She immediately asked to try it on. I gave her permission to do it, telling her that it was her dress now and that I was finished with it. She gingerly removed it from the model and I looked away when she slipped it on.
When I looked back it was my turn to gasp. It looked perfect on her slender frame and the pink complimented the warm tones in her skin. The front had a high neck and a fitted waist, while the other side was cut low to show off a lot of her perfectly toned back.
“Oh Savannah, you did an amazing job!” she said, gazing at herself in awe, “This is the nicest dress I've ever worn. I'll be so proud to let people see me in this on the red carpet. I hope you're proud too.”
“Thank you so much, that's so kind of you,” I said. The stack of money that she gave me was even kinder. I hadn't been planning to charge her for this dress. At the end of the day she was doing me a favor by wearing it and I would be paid back in exposure. Though I tried hard not to accept her money, Chrissy was more aggressive that I was. I tucked it into the pocket of my jeans, trying not to think about how much she had just given me. It was a lot. That was all I knew.
“I just wish you were coming with me,” she said, once she'd changed back into her regular clothes and I had her dress all wrapped up on a covered coat hanger. “I bet we'd have fun.”
“I bet we would, but you'll still have fun on your own. Besides, I've got some microwave popcorn with my name on it to snack on while I'm watching the live coverage. I'm not going to miss seeing my dress on TV for anything in the world,” I said. Chrissy laughed.
We said goodbye and I wished her luck before she got back into her car. I closed the door and leaned against it. I was stating to understand how Cinderella felt in the old story. Being the one who wasn't invited to the ball sucked. The dress had looked so gorgeous on Chrissy, but that didn't stop me from wanting to keep it for myself.
Suddenly Dane strolled down the stairs, dressed in a full tux and holding a midnight blue dress in his hands. It was a ballgown that I'd been making eyes at for the last few weeks anytime we'd passed the store window it was displayed in. I had no idea he'd even noticed.
“So,” he said, “Feel like going to a premiere?”
“Are you serious?” I asked. He nodded, that mischievous grin that I loved so much appearing on his fine features.
“Yeah. I got tickets forever ago and figured I wouldn't go. These things are usually boring as fuck, but I think it might actually be fun with you there,” he said, hastily adding, “Only if you want.” “Of course I want to go,” I said. In that moment it was what I wanted most in the whole world. Well, almost. What I really wanted was for Dane to grab me and profess his love for me. I wanted him to stop being too afraid to let people see us together. Even if they made up terrible rumors in the tabloids it wouldn't matter. We knew ourselves well and we knew each other well so we knew what each of us were capable of.
Still, a movie premier was the next best thing.
Dane
I agonized over Craig's ultimatum until the night of the premier. I woke up feeling so clear and so good that day that the choice was obvious to me. I mean, who was a choosing between? My scummy agent, who'd only been kept in business for so long by screwing over his competitors and stealing clients. Or on the other hand, there was Savannah. The sexiest, smartest, most beautiful woman I'd ever met in my life. I could never imagine meeting someone else who made me feel this way. This was love.
This was love, all right. It was the love you heard about in songs or saw tearing people apart in films. It was powerful, potent and often devastating in the wrong hands. It was vast and unstoppable. So I stopped trying to fight against it.
Savannah appeared at the top of the stairs after changing into her gown. The shade of midnight blue I'd chosen perfectly illuminated her milk white skin.
“What is all this even for?” she asked, stroking the material of the dress.
“I want to show you off,” I smirked, “I have a trophy girlfriend. Not really. You're gorgeous and sexy as hell but you've got brains and talent too. I'm sure everyone will be asking about when you're putting a collection out.”
“Girlfriend?” the other words seemed to get lost in translation. That was the only part that managed to filter through. Part of me had hoped that she would just go along with it without question. Then again, that wouldn't be Savannah. Not my Savannah, anyway.
“Yeah. I was thinking I might start calling you that if you're OK with it,” I said, shifting from foot to foot. Fuck, this dating stuff really was hard. I could only wait and hope that she wouldn't flat out reject me as I was sure any normal woman would do.
She took a deep breath and smiled at me.
“I'd love to be your girlfriend if you want to be my boyfriend,” she said, looking at me hopefully. I couldn't resist planting a gentle kiss on those rosebud lips before I replied.
“I don't mind at all, baby doll.” She gave a little growl.
“My name's not baby doll,” she was only playing but I knew better than to push her on it.
“All right, all right. I don't mind, Savannah. You can call me your boyfriend if you want,” I said. For the first time in my life the idea of being someone's boyfriend was actually appealing. Only if that someone was Savannah.
“That's great,” she leaned forward and gave me a sweet kiss on the cheek, “But what about your reputation and everything. Isn't your branding important? I don't want to be the chick who ruins your career.”
“You won't be, I promise. I can maintain my image without pretending that I'm single when I'm not. Even if I can't it doesn't matter to me,” I said. Savannah looked up at me with those sparkling eyes and that pointy angel face. Fuck, she was getting even more beautiful to me with every day that passed us by.
“Why doesn't it matter?” she asked. She looked so hopeful that I would say something kind for the first time in my life. I couldn't let her down on this one.
“Because I love you.”
The words sounded even stranger when they were coming out of my own mouth like that, but it didn't matter. They were all true. I looked at the beautiful girl in the beautiful blue dress and I knew that I'd stay with her regardless of what anyone thought. She was too special to let go.
She took a breath. “I love you too.”
I needed to hear that. I took her hand in mine and gave it a gentle squeeze. Things wouldn't be the same now. How could they be? But that was all right. We had each other.
<<<< THE END >>>>
Sweetest Sin: Bad Boy Bundle Page 80