Always the Designer, Never the Bride (29 page)

"Did you girls have a good time?" he asked.

"I haven't had so much fun—
or eaten so much junk!—
since high school."

Andy glanced at the pile of empty pizza boxes resting against the trash can and smiled. "Anchovies?" he asked.

"Afraid so. On one of them."

"My growing son or daughter appears to love anchovies," he told her with a shrug. "Which is odd because Sherilyn can't stand them."

"All evidence to the contrary," she cracked, and Andy held back a laugh with a snort.

One by one, he lined up individual K-cups of coffee on the counter. "I know who prefers what kind of coffee," he said, "with the exception of you and Kat. What's your pleasure?"

Inspecting the cups, she asked, "What do you have?"

He picked them up one at a time. "Decaf hazelnut for my wife. Crème brûlée for Emma Rae. Norma likes French roast. And Fee prefers extra bold." Pointing to a circular rack on the counter, he told her, "Sherilyn has every option known to man on there. It's like a portable Starbuck's."

"Oooh, Chocolate Glazed Donut!" she exclaimed, and she covered her mouth with one hand. "Sorry. I was blinded from courtesy by the promise of chocolate."

"It happens," he replied with a smile, and he took the small plastic container that she handed him and injected it into the machine behind him. He pushed a ceramic mug with a daisy emblazoned on it to the pedestal, pressed a button, and the brewed coffee began to spit into the cup. "Give it two minutes," he said. "I'm going to walk Henry before I get changed for work."

She thanked him, and Andy patted his thigh one time before Henry appeared, leash in mouth, ready for his walk.

Before the two of them returned, everyone was up and various coffees had been brewed. Emma and Sherilyn worked in the kitchen to get breakfast started while Fee and Kat set the large dining table, and Audrey sat at the counter with Norma.

"Jackson tells me you're working with Curtis Gibson's daughter on her wedding gown," Norma said as she sipped her French roast.

"Yes. I'm so grateful to him for making the connection between us."

"Lisette is a beautiful girl, isn't she?"

"Mm," Audrey nodded. "She really is."

"What are the challenges of creating something for her, in relation to a smaller woman? Is it very different?"

"It's different," she replied, accepting her awaited chocolate coffee from Sherilyn. "But I think it's going to be fun. We came up with a design that she loves, and she's going to look beautiful in it."

At first sip, Audrey closed her eyes and moaned softly.

"What kind?" Norma asked.

"Chocolate glazed donut," Sherilyn answered for her.

"Ohhh, that sounds tasty."

Audrey moaned again, this time more loudly. "It is."

"Audrey's design is stunning," Kat chimed in as she joined them at the counter. "It's this awesome fitted top with an asymmetrical ruffled strap, and the skirt is flared with beautiful beadwork and crystals."

"That sounds beautiful," Norma said. "I can't wait to see it when she walks down the aisle."

"Will you be there?"

"Oh, yes. Curtis and his wife are good friends to us. I've known Lisette since she was knee-high to a grasshopper."

Norma didn't possess the same deep southern drawl that her other sisters maintained, but Audrey spotted the twang in that last statement.

"When Jackson first told me about them, he said Curtis was an electrician."

Norma chuckled. "That sounds just like Jack."

"Then Lisette told us about her wedding plans," Kat added. "We were like, 'Isn't your dad an electrician?'"

"You wouldn't know it to meet him, but Curtis is quite a force in the business world. He's built that company from the ground up. It's going public next month, you know."

"What does that mean?" Kat asked.

"It means people can buy Gibson Light and Magic stock," Emma explained. "Like Microsoft."

"Will it be expensive?"

"I'd suggest buying quick and holding," Norma told her with a smile.

"You know, I had no real desire to break away from working to go to a grown-up slumber party," Audrey said with a laugh as she and Kat climbed the staircase toward the reception desk. "But I'm so glad I went. It was a great diversion. Those women are such a lot of fun."

