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I laughed and shook my head. Madeline was an average woman. Average build, average chest, average height, and I also knew her well enough to know that she wouldn’t want to show off anything. “V-neck as well, to match the back, but the lace covers a thicker material, enough to hold you in so you don’t need to worry about a bra or falling out.”
Madeline furrowed her eyebrows. “Maybe the back shouldn’t dip so low.”
“I can totally change that. Now, color.” I turned to pull my swatches of fabrics, pulling out the chiffon and lace. “If you want white, I can do that, but I was picturing this in ivory.”
“Ivory,” Madeline said, matter-of-factly. She came up and held the fabrics in her hands.
Click. Click.Carter walked closer to us to get a detailed photo of the fabrics. I did my best to ignore him.
“The bust”—I turned again, leaving the swatches in Madeline’s hand—“will be made from this material. See? Thicker, more durable?” I shrugged my shoulders. “Cotton and polyester.”
“I adore you and I am inlovewith this design, but,” Madeline clenched her teeth. “I don’t need to know all the fabric details. I trust you. This is the one.”
Madeline flung her arms around my neck, the swatches she was holding hitting me in the back. I wrapped my arms around her, taking in all her excitement. Nothing could possibly ruin this moment between us. Now all we had to do was start putting it all together.
Click.
I shook my head ever so slightly on Madeline’s shoulder and pulled away from her grasp. “At least that hug will be documented forever.”
“Are we done here?” Carter asked, lowering his camera and fiddling with the bag on his shoulder. “I’ll go upload these and post them on Instagram.”
“Perfect. Thank you, Carter. Just let me help with the caption and do not, I repeat,do nottag Madeline.” I turned quickly to look over at him.
“Yes, please don’t.” Madeline mimicked my turn, sudden fear in her eyes. “I can’t have Milo seeing any of this. He thinks we went looking for dresses today, not picking my custom design.” She touched the drawing away, and her lips tugged in a sweet smile. “I want to surprise him.”
“Oh, he will be surprised, trust me.” I began to stack all the other designs carefully and place them into my portfolio. Who knows? One day, these may be on mannequins in my own store. The thought of my store crept into my brain. I should text JoAnn and tell her how things were going, ask about the location search.
JoAnn went from being a purchasing client to pretty much being my number one investor. She was deep in the hunt for a location and trying to do her best to let me enjoy my time in Portland. I was sure that Carter was texting her details. Why wouldn’t he? The store would be hers, after all, just carrying all my designs, all my work. I knew I would have to be in the store from time to time, and of course do all the work, but JoAnn was the brains behind the business. As I placed the designs neatly in the portfolio, I began to wonder if she would allow my boutique to be wedding dress only and continue to carry my other designs in her other stores.
“What is going through that head of yours?” Madeline asked, bumping her hip into mine.
I sighed, still in awe that my best friend could tell my brain was buzzing, even without sharing a single word. “JoAnn. I was just wondering if she would consider only selling wedding gowns at the boutique. I have a lot of designs here and they could bethe onefor other brides, you know?”
“They are all stunning, Phe.” Madeline smiled. “JoAnn’s not the deciding factor, is she? It’s your store.”
“Well, it will be all my designs, but JoAnn is funding it and basically starting everything from the ground up. So, she does have a say.” I snapped my portfolio, slinging it over my shoulder. “I need to get in touch with her, talk to her about my ideas.”
Madeline wrapped her arm around my shoulders, pulling me into the pocket of her arm. “She’d be an idiot to turn you down.” She smiled, her voice full of hope. “Now, when can we see those photos Carter took? I want to see how magical it all looks.”
The email from JoAnn shot through me like lightning. They had found the perfect location. Already? So fast? And she wanted designs. She wanted them faster than I had anticipated. I took a deep breath through my nose and exhaled through rounded lips, my eyes closed.
“Uh oh.” I heard Madeline come into the kitchen, plopping grocery bags on the counter. “Calming breathing?”
I shook my head. “Nah, just preparing myself for so much work.”
“The store?”
“JoAnn found a location already, and she wants designs faster than I thought. I just hope she keeps the timeline the same. She said before the holidays.” I closed my laptop and stood to help Madeline unload the groceries.
She had a bottle of white and red wine, a case of beer, a Dr. Pepper for herself, and all the ingredients she needed to make dinner.
“What are you making?” I asked, looking at the random spices and ingredients on the table.
“My mom has this delicious pasta sauce, and since Milo and Clay are coming over for dinner. . . I thought I’d make stuffed pasta with the homemade touch. It’s kinda our thing.” She smiled, ignoring the look I was giving her. I loved her, but sometimes she kept little tidbits to herself, like the factClay was coming for dinner.
“Oh, well.” I coughed, pushing down all my annoyance. “When will they be here?” I grabbed the bottle of red wine.
It’s not too early to open this, is it?
