“Yeah. Her friend is working there or something. We’ll see how long it lasts.”
“How’s Dad?” It had only been a week since I’d left but if Mom was job hunting, maybe Dad had taken up lion taming. Apparently anything was possible.
“No idea. Mom says he has a cold.”
Maybe I was overreacting. My dad took to his bed with a cold most months. It was an excuse to watch a lot of TV and not clean up after himself.
“But enough of boring old Oregon,” Autumn said. “Tell me about last night. How was the dress? Did you get to try on any jewelry?”
“You know.” I sighed dramatically. “Another evening, drinking champagne and rubbing shoulders with the beautiful people.” I grinned. “I didn’t get to try on the jewelry, which is just as well because I’m pretty sure I wouldn’t have wanted to take it off again.”
“You look so happy,” she said. “I bet you looked beautiful.”
“Well I didn’t get thrown out because my dress wasn’t expensive enough, which at one point, I thought was a real possibility. I even got to drink the champagne.” That wasn’t quite true. I’d tasted it, but I kept putting down my glass and forgetting about it. The jewelry had been all-consuming.
“You were born to drink champagne,” Autumn said. “I’m glad it’s not just work, work, work. I know what you’re like. I know you’re there to learn but try and have some fun too.”
“Actually, I got asked out on a date,” I said and then immediately wished I hadn’t.
Autumn scooted closer to the phone. “Tell me everything. A British guy?”
Not just a British guy. The British guy. Anyone who was anyone knew Dexter Daniels. I still wasn’t sure why he’d singled me out. “Of course a British guy.”
“Tell me you said yes.”
“I took his number.”
Autumn groaned. “I suppose that’s better than a straight no.”
Except that I had no intention of using the number, so it wasn’t much better.
“You should enjoy yourself,” Autumn said. “You can work hard and go out for drinks with someone you know.”
It was tempting. Dexter had been sweet. And although he couldn’t have been as good looking as I remembered, he was undoubtedly handsome. But he had thrown off my concentration long enough for me to miss my ride. God only knew what the man was capable of during the course of an evening of fondue.
“You don’t need to worry about me. I’m in London. I’m having more fun than you could possibly imagine.” Compared to life in Oregon, the past week had been a kaleidoscope of fresh, exciting experiences.
Six
Hollie
Jiminy freaking Cricket.
I’d convinced myself he couldn’t possibly be as good looking as I’d imagined, but sitting across the other side of this gigantic room from Dexter Daniels, it was clear I’d just been delusional. And it wasn’t just how he looked. It was the way he carried himself. It was as if he were the sun and we were all orbiting him, our only option to surrender to his gravitational pull. He was so confident and relaxed, as if nothing could faze him. What would happen if I went up behind him and tickled him under his arms?
He’d probably forgotten about me by now and moved on to Gigi or Bella. Or some other tall, leggy supermodel who didn’t have one boob half a cup size bigger than the other. I glanced down at my chest. Autumn swore she couldn’t tell but she also told me I was the best jewelry designer in the world, so she was clearly full of it.
There was no doubt he was gorgeous, the kind of man who was every girl’s type. Was there such a thing as being universally handsome? His suit was blue—not navy—and the color emphasized the black of his hair. His voice was deep with a hint of roughness, like the sound a five-o-clock shadow would make. His hands were capable and strong. We didn’t get many men like Dexter at the Sunshine Trailer Park. Or maybe in all of Oregon.
Out of nowhere everyone started clapping and the plates that had held our lunches were being whisked away from in front of us.
Our table was the eight-member competition team of Sparkle. Most other jewelry houses had their own tables, and some had even filled two. We all shifted to see the two people standing behind the lectern at the far end of the room.
I glanced over at Dexter to see if his attention had also been captured, only to find him looking right at me. The corners of his mouth twitched as we locked eyes, as if he’d just been told a dirty joke in his grandma’s house. I quickly looked away.
I tried to resist covering my heating cheeks, knowing the movement would just draw attention to my embarrassment. I pretended to be engrossed in what was happening behind the lectern. While the two women in front of us were speaking, I tried to stay focused. In the end I pulled out my notebook and started making notes, just so I’d be forced to follow what they were saying, which wasn’t very much. Something about having the honor of hosting the competition. How the best of the best were all in the same room. They were looking forward to unveiling the designs. Then someone else was welcomed on stage. A tall, slender guy with a shock of white-blond hair. I’d missed who he was, but he looked like he’d be in the airport, welcoming everyone to Finland. When he started talking about his mother and his soon-to-be-married sister, I figured out we were in the presence of royalty. Actual royalty, and I’d nearly missed it because of darned Dexter Daniels. We’d only had one conversation and already I was missing vital pieces of information because he was so distracting.