by Cassie Rocca
It was definitely better not to know – to keep the memory of that crazy love between the pages of her past, to be browsed only in search of emotions that could be used for her work. Nothing else.
Okay, she decided. From now on Zack Sullivan will be just an old acquaintance and nothing more. Phantom exorcized.
She withdrew her hand and put it into the back pocket of her trousers, trying to smile sweetly. “All right, no more hostilities.”
“Perfect,” said Zack, rubbing his hands. “Now let’s talk about the cake.”
Liberty rolled her eyes. “What do you want to know?”
“I need so many details – the theme of the marriage, if you have chosen one, the flowers, the decorations… your wedding dress! A wedding cake must perfectly complement the atmosphere.”
“It’s going to be a double ceremony, and the main theme is spring. The flowers will be mainly roses, in every color possible. As for me, I still have to choose both my dress and my bouquet. In any case, there’s no real theme for the pre-wedding party. Janet doesn’t share my taste in food, and she will be taking care of her part of the buffet, including desserts, personally, so all you have to do is create something that, in your opinion, suits me and Justin. You’ve got very good taste, so I’m sure it will be perfect.”
Zoe, who was approaching them, stopped behind Zack and pretended to frame his backside between her fingers like a photographer preparing a shot. In the position he was in – leaning against the counter, his jeans tight over his beautiful butt and legs – it must have been a sight for sore eyes.
Zoe pulled an admiring face and made an appreciative gesture, and Liberty somehow managed to stop herself from giggling in time.
Unaware of what was happening behind him, Zack straightened up. “You say you haven’t chosen your wedding dress yet – and when are you planning to choose it, the day before?”
“That was the idea,” she murmured, “but Clover has other plans for me.”
Zoe approached and caught the last part of the conversation. “Tell her it’s important to have a real wedding dress! We’re desperately struggling to make her look like a real bride.”
“She’d already chosen the perfect dress for her eventual marriage back when she was fifteen,” said Zack, raising his eyebrows in her direction. Liberty remembered showing him the magazine clipping. Damn! Now that she had confessed everything to him, he would have realized that she’d chosen it with him in mind…
“That was a long time ago, my tastes have changed, and now that I’m really getting married, I don’t know what I want to wear.”
“Well as soon as you decide, let me know – I’ll need a picture, so I can make a cake that suits the style of the dress.”
“We are going to force her to choose one soon… Cade has a dress designer at his personal disposal for a night and we’re all going to try on some dresses,” said Zoe, lighting up. “You should come with us!”
“What?!” Liberty blurted out, then, realising she had reacted too violently, she tried to sound reasonable. “Zoe, we can’t advantage of the benefits of Cade’s fame. Five people are already too many, I really don’t think another person would be welcome in the atelier.” She looked at Zack and forced a smile.” As soon as I’ve chosen the dress and the flowers, you’ll have all the pictures you need.”
Zoe put a hand on Zack’s arm. “I don’t think they will turn their noses up at one more person, especially considering that you need to see the dress so that you can make the cake. Why don’t you ask Clover? She and Candice have just finished choosing your hat.”
As Zack walked away, Liberty glared at Zoe.
“Did it ever occur to you that I might not want him to come? You’re already forcing me to be excessively enthusiastic about all this and to choose a catwalk wedding dress, and now you want me to parade in front of a crowd of people! If you carry on like this I won’t even invite you to the wedding!” she threatened.
Zoe seemed amused by her outburst and Liberty had to admit that it was rather out of character for her. She was known for her calmness and indifference towards anything, and the only things that made her irritable and disturbed her imperturbability were usually related to work. And so suddenly getting so angry must have seemed quite strange… and perhaps even suspicious. Or was it only her guilty conscience that thought of it that way? “Don’t you ever watch television, Liberty? In Say Yes to the Dress the brides are accompanied by dozens of people who choose the dress from Kleinfeld, and Buddy Valastro of Cake Boss is always very careful about the details of the ceremony when he creates his wonderful cakes. Zack is right to want to know all the details – and anyway, he isn’t a stranger. You two were friends, right?” Zoe’s eyes sparkled .” Unless your excessive grumpiness is something to do with him…”
Liberty felt herself becoming hot and bothered, and no explanation came from her lips. Zoe looked around for Zack as she put her arm around her friend’s shoulders.
