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“Yes, it is. It’s for Estate Styles.” I wasn’t above name-dropping, and the tactic worked.
The shop girl’s face lit up at the realization of how elite the event was. “Why on earth are you shopping here?”
“Well, I don’t own them. I work for them. I also thought it could be fun representing a small fashion company by wearing one of their dresses.” Wow, I was so full of shit. I didn’t want to admit to the girl that I was being a cheap ass, though not totally by choice, so instead, I spun it to look like this business would benefit much more than any regular sale.
“We have plenty of options that will suit your needs. May we serve you a cup of tea or coffee while I gather up some possibilities?”
“Yes, thank you. It would be a wonderful way to warm up. I take my coffee black and strong.” I slipped out of my coat, and the assistant was kind enough to drape it over the back of the cream couch where I sat.
A few minutes later, she brought my coffee in a beautiful Queen Ann-shaped bone China coffee cup featuring delicately painted violets and a small shortbread cookie, all placed on a matching saucer.
“Thank you.”
While I sat there enjoying the elegant ambiance of the store, the bell above the door jangled, and I looked over to see none other than Riva being greeted by another shop assistant.
My heart rate kicked up a notch at the sight of the beautiful young woman. I lifted my hand and waved at her. “Riva, how awesome to see you here.”
“Oh, my gosh. Great minds think alike, don’t they?” Riva hurried across to me and dumped her shopping bags on the floor.
I got to my feet and hugged her, then glanced down at her bags. “What have you got there?”
“New makeup, shoes, some hair stuff. I’ve got to find a dress to match these.” She pulled a shoebox out of the bag and opened it up to reveal open silver sandals on five-inch heels.
“Oh, wow, they’re stunning.” I gripped her wrist in excitement. “Let’s help each other.”
Riva smiled as she settled the shoe back into its box. “I love that idea. Shopping with a girlfriend is always much more fun than shopping alone.” She gave me a seductive wink.
I guess I couldn’t argue with her innuendo. We’d slept together so often now and spent so much time together, I supposed that meant we could be each other’s girlfriends.
That was a revelation and a half. Before getting involved with Riva, I’d never, ever considered that I might be bisexual.
Instead of dwelling on the significance of this moment, I focused on my assistant who carried a heap of gowns to a spare rack and hung them up. “Excuse me. Could you please get my friend here a cup of coffee, also? We intend to shop together.”
“Of course. How do you take it, marm?” the woman asked Riva.
“Strong, please, withhold the milk,” Riva replied.
“I knew there was a reason I liked you.” I took Riva’s hand in my own.
“Because you love the things I do to you?” Riva whispered.
I felt a blush color my cheeks, and I tugged her down onto the couch beside me while she released a tiny giggle behind her hand.My body hummed with excitement at having her here with me. I was both turned on and relaxed by her, and she made not being able to hang with Lou much more bearable.
Once Riva had her coffee, the shop assistant selected gowns for her to try as well, and I clapped my hands together. “Who’s going first?”
Riva told me to, so I went ahead. With each dress change, I came out to model for her approval. I’d tried on five dresses of differing styles and colors. But it wasn’t until I stepped out in the sixth dress that I felt I’d struck gold. If the slack look of wonder on Riva’s face was anything to go by, I’d have said the long, red, cowl-neck dress that fell off my shoulders and barely clung to my breasts with its Bardot neckline and fishtail skirt wasthe one.
“You must buy that one, Sienna,” Riva insisted.
“Are you sure it’ll be okay for running the gala? If I need to bend over for anything…”
“Then don’t bend over. There will be plenty of stagehands and crew to do everything for us.” Riva stepped over to me and took my hands in hers. “We are the organizers. All we have to do is make sure things run smoothly, and by that, I mean delegate. We’ll have our hands full with other much more important things. Myself with the models and you with that rascal, Augustus, and the musical talent.”
“No sweat, right?” I sighed.
“If you go looking like this…” Riva ran her hand down the satin material, “… I swear you’ll have them eating out of your hands.”
I focused on the sensation of her touch, of her closeness, and my heartbeat sped up. “Okay. Then I guess this is the dress. Let me get out of this, then it’s your turn.”