"Can you believe Sherilyn and those anchovies, though?" Kat exclaimed. "I've never seen anyone put them away like that."

"It was kind of gross, actually."

"I know!"

The receptionist smiled as they approached her desk. "A delivery came for you a few minutes ago. I had them drop it in your work room."

"That will be our body," Audrey told Kat. "Thanks very much."

"Sure thing. Just let me know if you want in on the lunch order. We're getting Italian today, and I put a copy of the menu in there for you too."

"Thanks, Billie."

The moment they turned the corner, Audrey noticed that the door to their work room had been left open. Passing Monique's empty desk, she picked up the pace toward the end of the hall. She found Weston LaMont standing with one hand on his hip and the other scratching his chin as he gazed at the extra-large dress form before him.

"What on earth is this?" he asked as Audrey and Kat stepped in.

"It's a dress form," Audrey replied dryly. "Being a designer, perhaps you've seen them before."

"Not in this proportion."

Audrey chuckled, and she patted the shoulder of the form several times as she rounded it. "I'm thinking of calling her Mac."

"Mac!" he exclaimed.

"After Elle MacPherson.
The Body."

"Well, it's a body all right. I would think the name Bertha is a better bet."

Kat scowled at him as she dropped the load from her arms.

"Who is your client?" he asked Audrey. "The Rock?"

"All right," Audrey replied as she sank down into the chair behind the desk. "Try to be nice, will you?"

"These are my offices," he said with a smirk. "I'm not required to be nice."

"Couldn't you just try? Pretty please? A plus-sized bride is just like any other bride. She wants to look amazing, she wants the fairy tale. Her version is just . . .
Rubenesque,
that's all. There's just more to love."

"Seriously, Audrey. Who is your client?"

"Her name is Lisette, Wes. She's a plus-sized bride."

"I see that." He circled the dress form, inspecting every inch. "Where did you ever find a dress form this gargantuan?"

"Wes."

"Really. It's very resourceful. I didn't even know they made them."

"Kat found it."

When he looked at her, Kat answered without emotion. "Craig's List."

LaMont dragged a chair beside Audrey's desk and sat down. "Well, I have to see your design."

She thought it over for a moment, and a quiver of anxiety tickled her stomach.

"All right."

Audrey slid the leather portfolio across the desk and tugged at the zipper. "Here's the one we decided on."

LaMont scanned the page for nearly a full minute, a blank expression on his face. Audrey began to think that she had thumped down into a momentary world where the worst torture known to a designer had occurred: the thirty seconds where a fledgling waited for a response from a pro. If LaMont hated it, would the world hate it as well? If someone with his experience and expertise—

"There's something here."

"You think so?"

"Yes," he said, and he leaned back in the chair and looked at her over the top of his tortoise shell glasses. "I think you've really got something there, Audrey."

"Thank you."

"Not only is the dress interesting—I mean, you've taken a classic standard and infused some contemporary life into it— but you've also managed to weave a thread of couture into a market that doesn't have anything like it."

"Thank you, Wes." She wondered if he could hear her heart pounding.

"I'm not sure what kind of future there is in designing for a market of overeaters, but—"

Kat interrupted him with a throaty groan. When Audrey looked up at her, Kat raised a hand and said, "Fine. I'm going to go and talk to Billie about lunch."

LaMont sighed. "I've offended her delicate sensibilities."

"Insensitivity tends to do that to her. It's a flaw."

He laughed out loud. "Hasn't she heard I'm a creative genius? We don't have to be . . .
sensitive."

"I'll try to remember that," she teased. "Should I write it down?"

"What are your plans today?" he asked, ignoring the barb.

"Finishing up the pattern so we can start to cut."

"I'll leave you to it then," he said, and he rose to his feet and crossed to the door. Turning back, he added, "Good work, Audrey. Congratulations."

"Thank you."

"Oh. If you're given to a heavy lunch, the eggplant sandwich at Caruso's is quite good. Perhaps you can order a few if your client's coming in."