“I know that you like him and it’s normal to be shaken up by a guy who’s so… well, just look at him!” she said, nodding towards Zack as he bent down to let Candice to put the St Patrick’s hat she had chosen on him. “He’s attractive, he’s a fantastic dad and he was your first love. It would be perfectly normal for anyone to ask, ‘Who knows how it could have been?’ It happened to me with my ex, Stuart, when he returned years after we’d broken up. Then I realized that if it hadn’t worked once, nothing would be different the second time – and anyway, I was in love with Eric, even though I didn’t know it at the time. But you’re getting married and you’re all set to banish every other man from your life. I’d be nervous too!”
Liberty dragged her eyes away from the tender scene between father and daughter and turned her back on the counter and Zoe did the same. “Zack has nothing to do with my reticence towards the wedding preparations.”
“You mean to say that you don’t notice sexual tension so thick that you could cut it with a knife when you are in the same room together, not even just a little bit?”
“Do you let yourself get side tracked by every attractive man you meet who shows any kind of vague interest in you?” replied Liberty sharply. “Poor Eric.”
Zoe shook her head, not at all offended by her little jibe. “Deny it as much as you want, but Clover and I have noticed the way you look. You are always tremendously embarrassed when Zack is around.”
“That’s crap.”
“So you’re actually going to deny that you like him? That big hunk with the magic hands who was your secret fantasy when you were a young girl doesn’t stir you up even a little bit anymore?”
“What does hunk mean?”
Candice’s cheerful voice made her jump. Turning around, Zoe and Liberty found themselves looking into the little girl’s curious face and immediately peered about them to make sure that Zack was not nearby. When she saw him standing at the counter, intent on talking to Clover and Eric, Liberty relaxed.
Zoe leaned against the counter and smiled at Candice. “A hunk is someone who is very good looking.”
“So does that mean that they’re beautiful?”
“Exactly.”
“And who is it that you think is a hunk, then?”
“Eric,” replied Liberty quickly, and smiled to cover up for the shrill way the words had come out of her mouth. “Zoe can’t stop staring at her boyfriend because she thinks he’s really handsome.”
Candice looked at Eric, who was intent on putting back all the hats that they had forced him to try on, and nodded. “Eric is really nice, even if he’s a bit funny sometimes.”
Zoe smiled sweetly, staring at her boyfriend’s back. “You’re right, but I like him for that reason too.”
Candice chuckled. “What about my dad? He’s a hunk too, isn’t he?”
Zoe laughed. “Oh yeah – not as much of a hunk as my Eric, but he’s very nice.” She turned to Liberty with a smirk. “What about you? Don’t you think Zack’s a hunk?”
Liber
ty kicked her friend under the counter but continued to smile at her. “Your father is a very handsome man, of course.”
Zack joined them, his charm not at all affected by the silly cylinder of green cloth covered in embroidered shamrocks he now wore on his head. “So sweetheart, have you said goodbye to your new best friends?”
“Not yet – we were talking!”
“About anything important?”
“We were just saying that you are a real hunk!”
Liberty moaned and ran a hand over her face while Zoe giggled. Seeing Eric and Clover approach them, Candice decided to be more precise.
“Zoe prefers Eric, of course, but even Liberty thinks that you’re handsome.”
Zack looked straight at Liberty, who had been trying to disappear into the shelf behind her. “Well, she’s very beautiful too,” he said, with a killer smile.
Liberty grunted and turned to pour herself another cup of coffee. But her hand trembled when she heard Clover say there would be no problem if Zack decided to join them on the expedition to the atelier.
