The VIP Doubles Down
Page 71

Letitia hung six dresses face out on the rack and closed the cabana flap for privacy. “You can’t tell much from seeing them on the hangers, so unless you hate one on sight, you should try them all on.”
Allie made a concerted effort to shove aside her fit of the dismals and enjoy this last gasp of her fairy tale. Trying on beautiful designer dresses was an experience to be savored, not suffered through. So she stripped down to her panties because her bra straps didn’t work with evening attire. Not surprisingly, Letitia had conjured up a strapless bra for her.
The first dress had pale blue lace appliquéd over an illusion-net bodice and a full lace skirt. It was exquisite, but Allie felt as though way too much skin showed through the netting, so she was relieved when Letitia shook her head. “Too fragile and indoorsy for a beach party.”
The second was a sheath of green sequins that made Allie feel like a Las Vegas version of a mermaid. Letitia rejected that one as well.
As she was peeling it off, someone scratched on the canvas. “Allie, are you decent? It’s Miranda Archer.”
“Two seconds.” Allie pulled on the robe provided in the dressing room and hauled open the flap.
Miranda stood outside in jeans and a T-shirt, her dark hair pulled back in a ponytail. She gestured toward the activity around her and said, “Can you believe this? It’s like a giant slumber party.”
Allie’s nervousness melted away. “I could use a girlfriend right now.”
Miranda’s warm smile lit up her face. “Shall we share a tent?”
“Come on in!” Allie stood aside to let Miranda enter, introducing her to Letitia. “Can you handle dressing two of us?”
“It will be a pleasure,” Letitia said, giving Miranda the same scan she’d done on Allie.
“I can help you get into one of your dresses while Letitia goes in search of mine,” Miranda offered.
As soon as their assistant left, Allie lowered her voice. “Tell me the truth. Are the dresses really included in the cost of the tickets?”
Miranda nodded. “Hard to believe, isn’t it? But Gavin is a huge donor to the gala since he lives out here, so I’m pretty sure he gets the best of everything.”
“What does huge mean?”
Miranda quoted a number that made Allie’s jaw drop. “I don’t really understand how rich he is,” she said.
“It’s hard to comprehend. You’d think I’d be used to this since I’ve been a concierge for the very wealthy for several years.” Miranda unzipped the plastic bag over the next dress on the rack. “But it’s different when you’re the one making the donations and riding in the helicopters and wearing the designer clothes. Speaking of which, this Valentino is gorgeous.”
She slipped the dress over Allie’s head and tugged the gossamer layers of fabric down into place, running the zipper up the back.
When Allie turned toward the mirror, she sucked in a breath. The dress had an underlayer of pale pink chiffon and an overlayer of translucent ivory silk organza embroidered with glittering golden starfish of varying sizes. The puff sleeves were unlined, so her arms were visible through the sheer silk, and the full skirt swirled around her legs. She tugged at the plunging V of the neckline, which revealed a large swath of her bra.
“You’ll have to wear stick-ons with that,” Miranda said, unzipping the dress again. “So let’s ditch the bra for now.”
Allie unhooked the bra and pulled it off. She swallowed hard. “That’s a lot of cleavage.”
Miranda fastened the matching fabric belt around Allie’s waist and grinned. “When you’ve got it, flaunt it. You look stunning.”
She felt stunning, even though she had the urge to cross her arms over her exposed chest. The pale pink lining picked up her skin tone and made it look almost as though she wasn’t wearing anything under the sheer organza. The fabric drifted and swirled with her every movement.
“You’ll need a necklace,” Miranda said.
Allie put her hand to her bare neck with a sigh. “I don’t have any jewelry with me. Gavin said it was just a casual weekend at the beach.”
“He didn’t tell you about the ball?”
“He was afraid I wouldn’t come to Southampton at all, I think.”
Miranda raised her eyebrows. “Then he’ll just have to provide the accessories to go with it.”
“Here we are.” Letitia carried another armful of dresses in before she turned to inspect Allie’s latest gown. “That’s a winner, in my book. How do you feel in it?”
“Like I’ll catch pneumonia from the draft across my chest.”
“You’ll feel better with the proper undergarments,” Letitia said. “I’ll get those before you model the dress for Mr. Miller.”
The thought of Gavin seeing her in the dress made Allie cross her arms over her chest again.
“Trust me.” Miranda’s voice had a dry note in it. “He’ll love it.”
 
“I figured I’d find you here.” Luke Archer slid onto a bar stool beside Gavin.
“Which here?” Gavin casually turned over the pad of paper he’d been scribbling on. “Southampton, yacht club, or bar?”
Luke ordered a beer. “Bar.”
“You have a low opinion of my character.”
“Nope. I just couldn’t think of any place farther away from the dress craziness than here.” He held up the frosted glass the bartender set in front of him. “To swift decisions by our women.”
Gavin lifted his glass of water to tap it against Luke’s beer. “Off the training regimen already, I see.”
“I forgot how good it is to have a beer whenever you feel like it.” Luke licked his lips in appreciation.
“Is Nathan showing up here, too?”
“Later,” Luke said. “He had some business calls to make.”
“How’s the studying going?”
Luke unleashed the grin that had made a thousand camera flashes go off. “Miranda’s a good teacher.”
“I know damn well that you don’t need any tutoring. You just use it as an excuse to have your lovely new wife bend over your shoulder.”
“So it works on all levels.” Luke gestured to the pad of paper Gavin had hoped he wouldn’t mention. “You writing something?”