Part 1 (2/2)
”Come on, we needed a crowd here to celebrate your big night.”
”You could have warned me.”
”Oops.” Chloe smiled and shrugged, both hands extended. ”Must have slipped my mind.” Somehow, Chloe could pull off that kind of insincere apology and come across as more lovable than annoying. It was hard to fault a girl who faced the world with such hope and exuberance.
Lauren looked around at the small living room, which was tidy enough but could use a good vacuuming and a round with a duster, the kinds of things she would have done if she'd known they were having company that wasn't ”family.” She looked down at her pink V-neck T-s.h.i.+rt and jeans, which were fine, but again, it would have been nice to know there were going to be strangers about, even if it wasn't a date.
Chloe led the two men into the living room while Rhonda arranged the platters on the Ikea coffee table. There was plenty of food, no doubt about that. At least they could just eat if the conversation got awkward.
Jasper came into Lauren's view, followed by a tall, broad-shouldered guy. His hair was short and brown, and he had just a hint of stubble across his jaw.
Jasper introduced him. ”Lauren, meet Cody. Cody, Lauren.”
”Pleased to meet you.” Cody had a slight Southern drawl-not tw.a.n.gy country boy, but every word seemed extra slow and drawn out, as if he should be out on the veranda drinking sweet tea. His faded blue T-s.h.i.+rt and well-worn jeans looked more laid-back preppy than sloppy and seemed to confirm his Southern-boy status. Nothing about him appeared to fit with the uptight Los Angeles real estate agency where Jasper-and presumably Cody-worked. Of course, Jasper didn't seem to fit that mold, either.
”Nice to meet you, as well,” Lauren said, suddenly wis.h.i.+ng she had bothered just a little more with her hair that morning.
Chloe gestured toward the coffee table, which was rapidly filling with finger food under Rhonda's deft hands. ”We're just planning to munch our way through the awards show, so eat whatever and whenever you like. The dress that Lauren designed has already made its way down the red carpet, but it will be on stage shortly.”
”Your dress is presenting?” Cody's accent was charming.
Lauren laughed. ”No. Marisa Remington is wearing a dress I did some work on. Somehow, Chloe has given that a bit more significance than it deserves.”
”Lauren beat out over a thousand applicants for one of the three intern positions at Deb Couture. Then she was so good at what she does, she actually helped design Marisa's dress, and she was the one they had doing all the last-minute alterations.”
Jasper looked toward Cody and shrugged. ”I told you there might be a fair amount of girl talk.”
”You saw one of the early pictures of the dress. It was beautiful, right? And that was before Lauren came up with the sash idea.” Chloe folded her arms across her chest and waited for Jasper's response.
”It was beautiful, yeah”-he cast a nervous glance toward Chloe-”and . . . uh . . . that sash was a really nice touch.”
Lauren rolled her eyes at him. ”Like you even know what a sash is.”
”Sure I do. It's a belt thingy. Kind of looks like a big ribbon or something.”
Chloe giggled, then took Cody by the arm. ”Let me tell you all about it.” She began expounding in great detail the wonders of Lauren's dress.
”I'm going to kill her,” Lauren whispered toward Jasper. ”She didn't mention anything to me about you guys coming over.”
Jasper leaned closer. ”Don't be too mad. This one may be mostly my fault. Cody's new in town, plus I just thought an evening of fas.h.i.+on-watching might be a little more tolerable if there was another male in the room.” His face was pure innocence.
Lauren burst out laughing. ”For your sake, I'm going to acknowledge that there is probably some truth to that, and I will allow her to live. This time. Next time, no promises.”
”What's happening next time?” Chloe was looking at them, still with a firm grip on Cody's arm.
”Lauren's going to make a dress for me. With a sash and everything.” Jasper spread both hands wide and gestured around his waist.
Everyone in the room burst into laughter. Chloe turned her attention back to Cody. ”Did I mention that Lauren made my wedding gown? Not many people have their dresses made by a world-famous designer.”
”Especially people on our budget. Good thing we have an inside connection-it seems my fiancee knows the designer personally.” Jasper nudged Lauren.
