Lilac
1059 Words
Anna woke up Thursday morning to an email that made her sit straight up in bed.
Congratulations! Your application for Nuit des Arts et Lettres at Le Jardin d'Hiver has been accepted.
Her eyes widened.
“We got selected!” she screamed into the phone.
Emily's delighted squeal came through the speaker.
“Ahhh! I knew it!”
Anna laughed, falling back against her pillows.
“This is huge, Em. We actually got in.”
“Then we have one problem.”
“What?”
“You need a dress.”
Anna groaned.
“I'm going there to sell pastries and books, not walk a runway.”
“Exactly. You're catering an aesthetic midnight festival under the stars. You need to look good.”
Anna laughed.
“And what about you? Aren't you supposed to tell me about this mysterious dinner party?”
Emily went suspiciously quiet.
“Someone from my firm's marketing department.”
“You've been holding out on me?”
“He asked me out two days ago, and I figured, why not?”
Anna narrowed her eyes.
“And company policy?”
“We'll discuss that later.”
“Emily—”
“Meet me at the boutique.”
Anna stared at her phone.
“She's impossible.”
---
Thirty minutes later, Anna met Emily outside La Maison de la Mode.
“There’s my star!”
Emily pulled her into a hug and dragged her through the boutique before Anna could protest.
“Now,” Anna said, heading toward a rack of silk dresses, “tell me about this dinner.”
Emily smirked.
“Just focus.”
“That's suspicious.”
“I'll tell you everything when you find your dress.”
Anna pulled out a red gown.
“What about this?”
Emily looked horrified.
“No.”
She took it from Anna and returned it to the rack.
“You need something softer.”
She scanned the dresses before stopping.
Her eyes landed on a lilac satin slip dress with a draped cowl neckline and an elegant low back.
Emily's face lit up.
“Oh.”
Anna noticed her expression.
“What?”
“Try this.”
Emily pulled the dress from the rack and pushed it into Anna's hands.
“Em—”
“No arguments.”
Anna sighed.
“Fine.”
---
A few minutes later, Anna stood behind the velvet curtain, trying to pull the zipper up.
It stopped halfway.
“Of course, it doesn't fit.”
She tugged again.
“Emily, it won't fit!”
“I'm coming!”
Anna held the front of the dress against herself and pushed the curtain open slightly.
“What's taking you so long? I—”
She saw André leaning against the wooden pillar a few feet away.
His garment bag hung casually from one hand.
His eyebrows lifted.
“Need a hand?”
Anna immediately pulled the curtain closed, leaving only her face visible through the narrow opening.
“What are you doing here?”
He gave her an apologetic smile.
“I could ask you the same thing.”
“I'm shopping.”
“I noticed.”
His gaze flicked toward the curtain.
“I was waiting for the fitting area to clear. Apparently, this boutique only has one dressing room.”
Anna's face grew warmer.
“I'll be out in a minute.”
“I can wait.”
There was a brief pause.
Then André smiled.
“Although I have to say…”
Anna narrowed her eyes.
“What?”
“Lilac is definitely your color.”
Her cheeks burned.
Before she could answer, Emily appeared carrying three pairs of heels.
She stopped.
Her eyes moved from André to the curtain. Then back to André.
“Sorry. Who are you?”
“André.”
Emily's eyes widened.
She looked toward the curtain.
“Wait.”
Anna already knew what was coming.
“Emily don't.”
“Mr. Hamlet?”
Anna closed her eyes.
“Emily.”
André's lips curved into an amused smile.
“Mr. Hamlet?”
André chuckled.
“I see my reputation precedes me.”
Emily burst out laughing.
“You have no idea,” Emily said.
Anna groaned.
“I hate both of you.”
Emily handed the shoes to André.
“Here, hold these.”
He took the heels from Emily.
“Why?”
“Because I need both hands.”
She disappeared toward the fitting room.
Anna stared at André through the gap in the curtain.
“You don't have to hold those.”
“I don't mind.”
“She's using you.”
“I've survived worse.”
Anna shook her head.
“Of course you have.”
A few minutes later, Emily finally managed to fix the zipper.
“Done!”
Anna stepped out.
The playful expression on André's face disappeared.
For a moment, he said nothing.
The lilac satin fell elegantly around Anna's figure, catching the soft boutique lighting with every movement.
Emily smiled.
“Well?”
André's gaze remained on Anna.
“Wow.”
Anna's fingers instinctively smoothed the fabric.
“What?”
He blinked, as though realizing he had been staring.
“Nothing.”
André cleared his throat.
“You look beautiful.”
Anna's heart skipped, and she immediately looked away.
“Thank you.”
André stepped back, giving her space.
“So…”
His eyes flicked toward the dress.
“La Table du Poète is certainly going to make an impression on Friday.”
Anna smiled faintly.
“I'm going there to work.”
“I know.”
His voice softened.
“Which makes it rather unfair to everyone else attending.”
Emily's mouth fell open.
Anna shot her a warning look, and Emily pressed her lips together, barely containing a grin.
André picked up his garment bag.
“Ladies.”
He nodded politely.
“I'll see you at Le Jardin d'Hiver.”
He walked toward the front of the boutique.
Anna watched him leave.
Only when the door closed did Emily grab her arm.
“Oh my God.”
“Don't.”
“You are absolutely going to that festival.”
Anna looked down at the lilac dress.
Then toward the door André had disappeared through.
She hated how curious she suddenly felt about Friday.
And she hated even more that she was looking forward to it.
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