The bride and her pack of giggling bridesmaids and relatives were finally gone. Gone with their constantly changing demands and their charge cards and their smug wedding party attitudes. Ryne looked at the piles of dresses hanging on the hooks and draped over the chairs in the changing room and groaned. She'd be straightening out crumpled tulle and lace for the next two hours at this rate. The headache the bride had already givin her intensified.
She picked up the white silken sheath dress from the back of the chair and stroked the fabric, letting the pleasure of touching it work its way from her fingertips up her arms. This was one of her own designs: all lean and classic lines, insanely flattering on the right woman.
Not that the little twit was smart enough to see that when her fiancé pointed out more than once. It had been hard not to stare at him, harder still not to flirt. But she'd sworn that she'd never go for another engaged guy, not after Sam. Never again. It was just her bad luck that a guy who looked like he escaped from a romance novel cover and had at least half a brain would go for someone cute and dippy. Ryne sighed.
She couldn't resist holding the dress up under her chin and looking at her reflection in the mirrors. Its length and cut flattered her more than it did the bride and she smiled a little at the thought. Someday when her designs started selling, she'd have dresses like this one to call her own. No more waiting hand and foot on the kind of woman who would go for a nightmarish meringue of lace and beads and glitter that practically stood up on its own. She shuddered every time she looked at that one.
The sound of a throat being cleared behind her made her whirl around. The bride to be, a Miss Jasmine Smith, was standing behind her, one blonde brow raised in a questioning stare. "Well, somebody's got a lot of free time." She simpered, something like a smile twisting her full lips.
Ryne bit back a sharp response. That damn security bell always stopped working when it would have been most useful. But then this was what she got for not making sure the door was locked after they had all left. "Is there something I can help you with, Miss Smith?" She grabbed a hanger and started to put the gown away but a gesture from the other woman made her stop.
"I saw the way he looked at you. I'm not stupid, you know."
The bride's blue eyes narrowed in a glare and her fair skin flushed as if she was going to scream or cry.
"I don't know--" Ryne began.
"Yes,you do. Any woman would notice him, why should you be any different? The thing is, he doesn't usually look back, not like that. No, just shut up for a minute. I need to know that he's faithful; otherwise, I'm always going to wonder where he is. I'm damned if I'll turn into my mother." A single tear leaked from her eye and ran down her cheek but the glare that she kept on Ryne showed no trace of weakness.
In fact, her expression suggested something else, something Ryne couldn't read. What the hell was this about? Did the little moron think she was hot for her fiancé? Of course she was, unfortunately. "I wish you all the best, Miss Smith, but what does this have to do with me?"
"I'm sending him back here to talk to you. He'll think he's alone with you but I'll be in there , watching." She gesture at one of the changing room curtains. "Don't worry I'll pay you two hundred dollars for your time. I just need to see what he does." Her glare turned a little desperate. "You do want the sales from my wedding, right? Do this for me and I'll send all my friends here. You could retire on what I'll do for you. Otherwise, well, you figure it out." She placed her hands on her hips and stared at Ryne.
Ryne's lips parted to begin telling her off but she caught the words before they were uttered. Business had been really slow lately and Mrs. C had really good about letting her try to sell her designs. If the store went under, she'd just have to start all over again someplace else and that meant years of work. Besides, he wasn't going to do anything. A little flirtation and that would be the end of it. A pang went through her at the thought but she made herself ignore it. "Well, I'll talk to your fiancé, Miss Smith, but I'm sure nothing will happen."
The other woman gave a brusque nod and pulled out a tiny, expensive cell phone. "Hi hon. Listen, I'm really busy at the florist and I was wondering if you could go back to the dress store and make sure that girl wrote down cream instead of white lace." There was a brief pause, just long enough to make Ryne regret the whole thing.
The bride to be made it worse. "No, I don't think I should just call. You, of all people, know what retail help is like these days. Make her show you the order. Uh-huh. Love you too,sweetie." She blew an air kiss at the phone before she switched it off. "There. Now he's on his way. Just look cute and don't tell him I'm here." With that, she turned on her heels and vanished behind the curtains of one of the other rooms, leaving Ryne staring after her.
She thought about throwing the other woman out but that wouldn't do anything except her pride any good. What was Smith's Problem anyway? The guy was marrying her, wasn't he? Still, Ryne was mad enough to flirt back now. Might as well show him what he'd be missing, marrying someone like that. Her eyes narrowed as studied the gown.
"I'd love to see you model it." She spun around, her heart racing. The once and future groom, lone stud in a herd of fillies, was back. He lounged against the doorway, watching her from under half-closed lids. A small smile twisted his lips, making her blush a rosy pink as hurried to hang the dress up.
She tried not to sigh and made sure she didn't meet his sharp blue eyes when she turned around. No point in giving his paranoid girlfriend something else to freak out about. "What can I do for you, Mr. Coleman? Did Miss Smith forget something?"