Lotus Blossom (23 page)

“Madame, you have a perfect figure for this gown, but perhaps you should consider not wearing underpants for the evening. The line could show through such delicate fabric.”

Lotus stared at herself in the mirror. There was a tiny line where the underpants showed. “I think I would prefer to wear something. I have some very sheer and delicate panty hose I can wear with it.”

Marie shrugged. “We have the micro bikini briefs here, madame. They would be less conspicuous.” “Ah . . . well, perhaps. That might be better.” Marie inclined her head then pushed back the curtain of the dressing room. “Madame Charine and your husband are just on the other side of the screen, madame.”

“Thank you.” Lotus felt as though she had nothing on, the silk was so light. Only the whisper of silk announced her presence as she rounded the screen to where her husband and the diminutive designer were conversing.

Dash turned first. “Darling,” he whispered,

breathlessly. “Your eyes . . . your body . . .” Then he frowned. “My God, I won’t let anyone else see you like this. She’s perfect.” He grumbled, rising from his chair almost knocking it over in his haste.

Both women chuckled.

“
Cheri,
a beautiful woman was made to be seen by others,” Charine said and laughed.

"No.” Dash fired the word like a bullet, making Marie, who had followed behind Lotus, blink.

T like it,” Lotus told him in low tones.

“So do I,” Dash ground out the word reluctantly. “She would be exquisite with a little jewelry here and there.” Charine pointed to her ears and wrists, “Nothing around her neck, of course. That lovely graceful neck must be bare.”

“Yes,” Dash agreed, going over to his sweat jacket and rummaging in his capacious pocket. "These would go with it.” He drew the jade, in white, green, pink and lavender, from the velvet case.

“Ma fois!
I should say they would,” Charine exclaimed. She drew out the lavender jade ring and earrings and put them up against the sea green dress. “She will be exquisite,” Charine pronounced.

“Yes.” Dash scowled when Lotus laughed, then glided up to him to embrace him.

“I won’t take it. I like my wedding dress.”

“Of course you’ll take it. Your wedding dress is lovely on you. But this is magnificent. You must wear it, with me at your side every minute.” “Indeed, you must,
cheri.
You will be fighting off the population of men at the ball.” Charine covered her mouth with one hand when Dash looked murderous. “I am sorry, cheri, I don’t

mean to laugh, but it so funny, the great Dash Colby ...”

“If you say hung by his own petard, Charine, my love, I shall stuff you in one of your own garment bags,” Dash threatened her.

Charine put up her hand palm outward. “I will say nothing.”

“Right,” Dash agreed, fumbling his hands over his clothes to reach for his checkbook.

“There is no need, my friend. I will bill you for the ensemble”—Charine put her hand on his arm— “but I must insist that she go to Giulio’s next door and get her shoes. He will fit her with something that will be even more beautiful and elegant than the try-on shoes here. I am sure he will make sure she is most comfortable so she can dance the night away.” Charine kissed her fingers to both of them.

“True.” Dash snapped his fingers, not listening to Lotus when she protested.

“I have shoes . . ." Lotus said, bidding good-bye hurriedly to the dress designer as Dash pulled her out of the store.

“Come back again, Madame Colby.” Charine’s tinkling laugh followed after them.

“Of course she will. Good-bye, Charine,” Dash answered for both of them.

Despite her reluctance Lotus was entranced with the tiny bootery that had no frills but a good address. Giulio himself waited on them.

“I do not like to give a woman a ready-made shoe”—he lifted his shoulders—“but of course there is no time to create footwear for the
signora.
I will see what I can do.” After rapid spate of Italian, an assistant appeared from the back room, bearing stacks of boxes. First Giulio studied her dress and looked at the many shoes his assistant showed him. Then he lifted Lotus’s foot, stripped off the sweat sock, and ran his hands up and down her instep. “Ummm. She has a high instep. We must fit her properly.” He jumped to his feet and left the room.

“I feel like a prize mare being shod by the blacksmith,” Lotus whispered.

“Darling.” Dash laughed. “I assure you it’s much more expensive to shoe our horses than it is you.” “We have horses?”

Dash’s eyes narrowed on her as he nodded. “One of the mares is about to foal soon. If it’s a filly, I intend to call her Lotus Blossom.”

Lotus could feel her eyes light up. “Dash, really?” She kissed his cheek. “What a nice idea!”