“It’ll be fun – they’re going to keep the store open for us and leave us to it. Cade didn’t want to go during opening hours to avoid being hounded by his fans, and the owners are over the moon to be able to do Cade a good turn – it means a heap of good publicity for their store.”
Zack nodded and looked at Liberty. “Perfect, then. If it’s okay with you, I’ll come and get an idea of what your wedding dress is going to look like, then.”
“No problem – it won’t take long, so I won’t steal too much of your precious time.” Or at least that was what she hoped.
“Can I come too?” asked Candice, looking up at them.
Zack ruffled her hair. “We’ll see.”
“Tomorrow would be perfect. Cade has to go back to Los Angeles in two days to shoot a commercial, so if we postpone it, it would mean waiting another week.” Clover sought Liberty’s gaze for confirmation. “What do you say?”
The sooner we get this out of the way, the sooner all this clowning around will be over, thought Liberty. “That’s fine.”
“So see you tomorrow, then.” Zack smiled at everyone, took his little girl by her hand and left Giftland, leaving Eric and the three girls to contemplate him in silence.
When the door closed, Liberty felt all eyes on her.
“Is it just me or is there a certain something between you and Zack?” asked Clover with a mischievous smile.
“It’s just you,” snapped Liberty, coming out from behind the counter. She saw Zoe smirk and exchange a complicit look with the other two and, feeling annoyed, headed for the stairs. “Get back to work,” she ordered, recovering her usual stern tone.
She would have to be more careful about her reactions to Zack from now on, or those two would never give her a moment’s peace.
8
She couldn’t wait to get out of there. Any other woman would have given anything to be in her shoes: in an elegant dressmaker’s workshop trying on amazing wedding dresses along with three attractive men, two beautiful friends and an adorable little girl.
But she, instead, felt suffocated. Every little cry of joy or whispered compliment was a torment to her, and the temptation to just choose the first dress she saw at random to put an end to her misery that evening was growing stronger and stronger.
She felt completely out of place. She had no desire to choose a dress, she wasn’t in the least bit excited at the idea of that kind of wedding and the perplexed expressions of her friends were only pricking her already terribly confused conscience more than before.
She knew very well that she wasn’t the picture of the happy bride and she had no intention of admitting the reason for her growing apathy.
“So, do you want to choose a dress to try on or are we going to have to stay here all night?”
Zack’s deep voice right behind her caught her by surprise. The hand that was holding the white fabric froze, and so did the rest of her body. She looked at him for a second, then returned her gaze to the clothes on display.
“If you’re in a hurry to leave, you can go. I can send you a picture of the dress I choose.”
“No way. Candice cannot wait to see you trying on at least one dress, and to be honest I’m starting to get curious too.” Zack sat down at her side and rummaged through the delicate fabrics on the hangers. “Clover told us that you’ve tried on and discarded three already, but you didn’t come out to show them to us – not even once.”
“To be honest, the idea of parading around in front of you doesn’t really fill me with joy. After all, I’m the one who is supposed to like the dress.”
“Come on, Libby, be a bit more cooperative! Even Candice has tried on a couple of wedding dresses, not to mention Clover and Zoe. Years ago you used to love drawing wedding dresses, as well as cutting them out of magazines. I remember seeing a couple in one of your notebooks.”
Liberty looked at him, narrowing her eyes. “You mean you stuck your nose in my things?”
“No, but I used to keep a closer eye on you than you thought,” said Zack with a shrug, an adorably roguish smile on his lips. “I only took a peek at what you had left unattended once.”
Feeling embarrassed, she resumed looking through the dresses. “And is that how you found out I had a crush on you?”
“I didn’t see anything compromising – but if I had noticed my name on those pages, I certainly wouldn’t have been able to resist the impulse to take a closer look,” he joked, giving her a wink.
