Maggie had never been so nervous. Insane butterflies had taken up residence in her stomach and for good reason. Scratch that. Sixteen thousand good reasons. That was how much the dress she was wearing right now cost.
She’d owned cars that weren’t worth sixteen thousand dollars.
With a ruffled tulle skirt accented with organza rosettes, the gown fit like a glove. The beading on the duchesse satin corset was exquisite and she’d been assured that when the lights on the runway hit it, the effect would be dazzling, and yet she couldn’t wait until she could take the damned thing off.
She was terrified her deodorant wouldn’t work. She was terrified she’d trip. She was terrified someone would point and laugh at her the way Bobby Hayworth had laughed at her when she’d left the girls’ restroom with a tail of toilet paper hanging out from under her dress.
But it was too late to do anything about it now. The Dragons Fashion Show was due to start in five minutes.
“Don’t touch the hair!” the stylist barked at her.
Maggie willed her shaky hand down and gave the woman an apologetic smile. “Sorry. I’m not used to this.”
The stylist fluffed Maggie’s coiffure, her brows drawn together like they were magnetized. “No kidding.”
The butterflies flew into a frenzy. None of the fashion show videos she’d watched had prepared her for the reality. An entire team of people was counting on her. Her walking this look down the runway was the culmination of everything, literally. She was the last model in the line, wearing the finale piece.
What ever made me think I could do this? Maggie thought. She didn’t belong here.
She scanned the room, which was buzzing with activity and ten gallons of hair spray. The models stood in a line along one wall. Makeup artists and stylists and the designers themselves darted around, tweaking and primping, even sewing and snipping threads. All the models looked incredibly stunning.
With a start, Maggie realized the show had started. The loud, techno music rose to building-shaking volume. A woman with a black headset and a clipboard was at the head of the line, directing the show. Maggie closed her eyes and made a hard effort to calm herself. She thought about the moment when the show was over and Spencer would come to her and tell her she was beautiful.
When he told her she was beautiful, she felt it in her heart.
Crazily, she thought she owed a debt of gratitude to the kids who’d accidentally let Kirby out of her backyard. If not for their carelessness, she probably would never have met Spencer.
Someone tapped her on the shoulder and she opened her eyes. The line was moving forward. Ironically, while Maggie was wearing the finale look, Shay had modeled the first one. When Maggie told Jade about the line-up, Jade had cackled with a fierce, vengeful joy.
“You haven’t heard the best part,” Maggie said. “The designer loved the idea of me wearing dolled up cowboy boots, so she’s having a special pair made.”
“That, my friend, is the effing cherry on the top of the cake,” Jade had declared. “That is going to drive Shay crazy, and I, for one, can’t wait to see that.”
Judging from the murderous look Shay gave her as she returned backstage, Maggie had to agree.
When the time arrived for Maggie to go out there, her heart was beating so strongly, her fingertips were throbbing and she couldn’t hear the music anymore. But she wasn’t going to give up now.
She had a fiancé to dazzle.
Spencer never thought he’d attend a fashion show, but here he was. There were so many women surrounding him, he felt as if he were coated in a film of estrogen that he’d have to shower off later. At least he wasn’t the only guy here. The other Dragons husbands and boyfriends were in attendance too.
“This is my first fashion show,” Maya exclaimed, nearly bouncing out of her front row seat.
Looking at her with great fondness, Spencer once again was struck by the similarities between Maya and Maggie. They had the same gorgeous mane of hair, strong chin and deep brown eyes fringed with lush lashes. She had the same irrepressible spirit as well. He had liked her immediately when they’d met a couple of months ago.
Maggie had ended up not attending the sweet sixteen. She’d thought that occasion was intended for Maya and her friends and opted instead for brunch, about a week after the party. Maya’s parents came and so did Spencer. No way was he letting Maggie face the Martins alone, not after they’d willfully separated her from her own daughter. What might have been a stilted affair wasn’t, due largely to Maya’s exuberance. Brimming with questions for Maggie, she never let the conversation lag. When she wasn’t quizzing Maggie, she was cheerfully sharing details about her life at school, her hobbies, likes and dislikes, and her dreams of becoming a forensic accountant, of all things.
By the end of the meal, it was clear that regardless of how the Martins felt about it, Maya wanted to continue a relationship with her birth mother, and as the owner of a new Toyota coupe, gifted to her by her parents, she had the ability to visit Maggie when she pleased. Since then, they had seen each other several times and after every visit, Maggie blossomed a little bit more.
“This fashion show is a first for me too,” he remarked wryly.
Maya giggled. “Um, if you don’t want your goodie bag, can I have it, please?”
He glanced at the bright red bag he’d found on his seat and pawed through out of curiosity. Along with a catalog of today’s fashions, it was filled with womanly doodads like lipstick, nail polish, face goop, sparkly bangles, and perfume.
“Sure,” he answered.
With a grateful smile, she took the bag and set it next to hers on the ground.
Abruptly, the lights went down and the music got loud. Emma Liu took the stage and did a spiel for the Dragons Foundation, informing the crowd of all the good work they had done and intended to do with the funds raised by the show.
Spencer glanced at his watch and hoped this wouldn’t take long. He was anxious to get to the airport. He and Maggie had a plane to catch.
Several minutes later, eight or nine women had come out and none of them had been Maggie. He was starting to wonder if Maggie had backed out after all. She’d been iffy about doing it from the start.
He leaned over and asked Maya, “Where’s Maggie?”
“Didn’t you look at the program? She’s the last one. She’ll come out any minute now.”
Sure enough, a model wearing elegant emerald slacks, a boxy jacket, a dark orange blouse and a fanny pack belt, which he thought was one of the craziest accessories he’d ever seen, completed her walk and disappeared backstage. Then after a brief pause, Maggie appeared. Several spotlights trained on her and he gasped audibly.
Maggie had told him she was modeling a wedding gown but hadn’t gone into much detail about it. Didn’t matter. Nothing she said would have prepared him for how stunning she looked. Whoever had done her hair and makeup deserved a prize. Somehow she was still the Maggie he knew and loved, but with the volume turned all the way up.
Looking elegantly bad-ass, she began her strut down the catwalk. Every eye in the house was trained on her. People were talking behind their programs and nodding and smiling. The dress layers shook with each step she took and she appeared outwardly confident, but she hadn’t eaten a bite since breakfast yesterday claiming she was too nervous. He’d done his best to reassure her that she was going to rock it, but Maggie had been doubtful. And now, he noted how tightly her lips were pressed together and the strain around her made-up eyes.
If only she realized how gorgeous she looked. If only she realized how, today, everyone could see the beauty he’d been appreciating since the moment she showed up in his living room.
“You were magnificent,” Spencer said after the show. “A breathtaking vision. I wasn’t sure my heart could take it.”
“Well, I’m glad you enjoyed yourself. I, for one, am very glad it’s over. That was by far the most nerve-wracking thing I’ve ever done. Do you see why I don’t want a big wedding?”
“I do.” Then he grinned. “See what I did there?”
She laughed.
“From this moment on,” he said, “all you have to do is enjoy yourself.”
“I started enjoying myself the moment I got that corseted dress off me,” she said with a smile.
“That’s a relief, he said, kissing her. “A woman should enjoy her own elopement, don’t you think?”
And Maggie—his gorgeous, sexy, unselfish Maggie—grinned at him and replied “I do.”
The End
I hope you enjoyed reading about Spencer and Maggie. Please consider leaving a review of Animal Attraction at your favorite retailer. Reviews help other readers find my books.
Now, turn the page for an excerpt from Clean Sweep, the first book in the San Francisco Dragons series.