Page 30 of Winter With You

‘Too late. I’m going to give you my input whether you want it or not,’ Gabriella said, dropping her arms. ‘Listen, I am not a dress-up kind of girl, you know. I like simple and practical and no nonsense. I want to be sitting on that talk-show sofa tonight focussing on what’s going to come out of my mouth and not what body part might fall out if there’s a zipper malfunction.’ She took a breath. ‘I don’t know why what I wear is so important when what people should be concentrating on is my book.’ She paused then spoke again. ‘The thing that is going to help them through life.’ Her sister.

A lump arrived in her throat and she swallowed it down, measured. That was the very last thing she needed. She had to be detached from the real emotions she still felt and only produce tempered, managed feelings on cue. That was her survival.

‘Do I get an input into the discussion?’

The question came from Phoebe, some kind of crochet hook in her hand as she stood in front of spindles of brightly-coloured wool.

‘Absolutely,’ Errol said quickly. ‘Whether the guy with the budget for these creations will listen, debatable.’

Phoebe stepped forward, towards Gabriella, feet grazing the concrete ground, eyes on the almost-garment that was wrapped around her body. ‘I’m good with shapes. I see symmetry. My aunt, she’s an inverted triangle.’

‘Great,’ Gabriella answered. ‘Never felt so spectacular now.’

‘And you can’t dress an inverted triangle like an hourglass,’ Phoebe continued.

Gabriella’s gaze went to Luca. She frowned. ‘And you should know this, right? Because you’re the professional stylist.’

‘He does know this,’ Phoebe stated. ‘There’s framed artwork in the dressing area at the old ballet studio.’

Luca put his hands in the air, palms open, like he was surrendering to something. ‘You’ve got me.’ He smiled at Phoebe. ‘Or do you? Because why do you think you were sewing?’

He walked towards the sewing machine bench where some of the material Errol had been working on was lying. Picking up the dark red satin, he flapped it in the air like he was a magician or perhaps a matador. And then he moved, gracefully, but also with intent until he was back in front of her again.

‘Watch the fabric. See how it dances. How the colour changes in the light.’

‘What are you talking about? Are you insane?’ Gabriella countered.

‘Stay still,’ he ordered, like she was a dog who needed to obey a command. Oddly alluring, but she didn’t have time to think too deeply about it before… shots were fired.

Tap. Tap. Tap. Tap. Tap. Tap.

And then, Luca stepped away a little, some kind of appliance in his hand and the skein of silk fell into place like a waterfall of drama. Gabriella heard Phoebe gasp, her hands going to her mouth.

‘Holy Mother of God,’ Errol exclaimed.

Gabriella’s eyes went to her reflection in the mirror, the figure-hugging leatherette material, and now the intense red, ruched around her hips, balancing her ‘inverted triangle’ as it then cascaded to her knee. She looked like she had never looked before. Powerful. Somewhere close to beautiful even. But, better than either of those things, nowhere close to transparent.

She looked to Luca as he moved back to her and made minor adjustments to the silk. ‘OK, so you’re not a stylist, you’re a wizard.’

He smiled then, dipping his head close. Then he whispered for her ears only. ‘So, now… I ask again… how does it make you feel?’

His words were cool, confident, yet they were also currently setting her erogenous zones on fire…

‘Errol,’ Luca said. ‘Can we make this look like I didn’t just staple gun it by tonight?’

20

LA FAÇON, MANHATTAN

As soon as Luca saw that Sybille was in his workspace he ducked away from the door and tried to about-turn. However, his shoes squeaked on the parquet and the game was up.

‘Mr Manning.’

He took a breath and faced Sybille, adjusting his jacket as well as his inner demeanour as he entered the room. ‘Sybille.’

‘We have things to discuss. As you well know.’ She paused before continuing. ‘So, do you want to talk about Mr Torres first? Or perhaps you would like to start with telling me why you are dressing Ms Felix out of that awful emporium and not with brands we have established connections with.’

Luca really began to consider which option would be better to begin with, but before he could decide, Sybille had continued.