Lily's Dream (Unexpected Lover Series) (2 page)

Lily happily exclaimed, “Of course, I
agree. This is wonderful! I just need to get moved which will be simple since
most of my stuff is still in the car.”

“Good. Louis is the doorman and he will
be expecting you and give you the key. Get settled in and I’ll see you later
today.”

They walked back down to Jacqueline’s to
find the store more crowded than before. Several women were looking at Lily’s
dress and talking about it. Jacqueline said to Lily in a quiet voice, “Your
dress has created quite a bit of interest already. Hurry and bring me some
more. I may sell this one today if the interest is any indication. Did you and
Andre work things out?”

“Yes,” answered Lily. “I’m moving into
his vacant apartment today so I have to get moving. Thanks for everything.”

Jacqueline smiled and nodded. Lily
laughed and said, “I feel like I’m walking on a cloud. See you tomorrow.”
I’ve
got to quit saying naïve things like that,
Lily thought .Listening more and
talking less
would be a good rule for me. I’m so dumb I didn’t even
think about a written contract. Thank goodness for Andre.

She carefully programmed the apartment
address into her GPS and followed the instructions carefully trying not to be
distracted. She was soon driving up the circular driveway of a tall building
with curved glass sides and irregular angles between the curves. There was the
usual fountain, palm trees and many blooming flowers in the middle of the
curve. The sign above the door read,
Ocean Breeze
. What a romantic name
for an apartment building. I’m going to love living here.

She approached the doorman and told him
her name. With a friendly smile he said, “I’m Louis and Mr. Andre has told me
to expect you. Here is your key to apartment 24A and two men are ready to take
your car to the basement garage and bring your belongings up to your apartment.
You just go on up and don’t worry about a thing.”   

With a thank you, Lily entered the
elevator. The elevator panel allowed a choice of floor, then apartment number.
The door opened directly in front of 24A and she eagerly entered her new
apartment. Wow! It looked like something out of a magazine. The décor was
modern and simple. The carpet and sectional sofa were pale blue. The living
room was in half of the curve of the circular corner of the building with the
couch on the straight wall and the curved window making the unusual shape of
the room. Two blue and gold stripped chairs flanked the sofa. Pillows on the
sofa reflected blue, gold and other jewel tones. The wall art was modern
abstract of the same colors. The tables were all black lacquer with glass tops.

Lily was speechless. She had certainly
never lived in an apartment decorated like this. She felt like she had been
dropped into the lap of luxury. She loved the curved window. She opened the
drapes to reveal a floor to ceiling window with a sensational view of downtown
Miami. I’ll bet this view is magnificent at night, she thought. A bar separated
the kitchen from the dining area with a wicker table with glass top and wicker
chairs. Luckily she liked blue as the remainder of the apartment carried out
the blue and wicker theme.

Two men arrived with her suitcases and many
boxes of dresses carefully folded and wrapped in tissue paper. Other sewing
equipment and accessories followed. She immediately realized that she would
have to convert the extra bedroom into a sewing room or she would not be able
to get anything done.

Fortunately Andre arrived and she
explained her problem. He asked the men to remove all the extra furniture and
bring up some long folding tables he had in the basement. Lily was delighted to
have that done so all she had to do was organize.

“Isn’t there anything to drink around
here?” Andre rummaged around in the kitchen and came out with two glasses of
white wine. “A toast to your settling in your new apartment and new life,” he
said as he handed her a glass of wine.

“Andre,” said Lily, shaking her head. “I
don’t drink.”

“Lily, remember the person who was tired
of her dull life and ready to try new things? Well, one thing you need to do is
learn to drink a glass of white wine. When we go out, you can nurse one drink
for the entire night but that’s one of the many things you need to learn to
do.”

Lily sipped her wine and found that it
wasn’t so bad. “I guess it grows on you,” she said smiling at Andre. “I’m not a
drinker either,” he replied, “so we’ll get along quite well.”

They were sitting on the sofa drinking
their wine when Andre pulled a notebook and pen from his pocket. “I’ve made a list
of things that need to be done tomorrow. There is a big charity event tomorrow
night and everyone will be there. Do you want to get started tomorrow night?”

“Oh, yes. This is going to be so
exciting,” she replied enthusiastically.

“Then tomorrow will be a busy day for
you. First you need to see the lawyer. I made an appointment for you. Then get
that nailed down with Jacqueline before leaving any more dresses. A signed
contract is important, Lily. I trust Jacqueline but she is a businesswoman and
you are an innocent in the world of business.”

“You will need to come in to my salon in
the early afternoon so I can work my magic on you. You will walk out a
stunningly beautiful woman. I have ordered a makeup table with suitable
lighting for you since the previous tenant didn’t have one. That will be an essential
item for you. You will need transportation so just call down to Louis and he
will have the car waiting for you.”