Just then Giulio popped back into the room, another of his attendants following him with more boxes. He stared at Lotus, frowning. “The
signora
cries. It cannot be my shoes.”

“She’s happy.
Molto bene,”
Dash responded in Italian.

“You have horses. You speak Italian. Are there no ends to the facets of you,” Lotus whispered, feeling helpless as Giulio slipped a nylon stocking on her right foot then removed a rather high-heeled slipper from the box. The plain leather pump was close in shade to her dress.

“That should feel very good,
signora,
though I can see that you are not used to wearing the higher heel.”

“No, I’m not,” Lotus said, rising to her feet and walking up and down. “This feels like air. It’s very comfortable.”

“Good, That will be for this evening. I have brought you other shoes that suit your foot for other occasions,” Giulio said, rubbing his hands together.

Lotus shook her head. “No, thank you. I never buy shoes without having an outfit for them.” “Let’s see them.” Dash pawed through the boxes, pointing to some and frowning at others. When he saw Lotus shaking her head, he spoke. “Now, darling, I just want you to have a few pairs of recreational and dress shoes. That will be all. I’ll give you a check.”

Giulio held up one hand palm outward. “Not to worry. I will bill you, sir.” He beamed.

“Fine. Could I use your phone to call our driver?” Dash took only a moment to call Timmons, then he was back at Lotus’s side. “Come on, darling. I told Timmy we’ll meet him at the corner. No, don’t worry, I can carry the parcels.”

“Not all of them. You have the dress bag. I’ll take some of the shoes.”

“I could have them sent to your house, sir,” Giulio suggested.

“No, I don’t want anything not arriving for tonight. We’ll take them.” Dash smiled and led her from the store.

“He was positively drooling with glee,” Lotus huffed, trotting at his side and carrying two of the shoe boxes. “Maybe his shoes are wonderful, but I don’t like people who rub their hands together like that after a sale. I feel uneasy.”

Dash chuckled and looked down at her and winked. “This has been one of the happiest days of my life. It is nowhere near the idea I had for our honeymoon—and we will still be going to

Greece—but I have enjoyed this day with you more than I can say.”

“Me too.” Lotus looked up at him, very aware of the women who passed by and gave her husband more than one look.
They can’t have him! He’s mine and I will keep him!

“Ah, there’s Timmy.” Dash waved and stood at the curb as the Rolls cruised to their side. “Good man,” he told the family retainer as he and Lotus settled back against the cushions of the backseat.

“It was fun. I didn’t need the dress, but I do love it,” she told Dash as she snuggled close to him.

“So do I, but I think Charine was right. I’ll be fighting Boston single-handed when they see you.” “Crazy.”

When they reached home, only Dash’s father and his brother, Alan, were in the drawing room.

Alan waggled his iced fruit juice in their faces. “Good thing you’re back. Jennifer was positive you had taken Lotus to Borneo without so much as a good-bye note.”

Dash chuckled as his father grimaced. “Getting sticky around here?”

“Bad, my boy, bad.” Zachary Colby sighed. “We will be having fifty to dinner and cocktails at the Neptune before the ball.”

“God.” Dash closed his eyes. “When was that arranged?”

“Who knows?” Alan said. “Father and I found out this afternoon. God, I’ll never marry a society woman. I’m going for a peat bog farmer in the auld sod.”

“Won’t last a week,” His father said mildly, “but I applaud your choice.” He went over to Lotus and kissed her on the cheek. “And how are you doing, my child? You have color in your cheeks and a sparkle in your eye. It can’t be my son that did that, so it must be that you’re looking forward to the frivolity this evening.” Zachary gave his son a smile when he glared at him.

“Not that you deserve to see them, but before we go upstairs, perhaps you’d like to see what we bought today.” Dash was eager to open the package of jade and spread it out on the coffee table.

Alan whistled, setting down his drink, then sinking onto the settee in front of the coffee table. “Beautiful stuff.” He looked up at Lotus. “Why are you blushing, lovely sister-in-law? The jade will be great on you.”

Zachary Colby saw Lotus’s nervousness even when Dash put his arm around her and laughed at what Alan said. “My child, I am delighted that you will be wearing such beautiful jade. It is almost as lovely as you are.”

“Thank you,” Lotus whispered.

