Page 503 of Reign

Luciano’s eyebrows lift as I pull them down my arms.

“Oh,” he says. “We’re getting undressed in the middle of the foyer.”

“You told me to put it on.”

“I assumed you would use a room with a door.”

“That sounds inefficient.”

The dress slides down my body and pools around my ankles. I step out of it, wearing only my underwear while Luciano watches with absolutely no shame.

He lowers the zipper before handing my mother’s dress back to me. I lower it to the floor and step carefully inside.

The fabric slides up my legs. I work my arms into the straps and turn my back to him.

“Zip me.”

Luciano gathers my hair over one shoulder. His knuckles brush my spine as he slowly draws the zipper upward.

When he finishes, his hands settle briefly at my waist.

I turn.

The skirt floats around my knees when I spin.

“How do I look?”

His eyes move over me slowly.

“Gorgeous.”

I smooth both hands over the waist. “It fits.”

“Perfectly.”

“It’s a little loose here.”

I wrap my arms around myself.

My mother’s dress moves with me.

The fabric touched her skin. She chose it. She stood in front of a mirror wearing these same daisies and reached behind herself for this same zipper.

The tears return.

“Damn it.” I laugh shakily and wipe beneath my eyes. “I cannot keep doing this today.”

“You can do it as often as you need to.”

Luciano catches another tear with his thumb.

Then he kisses me.

The thoughts fade beneath the warmth of his mouth. His hand curves around my waist, holding me carefully inside the dress, and the world becomes small enough to survive again.

He narrows everything until there is his mouth, his hands, and the certainty that I am safe between them.

When he draws back, his nose brushes mine.