揇eal! If you pose as groomzilla, I抣l write the content,?I belt out.
Oh, crap. I didn抰 mean to say that out loud.
Lincoln抯 eyes whip to me. I fight the urge to shrink into my chair.
揑抦 perfectly willing, Miss Poe, but Shane rightly says groomzillas aren抰 a thing.?
揑t抯 just not in the public mind,?I say. 揈ven if they do exist.?
揟hen the concept doesn抰 work.?His gaze drops from my eyes to my lips and then travels down.
God, what is he looking at? I hate to imagine he抯 thinking with his teeth, his tongue.
Heat throbs under my cheeks.
Does anyone else notice him ogling or is it just me?
Well, screw it.
He抣l pay for these lingering looks and that damn vest that keeps catching my eye like a kid who抯 been dared to look at the sun.
I lick my lips.
揑抎 love to hear about your idea of a perfect wedding, boss,?I say.
揟he perfect棓 He stops talking as his brow comes down. 揥hat??
Surprise. He didn抰 see that coming.
揑t might help the team to hear your vision,?I say, reminding him of the spiel I walked out on. 揅an you describe your idea of the perfect wedding??
揥hy would I do that??he says, glowering, his body tight like an armed bow.
I give the world抯 quickest shrug. 揑f we抮e going to take a stab at a groomzilla or something else that works, the least he can do is give us something to work with.?
His smirk makes me shudder.
揝imple. The perfect big day means a smooth day. Not having to worry about details. That抯 what people pay a fortune for in this industry, from wedding planners to photo booths to where we come in with fashion. If it were my wedding, all I抎 care about is a well-fitted suit and the perfect dress for my bride with every last detail signed, sealed, and delivered. With the logistics solved, we can get lost in each other instead of obsessing over what we抮e wearing or who抯 doing what.?
Wow.
That抯 actually sweet.
Not the kind of answer you抎 expect from a capital douchebag.
If I抎 thought to ask Jay the same question and gotten an answer less spectacular, maybe I wouldn抰 have been abandoned in a church full of people to announce there抎 be no show today. But hey, we might as well not waste the open bar and cake.
My parents already paid for the damn thing anyway.
I wouldn抰 have wound up in a prepaid honeymoon suite bawling my eyes out while my mother took care of getting everything cleaned up. I wish I could forget that day, and now I抳e put myself in the one place where forgetting feels impossible.
揘ot that the clothes would stay on long anyhow,?Burns adds with a wink, not directed at anyone in particular.
Nice save, Captain. That抯 closer to the answer I expect from a man who抯 part moose and just as graceful, too.
Why did I have to ask?
I抦 positive people are starting to notice the hellfire Burns puts under my cheeks梐nd yes, I抣l own that terrible pun.
The men at the end of the table laugh.
揑 think I might faint,?Cheryl whispers, prolonging my torture. 揗en with a butt like his shouldn抰 be allowed to say things like that in public.?
Oh, lovely. So I抦 not the only one who抯 noticed he抯 part sculpted steel where it counts. In hindsight, that should be a dead giveaway he isn抰 living off Regis rolls.
A pang of jealousy shoots through me. Right at the precise second when every woman in the room starts fanning themselves.
I give Burns my best I抦-about-to-stab-you look, gathering my words.
揑f you need a well-fitted suit and the perfect dress for your bride, you抮e not exactly oblivious to what you抮e wearing,?I point out.
He starts to roll his eyes but catches himself at the last second. 揟he average man doesn抰 care about beading, lace, or ruffles, I抣l grant you. Your typical groom rarely thinks beyond a straight tie.?
揥omen do.?
揝ome do. Some don抰。 Our product line spans the spectrum from simple to more extravagant dresses梥omething for every flavor, but not for every price point. Our upcoming dresses will always be remarkable and bleed high-end confidence.?
Oh, I抎 enjoy making him bleed, all right, violent little creature that I am.
He cocks his head and continues. 揕uxury means status to people who milk their money out of curated social media posts and reality TV. The rest of our luxury buyers put craft and quality first. You can market a luxury wedding line as simple if you focus on the design quality and the clothing itself, made with the finest materials available.?
揅raft and quality are features. Not benefits,?I say sweetly. 揂 wedding dress only gets worn once. You don抰 need it to last forever.?
He goes quiet for a moment.
I抦 expecting another scowl, a harsh comment, but he actually looks like he抯 thinking it over.
揟he benefit is the original design and its unmatched quality, Miss Poe. All our customer needs to do is put it on,?he says slowly.
揘ot usually true of a wedding dress. You put it on after a corset. It抯 not a pleasant experience.?
揜eally??
揧eah, unless you抮e wearing a very simple A-line or a short dress, and even then you might still need a corset holding you together.?
揑 know what a corset involves, even if I抳e never worn one myself. Obviously,?he admits, a slight redness blooming under his trimmed beard.
Holy crap.
He blushes.
I made Lincoln damn Burns blush in a company meeting. That抯 my kind of payback.
揥edding dresses need so much structure,?Cheryl says with the weariness of a woman who knows from personal experience.
The other ladies in the room nod enthusiastically, including me.
For a second, Lincoln goes stock-still. Then he crosses the room on measured strides, stroking his bearded chin, and sits down beside me.
揧ou make an interesting point. There抯 more to this structure aspect than I thought…？
His foot brushes mine under the table, probably from an absentminded sweep of his leg.
My breath catches at the whisper of a touch. I tuck my legs under my chair, pressing my thighs together.
揝orry, Nevermore,?he mutters, though his eyes are anything but apologetic.
His low words and warm breath are only more frustrating.
I ignore him because I can抰 form words right now, much less a guarded reaction.
揔eep the ideas coming,?Anna says, her brown cheeks reddening.
Eyes like dark, worn wood peer into me. 揑 can抰 agree more, Miss Patel. No man wants to deal with undoing a corset after his wedding any more than his newly minted wife cares to wear one.?
I so wish he抎 quit talking about getting naked.
揓oin me on the call with Italy this week,?he says, looking at me again. 揃efore we change our marketing, we抮e going to alter a few designs. I want options that don抰 require anything more than the dress.?
Umm梬hat? I抦 influencing design now? And how am I going to get through this call on something I know jack about?
揑抦 not a fashion designer, Mr. Burns. Sorry to disappoint you.?
I抦 not sorry.
揇oesn抰 matter,?he says. 揂 more comfortable product falls under marketing research.?
Right. But I抳e been running options through my head梞ostly to keep my mind off Lincoln in that vest, talking about removing corsets梐nd I think I have something now.
A sudden burst of inspiration.
揧ou know, I think I抳e got a tagline for the new line. Haughty But Nice: Perfect so you don抰 have to be.?
揙hhh, I love it!?Anna beams, doing a little dance in her chair.
揝o, are we revisiting groomzilla after all??Burns asks.