That Night with You (8 page)

“
Hey, maybe I should meet
with them as well,” Adam voiced, easing in between Hayden and
Madison. “It could help me with my final design.”

Hayden smirked, sensing Adam’s
jealousy. “All right. It’s formal. You’ll need a
tuxedo.”

Adam pulled at his tie. “I have
one.”

When Hayden turned to Madison, she
cringed, knowing what he was going to ask. “Do you have a
gown?”

She held her head up confidently and
smiled. “Sure,” she lied.

As they climbed into the back of the
Town Car, Madison’s excitement about the coming project faded
beneath her troubled thoughts.

Where in the hell am I
going to get a fancy gown?

Chapter 4

“
But you don’t own a gown,”
Charlie lamented later that evening. “You can’t afford something
like that, Mads. You could barely afford your bridesmaid dress. Why
didn’t you tell him the truth?”

Madison stood behind the counter in
the kitchen, holding up a saucepan of macaroni and cheese while
Michael Bublé crooned “Feelin’ Good” in the background. “What else
was I supposed to do, Charlie? That scrawny ass-kisser, Adam, was
telling him he had a tuxedo, and then the man turned to me and I…I
couldn’t tell him I don’t own a gown, let alone can’t afford to buy
one.”

Charlie waved a frustrated hand in the
air. “Is that why we are listening to this song? You always play
this when you’re upset.” She marched over to the CD player by the
television and turned off the music.

Madison shoved a wooden spoon filled
with cheese-covered macaroni into her mouth. “Maybe I could wear
your bridesmaid dress to the party,” she mumbled with a mouthful of
food.

“
You can’t wear that
hideous teal and chocolate disaster to your fancy party. They won’t
let you in the door in that thing.”

“
I’ve got to find
something. I need to go to this, Charlie.”

Charlie pointed to the saucepan in
Madison’s hand. “So what are you doing, stress eating because you
don’t have a fancy dress for the ball, Cinderella?”

“
Better than stress
drinking,” Madison replied, carrying the saucepan to the breakfast
counter.

“
Nothing is better than
stress drinking,” Charlie reasoned, pulling out one of the wooden
barstools next to the bar.

“
Well, I would be drinking,
but we finished up the wine last night when I was stress drinking
because I discovered my boss might be that guy from the
bar.”

“
And how is that working
for you? Did you ask him about it?”

Madison dropped the wooden spoon into
the saucepan. “No. When he took us to check out that lot, and we
were standing there by the creek, alone, I almost did say something
about it, but then Adam appeared. Today, I could have sworn it was
him. He even has the same laugh.”

“
You need to talk to him,
Mads.” She pointed to the saucepan full of mac and cheese. “If you
don’t, you’ll end up weighing two hundred pounds and you’ll never
catch a husband.”

“
I don’t want to catch a
husband, Charlie. I want to fall in love.”

Charlie reached for the saucepan.
“You’re already in love, Mads. With the guy you met that night in
the bar. If you ask me, you’ve been crazy about him ever since.”
She lifted the wooden spoon, shoveling the macaroni into her
mouth.

“
And now he might be my
boss.” Madison slapped her hand down on the countertop. “Who’ll
probably fire me after he sees my design.”

“
Any idea what kind of
house you’re going to draw?” Charlie asked, digging into the
saucepan for more mac and cheese.

“
I’m not good with houses,
Charlie. In school I was always better with big buildings that had
lots of light and windows. I could never get the feel for
houses.”

Charlie tossed the wooden spoon into
the macaroni. “Now you’ve got me eating this crap, and I’ve got a
wedding dress to fit into.” Glancing over at her friend, she
smiled. “You’ll come up with something great, Mads. You always do.
Your designs are good, really good. You wouldn’t have gotten the
job with Parr and Associates if they weren’t. And I think it’s
exciting that your hottie boss is giving you such a great
assignment.”

“
You should have seen this
piece of property, Charlie, it was beautiful. I just hope I can
make something to complement it.” She frowned and dropped her eyes
to the white countertop. “But what am I going to do about a
dress?”

