Total pages in book: 106
Estimated words: 98226 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 491(@200wpm)___ 393(@250wpm)___ 327(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 98226 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 491(@200wpm)___ 393(@250wpm)___ 327(@300wpm)
I swallowed, still staring at my hands, still feeling the guilt raging inside me. “It’s just, I was just in a relationship with Joel, for years, and now he’s God knows where… and I…”
I stopped again before I could say the awful words swimming in my gut.
And I don’t even care that he’s gone.
“Hey,” Theo said, tilting my chin until I looked at him. “Let me ask you this — during this trip, the last few months… hell, even before this trip… were you really with Joel?”
I frowned, tilting my head in confusion.
“How long has it been since he took you on a date? Or since you two had a nice evening alone together? Or even a real conversation, for that matter? When is the last time he made you laugh, or feel safe, or loved?”
My stomach tightened more with every question he asked, because I couldn’t tell him a single answer.
“Aspen, it is okay to be happy,” he said, lowering his head to meet my gaze when I tried to tear it away. “I think maybe you’ve forgotten that, or surrendered it in the name of putting others around you first, or minimizing yourself so as to not be someone else’s problem. But trust me when I say it is a privilege to be around you, to soak up the sun you provide,” he said with a smile. “And unlike him, I will cherish every moment that I have you.”
I bit back a smile, hating that my eyes were once again glossing with tears. I had been more emotional in the past month than I had my entire life.
“You don’t have to defend your happiness — ever. Not to him, not to your friends or family or strangers, certainly not to me. And not to yourself, either, okay?” He leaned in closer, sliding his hands up to frame my face. “You are not only allowed to be happy, you should be happy. And I hope to be a part of what makes you that way.”
I shook my head, mostly in disbelief that a man like Theo Whitman would say such beautiful things to me. “And what about you,” I asked, peeling his hands off my face and kissing each palm before I wrapped my fingers around his. “What would make you happy?”
He looked around behind me for a moment, frowning until something caught his eye. Then, he lit up, smiling at the sight and then down at me. He kissed my knuckles, walking past me to grab something off the wall. He held it out of my view until he turned to face me again, and when he did, his smile was grand.
“Seeing you in this,” he said simply.
I gaped at the floor-length golden dress in his hand, the whole of it salted with crystals that glimmered in the boutique light. It had thin, delicate straps and a deep V-neck, the top a deep gold where the chiffon skirt was more of a cream. It sparkled with every slight move as Theo moved toward me, holding it gently over one arm as he held the hanger in the opposite hand.
I reached out to touch the fabric with my mouth still hanging open. It was like something straight out of a Disney movie, or something a member of the Royal Family might wear to a ball, or perhaps more like a celebrity attending the Met Gala.
The more my fingers explored, the more I discovered just how lush and rich the fabric was, how heavy the crystals were against the thin overlay, how high the slit was up the left side, how exposed my back would be, how the V would dip so deep it would reveal the string of freckles above my navel, the ones that lined my chest between my breasts.
“It’s… stunning, Theo,” I whispered, still shaking my head and touching each inch of the dress. “But I have nothing to wear this to.”
“Wear it for me,” he said. “Tonight.”
If a piece of clothing could shape shift into something magical, that dress would have been a Cloak of Possibility.
When I slipped into its dazzling clasp later that evening, pulling my hair off my neck and to the side before I dared a look in the mirror, I wasn’t prepared for what the evening would hold. I wasn’t prepared for the way my breath would catch when I saw my reflection, when I let my eyes trail the length of a woman who couldn’t have possibly been me but who was also the most me I’d ever felt in my life.
The gold and cream fabric draped elegantly over my bust, hugging my waist just slightly before the skirt flowed like a waterfall down the length of my legs. I turned slightly and the skirt followed with a soft whoosh, and once again I found myself silenced in awe as I took in the view of the straps framing my back, the crystals on the dress catching every glimmer of light in Theo’s massive, walk-in closet.