Dash’s mother swept into the room, irritation flashing through her smile. “So you haven’t even begun to dress, Zachary? Or you, Alan!”

“My fault, Lissa,” Alan said, pounding his chest with a closed fist. “I was looking at the jade Dash bought for Lotus.”

“Oh?” Lissa came farther into the room. “Do let me see. Jade is a favorite of mine.” She bent over the table, gasping. “My Lord, it’s lovely. Did you see it, Zach?”

“Yes, It will be perfect on Lotus.” He took his wife’s arm and led her toward the door. “Come along, love. You can dress me.” He winked at

Lotus whose low laughter stopped her mother-in-law in her tracks.

“You do have a sweet laugh,” Lissa Colby told her, then her gaze slid to Dash. “And you do have John Dasher by the jugular, do you not?”

Lotus felt her mouth drop open as her mother-in-law sailed from the room, holding on tight to her husband’s arm.

Dash cursed fluently and roundly for two minutes. Alan whistled again.

“Ah . . . Dash, maybe we should go upstairs and dress too,” Lotus ventured.

“I will, after I have three fingers of Irish whiskey,” he told her grimly.

“Do you think a good stiff drink will keep you from strangling Mother?” Alan asked his big brother.

“No, but it’s only fair to give her a head start,” Dash grated, ignoring his brother’s chuckle.

“Dash.” Lotus watched him toss back the whiskey. “I thought we might dance this evening, but if you’d rather get drunk, then I’m sure Alan will take pity on me.”

“Be happy to help.” Alan jumped to his feet and gave an exaggerated bow.

Dash cracked the glass down so hard, it surprised Lotus when it didn’t break. “I’ll be dancing with my wife. Come along, darling, it’s time to dress.”

Lotus was almost running as she tried to catch him as he left the room and took the stairs two at a time. By the time she had reached their suite, she was out of breath. “Are we in a marathon?”

“Huh? Oh, sorry, love. We’d better take hurry-up showers.” Dash looked at her regretfully.

Lotus wrinkled up her nose at him. “I suppose.”

“There’s always after the ball,” Dash told her, his voice deep and husky.

“I look forward to it,” Lotus told him, smiling, then watched him leave the bedroom to go to the other bathroom in the suite.

Lotus knew that she should hurry, but her aching feet demanded the soothing of a bath. She filled the tub with water and dotted it with the bath oil fragrance from the shelf.

She was halfway between sleep and waking when she heard Dash calling to her. Blinking herself wide awake, she watched the bathroom door open. “You’re almost dressed,” she squeaked.

“Honey, we leave for the Neptune in half an hour.”

“No!” She shot to her feet, clambering out of the tub.

“I do love you dressed that way. With just a few bubbles here and there.” Dash leaned over her, the crease in his silk evening trousers razor sharp.

“Dash, stop it. I’ll be late.”

“So . . .” But he stood aside as she scampered into the dressing room, fumbling another towel around her as she pawed through the makeup she’d scattered on the countertop. “This is going to be close,” she said after she cleansed her skin, then applied a creamy foundation and blush. She touched her eyes with pale orange eyeshadow, speckled with gold, not bothering to darken her already black and thick lashes and the thin arching line of her brow.

She was busy pulling on the very sheer flesh-colored hose with just a tad of green through it, which she was wearing with her dress, when she

noticed that Dash was still with her. She felt that ambivalent shyness and pride she often felt with him. “You should be through dressing by now.”

"Almost.” His sexy eyes ran over her. “I had most of my things in the other room, but you intrigue me so much I decided to finish in here so that I could be with you.”

“Should I think of you as a voyeur?” Sensual amusement bubbled in her as he continued to watch her even while he was tying the intricate white silk bow tie that would match the hand-sewn pleated shirt and cummerbund he was wearing.

He shrugged. “With you, yes. I can’t say I ever was interested in seeing a woman dress before I met you.”

“Only watching them strip
I
suppose,” she said tartly, sliding the silk sheath over her head and letting it fall down her body.

“Yes,” he shouted with laughter when she turned on him, hands curled into fists. He leaned forward so that his face was close to her. “Take your best shot.”

“
I
Will if I
see you around any women tonight,” she blurted then covered her mouth
.

Dash preened and thumped his chest. “You Tarzan’s woman.” He grinned at her.