In spite of herself, Liberty’s mouth tensed into a slight smile. “Attention seeker.”
“I’m just naturally curious is all.” Zack took a strapless tulle dress, whose full skirt fell to the ground in soft drapes which were embellished with a very light blue cloud print. “Isn’t this a bit like the ones you used to draw?”
Liberty snorted. “Because I thought an empire line would be the best way of covering up my physical defects.”
“You’re right, and now you don’t need to hide anything. What do you think of this, then?” he continued, holding out a very fitted dress with a semi-transparent corset covered in diamanté.
“I might be slim nowadays but that doesn’t mean I have to go around half naked,” she muttered, pushing it away with a wave of her hand.
Zack sighed. “Have you at least seen one that you like?”
Liberty forced herself not to look back at the display stand behind her, which was full of regal outfits that were surprisingly similar to the ones she had seen a few days earlier in the pages of her old diary.
“Okay, I’ll try this one, since you’re so keen to see me in one,” she snorted, grabbing the empire style dress he had shown her before.
Zack nodded. “Ok, and in the meantime I’ll have a look for something a bit more suitable.”
Liberty raised her eyebrows. “So you think you know what suits me?”
“Maybe not, but I have a very clear idea of what I’d like to see you in if I were the groom waiting at the altar,” he replied, without looking at her.
Her heartbeat began to pound in her ears.
As casual as it was probably meant to be, with that one sentence, Zack had managed to create in her mind a vision of an intimate outdoor ceremony, with flowers in delicate colors arranged everywhere and with a couple of benches occupied by her dearest friends and a sweet little dark haired girl spreading rose petals over the floor, skipping towards a man with a virile face staring at the bride as she walked towards him with love in his eyes…
Liberty practically ran to the changing rooms, where one of the atelier’s assistants was waiting for her.
She couldn’t be this stupid. She couldn’t let the dreamy, romantic girl she used to be come back and take the upper hand over the mature and rational woman she had worked so hard to become!
That Liberty – silly and in love with the idea of happiness – had disappeared when she had mentally said goodbye to Zack. But it was as if she had c
ome back to life the precise moment he had reappeared.
“I’m getting married, damn it,” she moaned, before opening the door.
She let the assistant put the dress on her and adjust it, then she left the dressing room without even looking at herself in the mirror. Did they want to see her wearing a dress? Well then she would wear a dress, and then she would tell everyone she was tired and that she wanted to go home.
Actually, if she realized from their reactions that her appearance was acceptable, she would choose that dress and put a stop to the whole thing right there. Zack would have his wedding cake details, Clover could order blue and lilac flowers for her bouquet and it would all be over quickly.
And once she was married to Justin and far away from temptation, she would go back acting like a normal woman and not like a sentimental fool.
“Oh, wow Liberty!” exclaimed Candice as soon as she saw her. “You look so beautiful!”
Holding up the hem of the dress, Liberty walked briskly to the platform in front of the mirrors. Once she was in position, she let it fall to the floor and looked critically at her reflection without saying a word.
“I like it,” Clover said, walking round her. Clover was wearing a wedding dress with a modern, crisp cut, short at the front to show off her slender legs, but with a long train strewn with pearls. The heart shaped bodice emphasized her bosom and slim waist and her red hair created a wonderful contrast with the white of the dress. Cade stared at her hungrily.
“Classic and romantic. That really isn’t bad – it goes with your coloring, even if it doesn’t do much to show off your figure,” said Zoe, who was clad in a mermaid cut sheath dress that clung tightly to her seductive body down to her knees before spreading out in a skirt decorated with feathers. Eric had been speechless ever since he had seen her coming out of the dressing room. Liberty had the feeling that they were more excited and impatient at the thought of the approaching wedding than she was. She, who was supposed to be getting married in a few weeks.
“You look like the Snow Queen from my book!” Candice clapped her hands, even more enthusiastic than the others. “Daddy, doesn’t she look like her?”