbothered that I got ahead on all my projects.

Other weeks are so busy with paperwork and talking to clients that I can’t get any work done.

I shouldn’t be annoyed that I have business and repeat customers. Still, if they keep showing up with wild demands—like needing a dress for a gala next week and sending clothes for tailoring—I’m going to start falling behind.

All I needed was one day of no interruptions, and I’d be golden.

I loved being with Harper. There was nothing I would change about our time together, whether it was our lazy mornings and walks to school, or cooking dinner and eating it at the park while people-watching. I treasured every moment because these were times I couldn’t afford to waste, times I knew were important. Even watching a movie while it rained outside was time we’d look back on and smile.

But all of that meant I had limited, uninterrupted time to work—which was important, because I was a single mom and the sole earner.

Even with Harper at pre-school, my time to work was limited to the hours between when I dropped her off and picked her up. In those hours, I not only worked but also carved out time to work out, the only time I had to do something solely for myself.

Stepping away from the mannequin, I stretched my hands and admired my work. The pale blue Grecian-inspired dress was beautiful, especially with the addition of the slit that went high up the thigh. I couldn’t wait to see it on someone.

One project down, ten more to go.

“I can’t believe him.” My door burst open, revealing an angry sixty-five-year-old Minnie Davenport-Clearwart. She didn’t wait for me to invite her in, not that she required an invitation from me. She walked in like she owned the place, like she did everywhere she went.

Her ice-blonde hair was swept into a perfect chignon, and her light green ensemble of cuffed shorts, silk blouse, and kitten heels looked like it belonged at a breezy family summer home, not the sweltering streets of New York City. I couldn’t help a small smile. She always looked effortless, and she always commanded a room.

“I told him not to disappoint her. I gave him clear instructions, step by step, and did he do a single thing I asked?” She raised a finger, pinched her lips, and shook her head. “No, because he can’t think beyond that thing between his legs.”

Even in her fury, I felt that familiar warmth: Minnie was fiercely protective, and Harper couldn’t have a better grandma in her corner.

“Even if he didn’t want to care for his daughter, which is a travesty already, I wanted time with my granddaughter. Everything he promised her, I would have done. It would have been an honor to take care of Harper.” She walked down the small walkway to me and wrapped her arms around me in a tight hug. “I am so sorry, sweetie. He makes me so mad, I can barely see straight.”

My ex-mother-in-law was one of the best women I’d ever met. Given Charles’s and my dubious start to our relationship, Minnie never blinked an eye. She rolled with the punches and was one of the most supportive people in my life, despite everything that happened between her son and me.

“I don’t know where I went wrong with him,” Minnie said. I gave her the side-eye as I thought about how she indulged Charles’ every whim. If I looked up the word spoiled in the dictionary, there would be a picture of Minnie handing Charles a present.

She caught my side eye, laughed, and swatted my shoulder. “I hope his stupidity didn’t ruin too many of your plans? Like a hot date you had to cancel?”

I started sweeping some of the small clothes that I couldn’t do anything with into a pile.

“Just planned on working, so no plans ruined. There’s been an uptick in clientele needs, and I don’t want to turn anyone away.” I said, grabbing my needles and threads that sat next to the dress I finished earlier.