False Engagements

Chapter 8

"Good morning," Blake said, when Lila stepped out of her bedroom the next morning, stifling a yawn as Rusty pattered out beside her. She stopped short, blinking when she realized there was a strange but supremely pretty and stylish woman next to Blake in the living room. The woman was eclectically dressed, with a bright headscarf twisted in her abundant red curls and a mod-style dress in an almost clashing but not quite print skimming down her slender figure. Lila was pretty sure that combination would not have worked on anyone else.

He nodded at the woman, "This is Alli, she's a stylist I've worked with on several occasions. The two of you will be shopping today."

Alli stuck out her hand, looking far too fresh and chirpy for the morning, Lila thought. She shook hands nonetheless, trying to mirror her energy, with little success.

"Hi, I'm Lila. So good to meet you. But uh, if you don't mind, I just need to talk to Blake a moment."

She pulled Blake none too gently to the balcony outside and shut the glass door behind them, and she scowled at him.

"What the hell happened to giving me a heads up before you planned anything?" she scolded, stabbing him in the shoulder with her finger. "I thought we already went through this yesterday!"

"I only thought about it this morning," he justified himself, though weakly, in Lila's opinion. "I sent a message to Alli, she said she would prefer today to tomorrow. I didn't think I should wake you up that early if you were still sleeping."

"This morning! It's barely nine, what time did you get up? And how much notice did you give that poor woman before she had to run down here just to cater to your whims?"

Blake looked extremely put out. "I wake up at 5.30am, and I messaged her at six," he said, crossing his arms defensively. "She was the one who suggested today would fit her schedule better, and that she would be happy to meet at eight thirty."

Lila pressed a hand to her face, taking a long deep breath.

"Why didn't you say anything about shopping today? Actually, why do I need to go shopping in the first place?"

"Designer clothing is de rigueur when it comes to my friends and family," he pointed out. "What kind of fiance would I be if I didn't ensure that you were dressed to fit in? Alli was introduced to me by a friend, she would know what best to get for you. And we did agree that we might start meeting friends and family as early as next week."

She couldn't deny that. But it utterly sat in her craw that Blake had completely forgotten his promise.

"Unbelievable," she muttered angrily, giving up and turning to go back. Blake's hand at her elbow stopped her and she turned back, expression still stormy.

"I... I apologize," he said, hesitantly. "You're right, I did promise to not take further action without informing you what would be going on. I'm still not used to this, but it won't happen again."

She stared straight into his eyes, searching for any sign of duplicity. His gaze back seemed sincere.

"I don't want this to become a routine," she said quietly. "I get angry, you apologize, it blows over and it feels like nothing ever happened until the next time you pull this again. Do you really promise?"

"I do," he said. "If I do this again, then you're welcome to fly back home and leave this whole thing, no strings attached."

Well, that seemed a little too serious in terms of consequence. But Lila was not in the mood to argue or drag it out, so she simply took his word for it, nodded, and returned to the living room. Alli had clearly seen their argument, even if she couldn't hear it, and she pretended to be absorbed in her iPad, flicking through notes.

Lila forced a smile. "I'm ready to go."

--

The ride down the elevator to Alli's car in the building garage was awkward. Alli seemed to be gauging Lila's temperament before she attempted any conversation, although she went for being bluntly direct in the end.

"You okay?" she probed. "It looked like you guys were arguing."

That was sweet of her to ask, Lila thought, looking over. The smile this time while smaller, was more genuine.

"Yeah. I just wish Blake would consult me first about things. He keeps running ahead and planning all of this stuff without taking my feelings into account."

Alli shook her head in commiseration. 

"Men," she said, rolling her eyes and making Lila laugh a little. "I've worked with Blake a few times and he's an easy client, but I totally see what you mean. He's very straight-forward in what he wants, and usually expects what he wants fast." She made a small hum, considering. "Maybe he's just not used to having someone constant in his life."

That startled Lila a little. "What do you mean?"

"Well I don't know how much of his dating history he cared to share, but he's not had anything serious in a long time. A lot of people have been speculating about him. But I'm sure you know the fuss around him and his family. So when he asked me to come down and outfit his fiancee, I was really happy he finally found someone he cares for. That's why I came down on such short notice." At this, Alli looked slightly mischievous, her green eyes sparkling above her freckles. "That, and I wanted to brag about how I'm the first one to meet you!"

"Oh." Lila tried hard not to get too self-conscious about that. Was this the beginning of the scrutiny on her? "I hope I don't disappoint."

Alli shook her head. "No, no, don't say that. You are who you are. Everyone's just curious that's all. Blake told me a little about you, that you're middle-class and that his family and friends might tear you to bits. My job today is to help you look like the best version of you. Armour you up, so to speak."

"He said that?"

"More or less." She patted Lila on the shoulder. "Not to worry. Us middle-class girls gotta stick together in this circus."

To Lila's surprise, their first stop wasn't any boutique or salon. It was a cafe on the outskirts of the business district, with a pretty outdoor seating and sun shining down on them in between the wooden slats of the the overhead trellis. Little flowers bloomed in between the booth seats. It was such a pretty place, and Lila made a mental note to come back here again.

"Okay so have you ever consulted a stylist before?" Alli asked, after they'd ordered some sandwiches and iced tea for their breakfast. Lila shook her head.

"I don't really know what to expect," she confessed. "To be honest, I'm a little scared. I'm really not a fancy dress kind of girl." She gestured down at her outfit, a casual summery-orange dress paired off with sneakers. "This is what I look like most of the time."

"It's cute, I like it." Alli tapped a finger on her chin. "So would you describe your style in any particular way? Or what would you say you want the most out of your clothing? If you have any preferred colors, that's good to know too."

Style? Lila wasn't sure if she even had any style to begin with. "Uhhhh." What did she even look for? It wasn't complicated. "I guess I just buy things that look cute and are comfortable in the fitting room. I like light colors I think? But it's not like I won't wear black or something either..."

Alli didn't seem perturbed or judgmental in the slightest, which Lila was grateful for. "That's perfect, we have a start! Let's see... I have some magazines on my iPad here, and we can look for stuff on Pinterest too. We can save the clothes you like, and that way I'll know what to suggest for you when we hit the stores. How does that sound?"

"A lot less intimidating than I thought," Lila agreed, and let herself be pulled into viewing scores upon scores of celebrities and models in all kinds of fashion.

--

"It's not really about the cost," Alli said, as they sped into the shopping district in her top-down Mini Cooper. "I know that's dumb to say, considering we're going to be looking at five thousand dollar dresses today--"

"Excuse me? Did you say five thousand?"

"Yeah, I know. But trust me, that's on the lower end." She glanced over at Lila, who had her eyebrows raised almost to her hairline. "Don't worry about it. Blake's not fussed, he gave me a pretty high budget."

Blake might have been comfortable with spending that much on clothing for her, but Lila definitely wasn't comfortable with wearing them. What if she spilled something on them? Or worse, tore holes in them? Alli seemed to be able to hear those thoughts, and patted Lila reassuringly on her arm.

"Just enjoy it," she instructed. "Like I was saying, it's not about the cost. The clothes are not here to wear you- you are wearing them. They should serve their purpose- which is to help you feel like the best version of yourself. Comfort and style aren't mutually exclusive."

"I'll try to keep that in mind."

"Bravo." The car slowed as Alli swerved into a car park and stopped them at the back of a building with a sleek but discreet entrance. "Now that you're all fed and watered, we're just going to stop by here an hour so they can do your hair and makeup."

"Is that necessary if we're going clothes shopping?"

"It'll be easier to see the final effect," Alli promised, and pushed her gently into the salon.