”Someday, when she's world famous, we'll be able to tell everyone that my wedding dress was her very first one.” Chloe let go of Cody's arm but didn't move away. ”You'll come, right? To the wedding, I mean. It's just a small affair, a couple dozen people and nothing fancy, but we'd love it if you could make it.”
Cody reached up to rub the back of his neck. ”I don't . . . I mean, it sounds pretty intimate. I'm sure you don't want someone you've just met . . .”
”Of course we do. Please, we would consider it an honor if you'd come. Four weeks from yesterday in Mom and Dad's backyard. Nothing too fancy-even my designer dress has purposely been made low-key.”
”Well, I . . . I mean . . . sure. If you're sure.”
”Of course I am. Now, let's eat.”
They all gathered around the table, small paper plates in hand, and began piling on the meatb.a.l.l.s, mini quiches, and other dishes that Chloe, Rhonda, and Lauren had spent the afternoon preparing.
Cody sat on the couch beside Lauren. ”I don't know much about fas.h.i.+on, but I do know it is impressive that, as an intern, you were allowed to work on a dress for a big occasion like this. Good for you.”
Lauren felt her cheeks heat. ”It's mainly because they were so busy with the more established divas that no one had time for the newbie kid.”
”Mom, we're needing one of your quotes here,” Chloe called across the room. ”Lauren is being entirely too modest. Help me out a little.”
Rhonda squinted, nodded slowly, then said, ”'The secret of success in life is for a man to be ready for his opportunity when it comes.' Benjamin Disraeli.”
”See. You had the opportunity, and you were ready for it. Now you're having success because of it.” Chloe flipped her wavy blond hair over her shoulder in victory. ”Quit belittling your achievement here.”
Lauren would throttle Chloe later. For now, she decided just to continue the conversation as if this interruption hadn't happened. ”My real interest is in fas.h.i.+on history, not the avant-garde stuff that's on the carpet tonight. Marisa's people wanted something sweeter, more old-fas.h.i.+oned, for lack of a better term, and no one else was particularly excited about doing it.”
”I like sweet and old-fas.h.i.+oned.” Cody looked straight into her eyes and smiled, causing the corners of his eyes to crinkle just slightly, then he popped a mini quiche into his mouth, still grinning as he chewed.
More stars made their way up the red carpet, with Renee Ross oohing and ahhing over each outfit. Lauren took a sip of Diet c.o.ke and shook her head. ”I'm glad I won't be spending tomorrow anywhere near Marisa. She's going to be livid over Renee's darling and adorable adjectives for her dress.”
”I don't get it. That's what they asked for, right?” Jasper had leaned back against the couch, his arm across the back loosely, Chloe close by his side.
”It's exactly what her mother, her manager, and her agent asked for. She, however”-Lauren made an exaggerated shudder-”well, let's just say that she had other ideas.”
”A regular femme fatale, huh?” Cody leaned just a little closer to Lauren, bringing the full effect of his handsome grin into close-up view.
”So she would like to believe.” Lauren smiled back for just a moment, before turning her attention back to her plate, which was empty. She reached for a couple of strawberries.
On the screen, the lights went down in the auditorium and Taylor Swift opened the show with her newest single. Lauren put her plate on the coffee table and leaned forward. ”Here we go. Marisa's the first presenter.”
As the applause for Taylor Swift began to wind down, the voice-over announcer said, ”To present the award for Best Female Video, please welcome Marisa Remington and Charles Baker, stars of the DTN Channel hit Missy's World.”
The auditorium filled with applause once again as Marisa and Charles made their way to the podium. Marisa took a step, seemed to trip on the end of the silver sash, and suddenly, the wrapped portion of her dress pulled loose and fell open. Wide open. As she was facing the camera. Directly. The screen filled with Marisa in her lacy black bra and bikini panties. She grabbed the loose sides of her dress and folded it closed. She looked toward Charles Baker and pulled one hand over her mouth, which was clearly open in shock. The entire room had gone silent. She finally pulled her hand away from her lips and began to fan her face. She said simply, ”Oh my.”
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