wedding.’
Callie quickly realised what Caroline was implying, and it had her shaking her head. ‘No, no. This isn’t anything like him and Julia.’
Caroline raised her eyebrows. ‘No, it can’t be if he’s told you about her.’
She returned to Callie with four dresses, each of which looked as though they were fit for royalty.
‘He didn’t bring her here, you know.’
‘Excuse me?’
Caroline handed her a midnight-blue dress that Callie worried might not cover nearly as much of her body as she would have liked before answering.
‘I always thought I would be the one to make Blake’s bride’s wedding dress. Though he didn’t even ask me.’ She looked at Callie again, and this time the gaze felt distinctly more piercing. ‘And yet here you are. For a dress for an event at the hotel.’ She paused again, and then simply said, ‘You can get changed over there.’
She pointed to a dressing screen and Callie followed, not sure what else she was supposed to do. Or whether she was supposed to speak at all. The woman had given her so many innuendoes that Callie wasn’t sure she was able to process them all.
She dressed as quickly as she could, and almost sighed when she felt the silk on her skin. It was luxurious, she thought, grateful for the distraction of something as simple as a dress. Except that this dress was anything but simple. She thought she could easily become used to such luxury...until she walked out and Caroline shook her head.
‘Oh, no, that’s dreadful.’
Callie felt her face blanch, but Caroline waved a hand.
‘No, darling, it’s not you—it’s the combination of you and that dress. Try this one instead. I think it’ll do wonders for that rich skin tone of yours. And it won’t hide your curves either.’
She winked, and Callie took the dress wordlessly.
She knew that artists could be eccentric—but, honestly, she hadn’t ever experienced it first-hand before. It was strange that this woman was a part of Blake’s life. Her conservative boss—she’d settled on using that term, since she wasn’t sure what to call him personally—didn’t strike her as someone who would be familiar with a person so—well, unique. Especially when Caroline seemed to see things Callie didn’t think most people would want her to see—especially not someone as private as Blake.
She looked down at the dress, noting how much tighter it was than the previous one, and resisted pulling at the neckline that lay just a touch too low for her liking. When she walked out in the emerald dress Caroline clasped her hands together in what Callie could only imagine was delight.
‘This is it. This is the one.’
Callie doubted the dress required that much enthusiasm, and was still thinking about it when Caroline asked her what size shoe she wore. She responded automatically, even though she wanted to tell the woman that she had some shoes she could wear with the dress. But then Caroline brought out the most gorgeous silver pair Callie had ever seen and she kept her mouth shut.
‘Gorgeous—though there’s something missing...’ She looked at Callie for a few more moments, and then went to fetch something from a glass cabinet.
Callie didn’t realise what it was until Caroline presented her with a diamond necklace.
‘Oh, Caroline, I couldn’t—’
‘You can, and you will.’ She fastened the necklace around Callie’s neck herself, and then led her to the mirror.
Callie was almost afraid to look, but she caught her reflection before she had a chance to close her eyes and nearly gasped. She looked... Wow, she thought. Maybe the dress had required that much enthusiasm. She almost didn’t recognise herself.
Caroline had been right about the colour, and the gown fitted her perfectly. The necklace sparkled up at her, matching the shoes that she could see beneath the slit that ran up her left leg. She had never seen herself like this before. Not even on the night of Blake’s welcome event had she looked this elegant.
She remained silent when Caroline stood behind her and twisted her hair into some kind of chignon.
‘You should wear your hair like this. And just a touch of make-up. We don’t want to hide any of your natural beauty.’
Callie nodded wordlessly, not trusting herself to speak. What could she possibly say to this woman who had made her look like a princess?
‘It’s okay, dear. You don’t have to thank me. That look on your face is more than enough.’ Caroline smiled at her, and for the first time since they’d met Callie could see what it was about the woman that Blake cared about.
She returned Caroline’s smile and walked back behind the screen, undressing slowly so that she didn’t do any damage to the dress. When she was done, she handed it over to Caroline along with the shoes and the necklace.
‘Caroline, I don’t think I can take these from you.’ She gestured to the accessories she knew must have cost a fortune.
‘You can’t have the dress if you don’t.’
‘What?’
Caroline put the dress in a clothing bag and said again, ‘You can’t wear this dress if you don’t take the accessories.’
‘Why...why not?’
‘Because you need the whole package for Blake to get that feeling you had when you looked in the mirror.’ Caroline smiled kindly when Callie lifted her eyebrows. ‘You don’t think I saw the surprise on your face when you looked at yourself? I think it would give Blake a good kick in the behind to see you like that. And, from what I know about that man, he could use it.’
Again, Callie didn’t respond.
‘I’m so glad he brought you here.’
Suddenly Callie found herself in Caroline’s arms.
Hesitantly, she put her arms around the woman, and she felt an odd sense of comfort when she said, ‘Be patient with him. He’ll get there eventually.’
She drew back, and Caroline smiled again, and for a moment Callie wondered what ‘there’ meant. She realised too late that she’d asked Caroline out loud, and waited with bated breath for the answer.
‘You’ll know soon enough, dear,’ she said, before calling Blake, and Callie knew her chance to probe was gone.
‘Are you sorted?’ Blake asked when he walked in.
‘Yes, she is.’ Caroline patted his cheek. ‘No need for thanks. You can just send the things back after the event.’
‘Of course. We can sort out payment at a later point.’
Callie immediately wanted to offer payment too—even though heaven only knew how she would be able to afford it—but Caroline had narrowed her eyes.
‘Blake, you say something that offensive to
