Marla put her hand on his arm. “You have nothing to say, love. You brought this all on yourself with your ridiculous plan.”
“The problems Trevor and I have would have cropped up with or without Davidson’s plans. I appreciate the thought, though. Listen, do you mind if we don’t talk about Trevor tonight?”
“Oh, of course,” Marla said her soft eyes sympathetic eyes on Piper. “Why don’t you show me what you’ve got? We’ll get business out of the way and move on to dinner,” Marla said.
“Thanks. First, I want you to take a look at my sketchbooks and see if anything jumps out at you. We have a mockup for everything on these pages and have a team starting in two weeks so we can expand our line. The first order to go up is yours.”
Marla covered Piper’s hand with her own. “I can’t tell you how much this means to me that you did this for us. The kids are just going to be ecstatic. It’ll be a huge relief for their parents as well.”
“I’m happy to do it.”
Marla scanned the designs, flipping the pages carefully, and backtracking to a few favorites. She saved two spots in the first book that they went back to when she finished.
“I like these two the best, but I’m wondering if we can talk about modifications. I don’t want you to think I’m ungrateful, I’m just thinking of the nature of the show and the ages of the girls.”
Piper looked at her selections, both gowns, as she suspected they would be. One was more virginal than Piper would choose. It had been designed with religious pieces in mind. The other with the multiple crisscross straps was a bit too modern, too flashy for a classic production.
“Hold that thought, because I have one more thing to show you,” Piper said. She pulled out her latest creation and stood holding it up to her own body for inspection. “What do you think?”
Marla stood. She didn’t say anything at first, but if the way her face lit up was any indication, she had just fallen in love.
“Why wasn’t this in the sketchbooks?” Marla said, rubbing the sheer layers of the skirt between her fingers.
“I never sketched it. I saw it in my head and the minute I did, I started cutting fabrics before I lost the vision. It laid on my table for weeks. Something about it just wasn’t right, but when I went into the office yesterday, it just clicked. This is the final product.”
The band started their first number, but they played low enough for everyone to continue their conversations.
“It’s stunning. It’s just right, but it can’t be cheap.”
“No, it’s not, but this one is on Exclusively Piper.”
“I don’t know how to thank you. This is really far more than I ever expected,” Marla said.
“Just make sure I get a ticket to the performance and we’re even,” Piper smiled, the tightness in her chest easing at the sight of pure delight on Marla’s face.
She’d nailed it. It’s as if everything that she’d gone through, holding off on making a decision for expansion, the weekend ruse with Trevor, all of it culminating in clarifying her vision was designed by fate to bring her right to this point. Puzzle pieces just dancing around one another waiting for a little help to bump the all into place.
She couldn’t wait to tell Trev—
“Thank you!” Marla hugged her and swiped at her happy tears.
But she wouldn’t be telling him. She’d tell Raf end that would have to be enough.
She swiped at her own tears and plastered on a huge smile, pretending that they were tears of joy, when really, they were just one more symptom of her cracked heart.
They both sat back down and Davidson ordered a bottle of champagne. They asked her about her plans for expansion and about her history with dance.
Sadness crept in at the thought of losing this. These people that she genuinely enjoyed. Could she keep them as friends with everything that had happened? She had started the evening intending to switch over to a business association and keep a distance, only Marla seemed to pull anyone she spoke to into her inner circle. Piper didn’t want to lose the connection, but it might just be one more casualty of her and Trevor’s lie.
Just before eight, the band kicked up in earnest, the champagne ran dry, and the waiter took their dinner order. The band began one of her favorites, Willow Weep For Me. She swung her feet to the beat and wished Rafe were here to dance with her.
“May I have this dance?”
Piper froze at the sound of Trevor’s voice, pinching her heart. Goosebumps broke out on her skin as his familiar finger traced over the shell of her ear sending excitement gushing through her veins.
She turned to find him standing over her, his hand out, and pinned to his jacket…a dried-up boutonniere.
“Is that what I think it is?” she asked, taking his hand to stand before him.
“My boutonniere from your prom? Yes. My mother saves everything.”
He looked tired, but so handsome. And relieved. He looked so much like the guy she used to know with the boyish grin and the laughter dancing in his eyes.
“What are you doing here?” He’d gone home to get a dead flower from almost a decade ago. And with that, he’d likely had to give an explanation.
Which means his family for sure now knew.
And maybe hers.
He smoothed a hand over the waves that fell over her shoulder. “I heard you would be here.”
“That’s it?”
He cocked his head to the side and took her hand. “And Davidson invited me to celebrate my partnership.”
“You got it?” Despite the fact that many of his deals had been made on the back of parties and women, pride filled her and the weight of crushing guilt eased. Whether he partied or not, he worked hard, and his promotion should never have been based on whether or not he was in a committed relationship. Something that clearly had been waived since he was single.
He led her onto the dance floor. He pulled her in, wrapping his arm around her, holding her close as they swayed to the smooth jazz rolling through the room. “I did. I didn’t have to drink or cavort to get it, either. Well, other than the drinking and cavorting I did with you last weekend.” He winked.
“What are you saying?”
“I’ve reformed. I went home, got very drunk, this was prior to my reformation, and in the process realized that I’m getting too old for that shit.” He spun her and pulled her back in.
His breath fanned over her lips, longing flowing from him as he held her so close that the galloping of his heart between them shook them both. “I also realized that no amount of alcohol could dull the ache of losing you.”
She held his face between her hands and searched his eyes. “Is this the old Trevor I’ve been looking for?”
He shrugged. “More than that. This new and improved Trevor isn’t the womanizer he once was, but he’s retained his way with words. You know, he still has deals to make, and he’s going to need a few tools left in his arsenal.”
“And what does this Trevor want from me?” she said as she gave him a slow smile.
He pressed his forehead to hers. “Forever,” he rasped as though the admission was the biggest gamble he’d ever taken.
He kissed her lips, then the corner of her mouth. “I love you, Piper. I’ve loved you for a long time.”