AllFreeNovel
Share Us
Not by Mary.
Still, at least Leo did his best to put her at ease with his constant chatter, even if neither understood much of what the other said.
‘Sunny, sunny!’ He smiled. ‘All week!’
‘Isn’t it always?’
‘Not usually now. Early summer, maybe. You swim?’
‘No...’ Mary shook her head.
‘So this...?’ He held up the tiniest bikini, which was really just ribbons.
‘No, no!’ Mary shook her head. ‘I can’t possibly wear that...’
‘For sure!’
He insisted she try it on, but then he must have seen the defeat in her face as she stared at her pale reflection and tried to cover herself with her hands.
‘This one,’ Leo said, and held up something marginally safer; and when he showed her how to tie a flimsy little sarong over it she felt somewhat better.
As Mary tried things on, Leo pinned and his assistant took care of alterations as they moved on to the next item.
‘Perfect,’ Leo said as he checked the alterations on a party dress they had chosen in the palest gold. ‘You will kill them.’
Given he’d said much the same about Kristina, Mary wasn’t sure if that was a compliment, though it was such a gorgeous dress she chose to take it as one.
And, even with their communication limited, she found out more about the weekend ahead than Costa had shared.
‘Yolanda...’ Leo said with a mouthful of pins. ‘Busy, busy.’
‘Okay.’
‘And Roula...’ He sighed. ‘Poor Roula.’
Mary frowned at the familiar name, for she had heard Costa on his phone to her.
‘Why “poor Roula”?’ Mary asked casually.
But instead of elaborating Leo gave her exclusive access to his summer collection of the sheerest, most glorious underwear.
‘These,’ Leo urged, holding up a gorgeous, provocative violet set which even had a name. ‘This year’s Sófisma collection. Deception,’ he translated.
And deceptive she would indeed be, wearing something so overtly sexy, and she settled for a few sets that were a little less...well,daring.
Flesh colour was surely safe, Mary thought as she alighted on another set.
‘Love!’ Leo said. ‘It is the My Hope Dies Tonight collection.’ Mary blinked at the appalling name and realised Leo must have seen her reaction when he added, ‘It sounds better in Greek...’
This was the first studio he had owned, she gleaned, and...
‘Costa was my model,’ Leo told her as they waited for the dress chosen for her to wear today to be taken in. ‘A long time ago.’
‘I can’t imagine Costa on a catwalk!’
‘Catwalk? No.’ Leo shook his head. ‘I gave up design school. Costa has the Midas touch, so I paid his bar bill in return for him wearing my clothes out there...’ He gestured to the fashionable world of Santorini outside, which she had only briefly glimpsed. ‘Then on Mykonos, and then...’
He stopped his reminiscence, though she wished he’d continue, but her dress was finally ready so she put it on.