Audrey spun her chair around, faced out the window, and clamped her eyes shut. "Later, Wes."

She listened as the click of his shoes on the marble floor faded. What a miserable man Weston LaMont was. She wondered what had possessed him to summon enough compassion to agree to lend her some work space! It certainly wasn't his huge, open heart.

"The man is despicable," Kat said as she returned to the office and closed the door behind her. "I hope God forgives me, but I'd like to just slap him silly."

Audrey chuckled. "Let's get busy, shall we?"

For the next hour, Audrey finished up the pattern pieces that she'd begun the previous day, and Kat helped her to adjust the dress form so that they fit perfectly into place. To make sure they were on the right track, Kat measured the mannequin to compare Lisette's measurements.

"By George, I think we've got it!" Kat said in a thick English accent.

"Very good. Let's start cutting."

They stopped for a quick lunch before spending another couple of hours smoothing out yards of fabric atop the cutting table so that Audrey could apply the patterns and, with meticulous caution, cut out the pieces. When Audrey finally stood back and admired three stacks of carefully folded sections of fabric, each of them still attached to their paper pattern, Kat grinned at her from the other side of the open laptop.

"Nice work."

"Thanks."

"Why don't you sit down and relax a few minutes so I can show you something."

Audrey folded into the chair, crossed her legs, and rested her arms on the desk before her. "What's up?"

Kat swiveled the laptop screen toward her. "What do you think of this for Lisette's bling?"

"Oooh," she said, leaning forward to inspect the rhinestone vine of flowers more carefully. "This is beautiful. Where did you find it?"

"Well—"

"Not on Craigslist!" she exclaimed.

"No."

"It's too bad it's not just a little longer. It would work perfectly, wouldn't it?"

"It could be extended."

"Yes? Do they have any larger pieces?"

"It's one of mine," Kat stated.

Audrey looked up at her over the top of the screen, and Kat didn't even blink.

"You made this? When?"

"A few months ago," she replied.

"Where is it?"

"At my apartment. I had my friend Staci go in and take some photos of a few pieces I thought might work, and she emailed them to me."

Audrey leaned back and folded her hands in her lap. "Can I see the others?"

Kat enthusiastically spun the laptop around again, punched several keys, and flipped it back toward Audrey. Three different photos lined the screen in a perfect row.

The center photo caught her eye immediately: a brooch resting on a swatch of deep purple velvet. Pastel pink rhinestone tulips just on the verge of wilting, sat atop a clear crystal stem that curved downward toward pale green rhinestone leaves.

The third photo showed Audrey's favorite of the three in the context of Lisette's wedding gown: a large bouquet of rhinestone flowers in the shape of hearts.

"This last one," she said, tapping the screen. "What are the measurements?"

"It's about five inches long, no more than three inches wide."

"Do me a favor? Email all three over to Lisette and ask her what she thinks. I like the last one for her, the bouquet of hearts. Let's see what she thinks."

"Are you serious?"

"Of course I am. Kat, these are exquisite!"

She hopped up from behind the desk, hurried around to Audrey, leaned over, and embraced her.

"Why haven't you shown me any of your work before?"

"I have."

"No. You've worn a cute pair of earrings or a great bracelet, and when I've asked about them you've told me you made them. But you've never shown me anything like this."

"It's my passion, Audrey. The way your designs are for you."

Audrey gazed at Kat, her wide eyes misted with emotion and brimming with excitement.

"I wish I'd known this, Katarina. You're really gifted."

"Thank you," she said, hand to heart. "I'll send these over to Lisette right away."

While Kat tapped away at the computer, Audrey took the time to give more thought to the idea that her valued, organized assistant had been carrying around a dream of her own, and Audrey had never noticed. A running parade of earrings, bracelets—and that stunning choker Kat had worn to the bridal show last spring!—flew past her mind's eye, and Audrey found herself looking at Kat with a fresh perspective.