Total pages in book: 113
Estimated words: 104820 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 524(@200wpm)___ 419(@250wpm)___ 349(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 104820 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 524(@200wpm)___ 419(@250wpm)___ 349(@300wpm)
She slipped on the shoes and then headed toward his room. She gazed at herself in the full-length mirror while he watched her turn this way and that, admiring how the fabric caught the light.
He had already known the dress was perfect, but he was still blown away by how incredible she looked. It didn’t need alteration. The dress could have been custom-made for Tessa.
“It’s beautiful,” she said. “I can’t believe how beautiful it is.” She caught his eye in the mirror and then frowned slightly. In a quiet voice, she asked, “How much did it cost, Arch?”
He ran a hand through his hair, weighing his options. He’d been hoping she wouldn’t ask about money or where the dress was from so he wouldn’t have to lie.
But if he told her the truth, she might insist that he return it. He wanted her to have it, to shine and feel special.
He thought about telling her a little white lie—that he’d found the dress at another thrift store. But he couldn’t do it. Couldn’t bear to lie, in even the smallest way, to Tessa.
“I asked Mila to come shopping with me. And this was the one that we both knew would look incredible on you.”
Tessa was silent for a moment. “It must have cost a fortune.”
Again, he couldn’t lie to her. “A fortune to some, but not for me.” Before she could protest, he held up a hand. “I’m not saying you can’t refuse it, if you’re not comfortable with the idea of my buying you a dress. But I’m hoping you’ll agree to wear it. Because I love—” He stopped before he said too much. “Because I love that, for once, I can do something nice for you, when you’ve been bending over backward all these weeks doing nice things for me.”
“But that’s my job. To help you with anything you need.”
“Yes, it’s your job. But can you look me in the eye and tell me it hasn’t turned into more with me?”
She swallowed hard. Then she turned to look at herself in the mirror again. Instead of answering his last question, she simply said, “Thank you for the dress. I love it. And I’ll wear it… even if it costs more than all of my possessions combined.” She gave him a small smile in the mirror, and his heart finally started beating again. “And while you’re right that I don’t want to know how much you spent because it will likely freak me out, the truth is that you’ve made me feel really, really special. Not just tonight. But so many times since I came to stay and work with you. You’ll never know how much I appreciate it.”
He was about to pull her into his arms and kiss her, when he heard Erin’s voice calling hello from the hallway. She and Mila were early.
“Your hair and makeup crew are here,” Mila announced.
She strode into the bedroom ahead of Erin, armed with an expensive-looking hair dryer and a black case of what Arch assumed to be other hair-related tools.
Her eyes widened when she took in the sight of Tessa. “Oh wow,” she said, sighing in admiration. “The dress is perfect.”
Tessa did a little twirl. “Thank you for helping to pick it out.” She gave Mila a special smile of thanks.
“I love it!” said Erin, coming into the room. “Tessa, you’re a mega babe.”
Arch felt a contented warmth flood through him. This was going even better than he’d imagined. Erin was carrying another clothes bag and handed it to Arch.
Tessa thanked his sisters. “I washed my hair and blow-dried it, but you’ve got carte blanche to style me however you like.”
Mila’s eyes glowed. She loved a makeover, and Arch knew that Tessa had all the natural beauty to make a truly jaw-dropping red-carpet entrance.
Tessa excused herself to take off the dress and shoes and went upstairs, grabbing her clothes from the living room as she went.
“Coffee?” he asked his sisters, leading the way into the kitchen. There was time before their ride came. Another surprise he hoped Tessa would like.
“Always,” Mila said with drama, as though she could barely make it through the next five minutes without a hit of caffeine. Arch set about making coffee for his sisters. He also brought out some of the black sesame cookies he knew they both loved and put them on a plate.
Erin and Mila slid onto the counter stools and watched him with what he realized was bemusement.
“Are those the sesame cookies from that great Japanese store in Los Angeles?” Mila asked.
Arch smiled. “I wanted to say thanks for doing all this for Tessa. It means a lot.”
Even though Tessa was upstairs, Erin lowered her voice and said, “We can see how much she means to you, Arch.”
He nodded seriously, knowing full well that he was no longer capable of concealing his true feelings. He might be a good actor. But pretending that he didn’t love Tessa?