Forever Mine (Joe & Ella 2)

“Same here, it’s none of his business where you are anyway Hun.” Chris was right. I was my own woman and I could come and go as I pleased.

Robyn went off to get into her dress and Chris went about the business of taming my wayward curls into a waterfall of bouncy blonde twists and swirls. Then he left me to get into my own dress. It was hanging up in a plastic cover on the front of my wardrobe. I unzipped the cover and took a deep breath, I still loved it. The top was a silk gold bustier, embroidered with a delicate gold threaded pattern and embellished with hand sewn Swarovski crystals, it made my boobs look fabulous without being tacky. The gold silk of the bustier ran the full length of the dress right to the floor, with the skirt clinging to every curve, but the embellishment became more sporadic from the waist downwards. At the sides and around the back was light gold chiffon fabric that flowed at the back into a gorgeous train dotted with crystals and edged in gold thread. Tiny golden roses ran along the length of the back, which at the time of ordering the dress had made me think of Joe. Now I just ignored them, they were like him, behind me, irrelevant tonight. I wore a simple gold necklace that rested just above my chest and in my ears I wore tiny gold roses, which I had brought especially to complement the dress. They had also cost a fortune so I was definitely going to get some wear out of them.

Once I had done all the finishing touches I stood back to admire the final look. Wow, I loved it. I felt like a Goddess and more importantly I felt powerful.

“Oh Ella, you look just beautiful. You look like a golden bride tonight.”

Chris had tears in his eyes, he was an emotional wreck just lately and I guessed it was because he felt the loss of the baby too but I didn’t ever say anything to him about it, I couldn’t.

“You’re getting soppy in your old age Chris.” I laughed and hugged him. He looked handsome as hell in his black suit, grey shirt and silver patterned tie. He had wanted us to be coordinated and we did look good together, gold and silver. He said we would stick together like glue and network as a pair tonight so looking the part was a must. I couldn’t argue with him, we looked like a power couple to be reckoned with.

We both headed downstairs, my arm threaded through Chris’s, to where Robyn was busy checking the contents of her tiny handbag and just about to down her last glass of wine.

“Oh my God you two look like a bride and groom.” Robyn said, her wine glass held frozen in place on her lips as she gasped aloud. “You’re the perfect couple!”

“Yeah if there’s no sex involved.” I joked.

“I could easily turn for you Ella.” Chris quipped kissing me on the cheek.

“Whatever dude, you’d soon miss cock.” Robyn spat out and I couldn’t help choking out a laugh, she knew him so well.

The horn of the cab blared at us from outside and we all steeled ourselves for what was about to unravel tonight. Robyn threw back her wine, I took a deep breath in and held onto my stomach to try and calm the butterflies and Chris did a little jump on the spot. What that was about I had no idea but it seemed to loosen him up.

“Let’s go kick some networking ass and show the world what we’ve got.” Chris said confidently, and the three of us headed out.

When the cab eventually pulled onto the long winding drive towards the club I felt like a young child seeing the first snowfall. My eyes were everywhere and everything looked out of this world. There were torches burning on either side of the drive, and when we approached the front of the building there were huge flood lights pointing upwards into the night sky and lighting up the exterior, making it look incredibly grand and imposing. The water feature looked like it was running on liquid gold. How that effect had been created I had no idea but it added that luxurious touch. I was impressed. There was a gold carpet running the length of the steps up to the double doors which were wide open and flanked by two burly but well-dressed 1920s style bouncers complete with fake tommy guns.

Beyond the doors I could see ladies dressed in cocktail dresses and full length gowns complete with beads, crystals, fringes and feathers. I was in heaven right now and any thoughts of bossy over controlling exes were the last thing on my mind as I glanced around me in awe and ascended the steps with Chris on one side and Robyn the other.

“Wow, you did a fantastic job Chris.” I was truly stunned.

“It was your concept Ella, Colin and I just added a few extra touches to your ideas.”

I turned to smile fondly at him.

“Don’t deflect the praise, you did this too and you deserve the recognition.”

He kissed me on the cheek and I hugged his arm closer to me.

We entered the foyer and I felt overwhelmed by the beauty of it all. The winding staircase behind the main reception desk was decorated in gold roses and twinkling fairy lights. Waiting staff wearing traditional 1920s outfits in black and gold moved seamlessly around the guests holding gold trays of champagne and canopies.

“I match the décor!” I joked.

“I coordinated it for you.” Chris said looking down at me, he knew how to put me at ease in any social situation and he had done a brilliant job tonight. I felt like I belonged here.

We walked further into the building, through the foyer and into the back where there was a large hall with a bar running the length of the room. This was also in the black and gold theme and led straight out to a marquee which was playing 1920s music for the older guests to show off their Charleston skills.

“Don’t worry, after the oldies leave the DJ is going to be playing our kind of music. This is just for the press and other guests.” Chris said indicating the marquee ahead of us.

“It’s perfect, I’ll be test driving you around that dance floor later dude.” I said elbowing Chris playfully.

I spotted Frank, Eric, Marge, Kim and a few others from Parker Hayes at a table by the DJ in the marquee and grabbed Chris’s hand pulling him towards them all. Robyn flounced off to chat up one of the bouncers who had caught her eye and was patrolling the foyer, and as was our routine we left her to it.

“Wow! Ella, Chris, you both look stunning!” Frank said holding both of my hands and standing back to admire my dress.

“Thanks Frank, is everything okay so far?” I ventured.

“It’s more than okay Ella, this is beyond anything I had imagined. You my girl are going places after this. I have a whole list of people desperately waiting to meet you tonight.”