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He was out of his goddamn mind if he really thought I looked like my mother. I knew I looked like the girl version of Rain, and I was more than okay with that. Rain was a good-looking guy. Both Isobel and Romero thought so. I was sure plenty of other people did as well when he wasn’t looking at them like he wanted to murder them.
I was wise enough to keep my mouth shut. Arguing with these boys usually only got me a headache and the need for a time machine. Not fun, really not fun.
He held up the first garment bag and hung it up. The zipper was at the bottom of the bag, and he had to bend way down to start to unzip it.
What he revealed wasn’t anything like the princess dress in the corner. In fact, they weren’t even on the same level, that was how different they were.
I loved it.
“Where did you get this?” I asked in a hushed voice filled with awe.
“I made it. I made all of them.”
My mouth dropped open and words escaped me. He had to be joking, or maybe I hadn’t heard him right. Since when did Damien make clothes? Was this something he’d always done, and I’d just been too self-absorbed to notice before?
What else didn’t I know about him?
I felt like a terrible girlfriend. Well, not girlfriend anymore, but the girl he was engaged to.
“No you did not,” I blurted out, hopeful that he’d tell me I was right and he’d just been joking before. I wanted him to tell me that there weren’t a bunch of important things about him that I didn’t know. I wanted him to tell me that he hadn’t purposely kept this part of himself a secret from me. What else was he hiding?
He eyed me cautiously, like he was worried my head might explode all over his pretty dress.
And it was pretty. Pretty in a sort of boho gothic way. Was that even a thing? Whatever, it so was now.
It was mostly black with part of the skirt in the back being a beautiful mulberry color I thought would look lovely with my skin tone. The sleeves were full length and would go all the way down just slightly past my wrists. They were also see-through, with delicate black stitching in the shape of viny flowers. The bodice was black, form-fitting, and showed absolutely no skin. No, the skin was left to be on display in the back. The majority of the back would be exposed, save for a few thin ribbons that crisscrossed and tied into sweet little bows right above the skirt. The skirt was full length and would sweep the floor while I wore it, even with how tall I was. There were several layers of fabric, making it look full and flowing. The front was all black, with the mulberry overlaying the full skirt in the back.
Now this was absolutely a dress for me. “Can I try it on?”
Holy hell, I’d never been so excited about a dress before in my whole stupid life.
“You really like it?” he asked shyly, hesitantly.
Damien shy?
Who the hell was this man?
“Um, no.” I shook my head, and he blinked at me slowly, looking like he wanted to cry. “I don’t like it. Like isn’t a strong enough word for what I feel toward it. I don’t like it, I effing love it. Damien, you’re incredible. I almost don’t even want to see what the other dresses look like because this is the one. This is it, it’s mine.”
I was blown away by his talent and skill. Why had he been hiding this from me? I wanted him to make all my clothes for me from now on.
He blushed at the compliments, and I swore my eyes about popped right out of my head. This was a whole new side of Damien I’d never seen before. Who knew?
“The store next to Fortunes just went out of business about three months ago, and I’ve had my eye on the building. Jules thinks I should go for it, but I don’t know. He’s the only one of the guys who knows about my designs and my dreams. Right now, it’s almost like my dirty little secret, and I don’t really want it to be anymore. It’s never been my intention to hide it from them, but…” He shrugged as he trailed off, looking uncomfortable.
I actually understood what he was trying to say. In a group as large as ours, it could sometimes be nice to keep something to yourself in order to maintain your individualism. It wasn’t meant to be a secret, but it was just something you wanted to be allyours.
I got him even though I felt like he should have had an easier time of this than I did. He was just one in the large group. I was one, but one with an intimate relationship with each and every single one of them.
“I can’t do it in our house anymore though, because there’s no room for it. The house is too small, and I’ve started keeping all of my clothes that I wear here in my room, and the ones that I’m working on in my closet at home. I’ve run out of space, and I’ve started taking over Jules’s. Trust me when I tell you this has not been making the man happy.”
Oh, I believed him. I just thought it was funny. Sometimes they were like an old married couple, and when they bickered, it was hilarious to me. I didn’t think he’d appreciate hearing my thoughts on the matter, most men didn’t enjoy being laughed at.
“So what you’re saying is you really need the space so that you have room to work and room for all your stuff. There’s room for you to do it here, but you don’t want that because you’ll have people all up in your business all the time. What I don’t think you’re understanding, though, is that by moving it into the building right next to the shop, they are all going to be all up in your business there too.”
I thought that was obvious and not something I should have to tell him, but here I was.
Boys.