“
There is someone we can
ask.” Charlie’s blue eyes twinkled with devilish delight. “She
probably has tons of fancy dresses you could borrow.”

Madison instantly knew what her
roommate was thinking and started shaking her head. “No way. I’m
not going to ask her.”

Charlie jumped from her stool and went
around the breakfast bar to take Madison’s hand. “Yes, you are. Now
come on.”

Three minutes later, they were
standing in front of an apartment door not far down the hall from
their place.

“
This is such a bad idea,
Charlie,” Madison griped.

“
No, it’s not.” Charlie
raised her hand and knocked on the door. “She owes us for eating
all of her tuna casseroles.”

“
Well, if it isn’t my two
favorite tenants,” Mrs. Leder commented after opening her front
door. “What happened? Did you set off the fire alarm in your
kitchen again?”

“
No.” Charlie smiled
sheepishly. “We have a favor to ask you.” She gestured to Madison.
“Actually, Mads needs the favor.”

Mrs. Leder leaned against her
doorframe, the folds of her bright red muumuu clinging to her slim
figure. “Go on. What is it?”

Madison twisted her hands together as
she peered into the Coke-bottle glasses of her landlady. “Do you
have a gown I could borrow?”

***

Standing in front of a long, antique
mahogany-framed mirror, Madison gazed at her reflection. The gold
ribbons woven throughout the white satin, off the shoulder gown
danced in the lamplight of Mrs. Leder’s oversized
bedroom.

“
It’s a little big in the
waist and needs a few darts sewn into the bust line, but I think
the length is perfect,” Mrs. Leder suggested as she stood beside
Madison.

As Madison took in the flowing gown in
the mirror, she caught a glimpse of Charlie’s scowling expression
behind her.

“
You don’t like
it?”

“
No, I love it.” Charlie
gestured to the dress “I was just trying to picture what your boss
is going to do when he sees you in it.”

Mrs. Leder’s cackle permeated the air.
“He’ll want to get her away from the party and into bed if he has
any sense.” She went to a mahogany dresser and opened a small
wooden box on top of it. When she returned to Madison’s side, she
was holding a red pin cushion. “When is this party?”

“
Saturday,” Madison told
her.

“
Well, I will have to work
quickly to make some alterations for you.” She removed a pin from
the red cushion and reached for the dress.

“
Thank you so much for
doing this for me, Mrs. L.”

“
This old dress needs a
night out.” Mrs. Leder pinched a section of the dress about
Madison’s waist. “Where is the party?”

Madison watched the woman’s deft hands
expertly pin the dress. “At Turtle Creek Mansion.”

“
Turtle Creek?” The older
woman smiled. “I haven’t been there in years. When my Duncan was
alive we used to go there quite a bit for dinner.”

“
We need to find you a man,
Mrs. L,” Charlie spoke out, sitting atop Mrs. Leder’s massive oak
king-sized bed. “You need to go out again.”

Mrs. Leder pinned a small dart in the
waistline of Madison’s dress. “No, my dating days are
over.”

“
You still miss Mr. Leder,
don’t you?” Madison gently inquired.

“
Sure I miss him.” Mrs.
Leder removed another pin from the cushion. “Been almost ten years
since he’s been gone, but I have my boys and my grandchildren to
keep me happy. Love comes into your life in many different ways,
girls. First, you have the love of your parents, then the love of a
mate or partner, and in your golden years, if you’re lucky, you
learn to appreciate the love of your children, friends, and family.
When we’re young, we think falling in love is the most important
thing, but as you get older you realize, it’s only a part of real
love. The art to loving is realizing that it never stays constant,
you must embrace every dimension of it. Otherwise, you will miss
out on the essence of happiness.”

“
Yeah, but what about sex?”
Charlie implored, standing from the bed. “Don’t you miss
that?”

Mrs. Leder grinned. “I never said I
wasn’t getting laid, Charlie, just not dating.” She winked at
Madison.

Madison giggled as Charlie let out a
low whistle.

