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“Fine.” She pouts and crosses her arms in exaggerated disappointment.
“We’re less than five minutes away. I promise you’ll find out soon.” When we get to the building, I hand her a blindfold.
She raises her eyebrows. “If this is gonna be a sex thing, you really shouldn’t have brought the kid.”
I shrug. “Well, another time, then, if you’re into that. But this is something else. So, just put on the blindfold and follow me.” I guide her into the elevator and then press the button for the top floor. The lower floors will be the boutique and, eventually, theworkshop for mass production, but the top floor is just for our lead designers.
Armani coos happily from her stroller and Tania chuckles. “I agree. Your daddy is acting very strangely right now.”
The elevator doors open, and I guide her into the studio where Alice waits. “You can take it off now.”
Removing the blindfold, she looks around, confused. “Where…?”
“Welcome to your new fashion studio,” I say, gesturing broadly.
Her gaze ping pongs between me and Alice. “You knew about this?” she asks her friend.
“Even better than that! I’m your business partner.” Alice throws her arms around Tania. “You and me. We’re gonna make something amazing.”
Tears run freely down her cheeks. At first, I worry that I did something wrong, but when Alice lets go, Tania laughs wetly and throws her arms around me. “Thank you, thank you, thank you,” she sobs.
“Of course. More than anything, I want you to be happy, and that means helping you follow your dreams.”
“So, what are you gonna make first?” Alice asks.
Letting go of me and wiping away her tears, she grins. “I was thinking I would make my mating ceremony dress.”
Alice squeals and hugs her again. “It’s going to look stunning! Everyone will want to know where you got it, and—”
Tania laughs. “Alice, I have to make the thing first.”
“Right. I’m just so excited. Let me show you around. The automatic fabric cutter is even better than Sathior’s.” Like a child in a toy store, Alice takes Tania by the hand and leads her through the shop, showing off fabric, sewing machines, and other technology that I know nothing about.
Alice had ordered more of Petra’s pizza, so we enjoy it for lunch as we hammer out our dinner plans and perhaps most importantly, the name of their studio.
“I was thinking Patchworks,” Tania says.
Alice hums thoughtfully. “It makes sense. You got your start rescuing scrap fabric from Sathior and used them to make your first designs. We can make that our general aesthetic and even raise awareness about the waste that these companies produce.”
Both look to me. I glance between them. “What?”
“Well, you’re as much a partner as we are,” Tania says. “What do you think of the name?”
I press a kiss on her lips, one that lasts so long that our lungs burn from the lack of air. “You love it, so I love it.”
Armani lets out a delighted baby shriek. “It sounds like we’ve got Armani’s vote,” Tania says. “Patchworks it is!”
CHAPTER 29
TANIA
“Ican’t believe it's almost time,” Alice says, pinning a wreath of laveys breath in my hair.
“I know,” I say, catching myself in the mirror. “It feels like I've been waiting for this day for so long.”
She smiles, reaching for a plain white sash from the dresser. Placing it around my waist, she cinches it tightly and fashions it into a neat bow in the back.
“What do you think?” I ask, making slight turns in front of the mirror. I’m a vision in patchwork. Using my signature style, my mating ceremony gown is a kaleidoscope of fabrics. A white sheer bodice worked with white synth tulle, and taffeta, a nod to my days with Sathior the virgin queen. The bodice snugs against my hips fading from white to green.
