Page 63 of Revenge & Truth

“Laugh it up all you want, but it’s not as cute as you think it is.”

“Well, you’re in luck with this next shop. I know she doesn’t have any security cameras. Poor thing is a tad bit paranoid the government is going to steal her design ideas and sell them to China,” Ivy shared as she hooked her arm through mine and led me down a creepy flight of stairs to a door under the building.

Pushing open the door, a small bell attached to it alerted the owner we were there. Upon entering, I found myself transported. While the outside of the shop made it look shady as fuck, the inside was pure elegance. Crystals glittered in the light, silk shone, and the dresses were exquisite works of art.

A woman in a baggy pants suit with bright rainbow shag hair and oversized grandma glasses came bursting out of the back room. “Who’s there? This shop is by appointment only, no walk-ins.”

“Darla, it’s Ivy,” my friend said with a sigh.

The woman, Darla, shoved her glasses up on her nose to get a good look at us. Instantly, her attitude changed, and she rushed over to Ivy, hugging the woman tightly. “Oh, it’s so good to see you, my beautiful muse. I see you brought a friend with you who, unsurprisingly, is as ethereal.”

“Astin, this is Darla,” Ivy introduced. “She’s the designer, but the rest of the world knows her as her brand, Grace in Movement.”

“It is so lovely to meet you. Ivy can’t say enough wonderful things about your dresses,” I said, shaking the woman’s hand warmly with both hands. “This showroom is just stunning.”

“Oh, I can’t take credit for that. The love of my life is the woman behind bringing my work to life,” Darla shared. “Speaking of, Grace should be around here somewhere. She’s the one you want doing the dress picking and socializing.”

An elegant willowy woman with long jet-black hair walked out from behind a set of curtains. Spotting us, a smile bloomed on her face, making her look even more beautiful, if that was even possible. “Ivy dearest, it’s so good to see you.”

“Grace, we are in desperate need of your help. We have a gala tomorrow and nothing that fits what we need,” Ivy explained.

“Nothing to it. Tell me the desired effect you want from your dress, and I’ll make it happen,” Grace assured us.

The way Grace phrased that made me think she knew what Ivy did for real and helped her set the tone to get the information she sought. Either that or Grace was the dress whisperer and could find you the perfect thing to wear.

“How specific do I need to be?” I asked, curious about the process.

Grace settled her onyx-colored eyes on me and studied my form before answering, “That depends… how important is it for me to be right?”

Damn, that woman wasn’t fucking around, and I liked it.

“I need a dress that makes me memorable but doesn’t draw too much attention. More like if someone was shown a picture and asked if they’d seen me, they would recognize the dress but didn’t make people stop in their tracks,” I explained, trying my best to describe the need.

Grace nodded thoughtfully as she stared at my figure. Not one to be intimidated by others, it was an odd feeling to shy away from such scrutiny. “I have two dresses I think will meet those requirements, but we will have to see how your body fills them out to pick the right one.”

With that announcement, she turned and headed back behind the curtains, leaving us standing there with Darla. Glancing at Ivy, she simply stood there with a pleasant smile on her face, waiting.

“Why didn’t you tell her what you needed?” I asked.

“Oh, Grace and Darla have been making dresses for me for ages. Pretty much all I need to do is specify the event and let them do their magic,” Ivy answered. “Once you see what they can do, I doubt you’ll buy formal dresses from anyone else.”

It didn’t take long for Grace to emerge with dresses in both hands. “My jewel, will you be a dear and open the curtains for the fitting rooms for me?”

Darla instantly set off to do as she was asked, pulling back the rich golden velvet curtains to reveal the changing rooms. Grace placed two dresses in each then turned to me. “Your dresses are on the right, please start with the black. Ivy, I want you to start with the silver.”

Given our orders, we got to work. The two dresses Grace picked were everything I ever wanted and never knew I needed. We all agreed the second dress was better for the gala, but I also bought the black one because I fell in love with it. With my new station in life, I had no doubt there would be another event where I could wear it. Done with our selections, Grace then picked out shoes, jewelry, and a picture of what would look best to do with our hair and makeup. The woman was truly gifted in the art of dressing a woman from head to toe.

Now it was time for me to head back home and work on the final touches before the first step in bringing down my enemies commenced.

twenty-two

My guys let me work after dinner for a few hours before forcing me to join them for a movie. I cuddled up with Hound and Jace on the couch as Liu sat on the floor in front of my spot. The others sprawled out, creating an incredibly relaxed atmosphere. Everyone voted on watching The Italian Job since it fit with the weekend’s theme. I love the movie, so it was no hardship for me other than the fact Hound was determined to make me fall asleep.

The asshole was alternating between massaging my head and combing his fingers through my hair. It was a double-hitter of things that would make me turn to mush, and he knew it. I held on through the movie, but when the guys switched it to Ocean’s Eleven, I lost the battle. I vaguely remember waking up as I was carried to my room, but quickly fell back asleep and stayed that way until morning.

Yawning, I snuggled against the warm body I was wrapped around and let out a contented sigh. There was so much that needed to be done today, but right now, it seemed like far too much effort to move.

Lips pressed a kiss to my head as the arms around me tightened. “Good morning, Moonflower,” Hound whispered. “I hate to be the one to tell you this, but you have to get up.”