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Genevieve stood beside him, her eyes wide. “Those are from Mercurio?”
Stefano bared his teeth in a smile. “Very...innovative, aren’t they?”
“Innovative?” Tess stood on the other side of him now, her lovely face incredulous. “Are you crazy?” She looked at the three dresses with increasing desperation. “They’re hideous!”
She was speaking his greatest fear aloud.
“Just choose one.” His voice was harsh. “And get dressed. I’ll check on the baby. Then we must go.”
Stefano went down the hall, trying to keep calm. Outside the nursery door, he paused, taking several deep breaths, his hands clenched at his sides. His designer knew what he was doing. The man was widely in demand. Everyone had said Caspar von Schreck was the best.
Obviously, Stefano must not understand the latest trends. And Tess and Genevieve didn’t, either.
At least he prayed it was so. Or he was about to be humiliated. And when his conglomerate’s share price plummeted, he’d literally pay the price.
Pushing the thought away, he smiled and went into the nursery. His baby daughter’s face lit up when she saw him.
“Bah-bah!” she said, reaching for him.
“Good evening, Your Highness,” the nanny said. “We were just reading a book.”
“I see that.” Lifting Esme up in his arms, he hugged her, breathing in the sweet smell of the baby’s dark hair. His heart swelled with some emotion he didn’t recognize—pride? Yes. It had to be pride. “Buonanotte,” he whispered to her, then returned the baby to Ann Carter’s arms.
As the nanny went back to readin
g a book about a duck and a truck, Stefano hesitated in the hallway. To his surprise, he almost wished he could stay. He wished he and Tess could be the ones to cuddle with Esme, and read her the story about the duck. Let Ann Carter go to the Mercurio show.
But that was ridiculous. What was he thinking? Straightening the cuffs of his sleek black jacket, he checked his platinum cuff links and wondered which dress Tess had chosen to wear. Luckily his wife was so beautiful that she’d make even a washed-out, raggedy gown look good.
When he came out of the hallway into the main room, he saw Genevieve packing up. Tess was ready, wrapped in a long black cape. He frowned.
“So, which dress did you choose?”
A determined look came over her beautiful face. “It’s a surprise.”
“But you did find one.”
“Yes, I did.” Her gaze was evasive. “I need to say good-night to Esme.”
A moment later, they left his luxury apartment. Their bodyguard held an umbrella overhead to keep out the cold October drizzle, soft as mist. As their limousine drove them across Paris, Tess held her long cape carefully over her gown. She wouldn’t let Stefano see even an inch of it.
She obviously desired to reveal her dress dramatically on the red carpet, he thought. It might have amused him if the stakes hadn’t been so high. After all, how much surprise was possible, really? One beige dress was very like another.
Stefano looked out at the sparkling City of Light, thinking how important tonight’s event was, not just to Mercurio, but to him personally.
If Caspar von Schreck’s new spring collection was a success, then Mercurio would flourish. Which meant the stock of Stefano’s parent company, Gioreale S.p.A, would rise. He’d be able to use it as collateral to make a new, higher offer to acquire Zacco from Fenella Montfort.
But if tonight wasn’t a success...
His hands tightened.
It just had to be.
Caspar von Schreck was the best, he repeated to himself. He was the hottest designer in the world. Everyone said so. How could it possibly fail?
The limo finally pulled up in front of the glamorous palais where the Mercurio show was being held. With all the secrecy and buzz, it had become the most-anticipated event of Paris Fashion Week.
The bodyguard opened his door. Buttoning his jacket, Stefano smoothed a confident smile over his features and stepped out.