“
Mrs. L,” Charlie chuckled,
walking across the bedroom, “you’re a bad ass.”

Mrs. Leder secured another pin in the
dress. “I’m old, Charlie, not dead.”

“
Who’s the lucky guy?”
Charlie pestered as she perused a collection of pug figurines on
Mrs. Leder’s dresser.

“
So you can tell the whole
building?” Mrs. Leder replied. “I don’t think so. You’re a hopeless
gossip, Charlie Tonti.”

Charlie spun around. “I am
not!”

Madison turned to her roommate. “Oh,
please. Who is the one that told everyone about Mila Jacobs being
pregnant in 210?”

“
And about Mrs. Hubert
hiding a monkey in 516?” Mrs. Leder chimed in.

Charlie folded her arms over her chest
and shifted her hip against the mahogany dresser. “Some minor
indiscretions,” she conceded.

Madison looked down the folded skirt
of the gown. “It wasn’t minor to Mrs. Hubert. She still won’t talk
to me.”

“
Yes, well, at least Lester
the monkey is happy with my granddaughter,” Mrs. Leder reported. “I
hated taking Mrs. Hubert’s monkey away, but if I let one tenant
have a monkey then every tenant will have a monkey, and soon I
won’t have a building, I’ll have a zoo.”

“
What about a guinea pig?”
Charlie questioned. “Are we allowed those?”

“
You hate guinea pigs,”
Madison asserted.

“
Not for me…for you. So you
won’t be lonely when I move out.”

Mrs. Leder pulled at the waist of the
dress. “If you do get a guinea pig, I don’t want to know about it.”
Mrs. Leder looked down at Madison’s bare feet poking out from
beneath the dress. “What about shoes? Do you have something to go
with this dress? Something gold and in a high heel I think would be
best.”

Madison gazed down at her feet,
wiggling her toes. “All the shoes I own are black, blue, or brown,
and are flats. I never wear heels.”

“
Too many years up on
ballerina blocks, huh?” Charlie joked.

Mrs. Leder grinned into Madison’s
beautifully carved face. “You were a dancer, Madison?”

“
Not just a dancer, a
ballerina,” Charlie responded.

Mrs. Leder motioned to Madison’s
figure. “Explains why you stay so slim.” She handed her the pin
cushion. “I have a pair of heels you can wear. Might be a little
big, but you can stuff the toes with tissue paper to make them
fit.”

“
I can’t take your shoes,
Mrs. L. The dress is more than generous.”

“
Nonsense.” Mrs. Leder
shooed off her comment. “You need to look like a princess for your
boss. We have to make sure he can’t take his eyes off you the
entire evening.”

“
Ooohhh,” Charlie squealed.
“This is so exciting.”

“
Better put your hair up,
too,” Mrs. Leder suggested, going to her closet in the corner of
her room. “Pile it atop your head with a few strategic wisps coming
down; that’ll float his boat.”

“
Mrs. L, you are good at
this,” Charlie piped in.

“
Years of practice,” Mrs.
Leder shouted from inside her closet.

As Madison listened to the two women
chatting, a cozy sense of contentment swept over her. Never before
had she likened herself to a character in a fairy tale—she had been
too practical to waste her time with such daydreams—but now, as she
stood at the threshold to some mystical story of enchantment,
Madison began to allow her mind to embrace the promise of what
could be. Perhaps Hayden Parr would turn into her Prince Charming,
and with Mrs. Leder and Charlie as her doting fairy godmothers,
happily ever after might only be a few days away.

Chapter 5

Friday morning, Madison was in her
office, attempting to lay out her design for the house in Turtle
Creek. Unfortunately, as she stared at the blank computer screen,
nothing came to mind. She had spent two days volleying her eyes
from her blank computer screen to the wide window overlooking the
skyline of downtown Dallas. With thoughts of the party enlivening
her panic, Madison considered what she would say when she met the
clients. How could she get her design across if she had nothing on
paper to demonstrate her ideas? The scratch of a computer mouse
roused her from her worries, and she glanced over at
Adam.