Hmmm” Andre looked at Lily who was
sitting wide-eyed and speechless. “I can’t think of anything else. Have you
decided which dress you will wear?”

“Yes. Since the idea is for us to be
noticed, I thought I’d wear a gold sexy one. It’s slit up to the thigh and is
practically backless.  It will definitely be a standout. Sound okay?” asked
Lily.

Andre stood up and smiled. “Sounds
perfect. Don’t be nervous. I’ll be at your side and mostly you just have to smile
and look beautiful. It’ll be a piece of cake. Sleep well as tomorrow will be a
long day.” He kissed her on the cheek as she replied, “good night.”

The next day did turn out to be a busy
one. She went to the lawyer’s office and left with a contract. Next she went to
see Jacqueline and surprised her with a written contract. Apparently Jacqueline
thought they had a verbal agreement and was surprised to be presented with a
written contract so soon. “You surprise me, Lily; I didn’t expect you to have a
contract so quickly. It is a good idea, of course, and protects both of us.”
They both signed it and Lily realized she never would have done anything about
it if Andre hadn’t mentioned it. 

“Oh, Lily, I almost forgot to tell you
something important. You remember all the interest in your dress you left here
yesterday? I put a high price on it not really expecting to sell it and I was
shocked that one of the women bought it. I have a check for you for your first
dress sale.” Lily’s eyes widened when she saw the amount of the check. It was
more than she made in two months working as a librarian.

“We need to hold a fashion show to
introduce your
Lily Collection
. I’ve planned it for two weeks from now.
You will be modeling one of your dresses and other customers will participate
as well. All of the clothing will be available in my store so I expect it will
bring in lots of customers.” Jacqueline was marking items off a list as she
mentioned them and Lily could see that the last item was
need more Lily
dresses.
   

Next she entered Andre’s salon to find a
beehive of organized activity. Plush carpet formed a waiting area with
comfortable couches and magazines available. The receptionist recognized her
name and said Andre had told her to call him when she arrived. Soon he came out
to greet her with the comment, “come with me, Lily. I have been looking forward
all day to your transformation into a gorgeous knockout. Let’s get started.”

Lily discovered that being transformed
into a gorgeous knockout took several exhausting hours. Andre wouldn’t let her
see the results until hair and makeup were completed. When he finally let her
see herself, she was at a loss for words. “That can’t be me!” she exclaimed. The
other hairdressers had been extremely interested in Lily’s makeover and laughed
at her disbelief. She did indeed look different. Her hair was several shades of
blond, light brown, and pale blond. Her large green eyes sparkled with the
addition of subtle makeup. “Clarissa showed you how to apply makeup yourself
and gave you a bag of makeup to use from now on. I will do your hair when we go
out – starting tonight.”

Other people in the salon had been
observing the transformation and quite a deluge of compliments resulted. Lily
blushed with pleasure. “I can’t believe that’s me. You’ve worked a miracle
Andre.” He replied, “No Lily. I just made the most of your considerable assets.
You are now truly a beautiful woman.”

He smiled as he teased her, “Would you
consider going out with me tonight?” Lily laughed since they both knew they
were attending the charity ball that evening. There were many raised eyebrows
among the staff as they heard that exchange. When Lily went to the cashier,
Andre followed, “no charge, Lily. It was truly my pleasure and I will be paid
in full tonight with the shock you will bring to Miami society. I’ll see you
later to do your hair style for tonight.”  Lily felt like she was walking on a
cloud as she entered the waiting car.

When Lily got back to her apartment, she
immediately looked in the nearest mirror to admire her new look. This is
totally unbelievable, she thought. I never thought I could look like this. It
will definitely take some getting used to.

Lily soaked in the bath a long time
taking care to pin up her long hair so it wouldn’t get wet. When she got out,
she felt relaxed and ready to tackle the most exciting night of her life. She
put on the gold dress that she never thought she’d actually wear. It fit like a
glove and she felt very sexy and a bit strange as she never wore such revealing
clothes.

There was a knock at the door and when
she opened it, there stood Andre looking very handsome in his evening attire.
He actually stared at her a few moments and then whistled. “Wow!” he exclaimed.
“You’ll be a sensation,” He chuckled. “First I never have a date, and then I
show up with you. What a sensation we’ll create. I’ll have to fight to keep the
men away from you.”

“Since your back is bare, I’ve changed
my mind about your hairstyle.” He pulled her long hair up, added a diamond
clasp, then one curl over her shoulder. Long diamond earrings looked perfect. “I
borrowed the jewelry from a friend of mine, Molly Sanderson, who lives directly
below you. She wants to meet you and is eager to see your dress I raved over.  Do
you mind if we stop there on the way down?”

“No. I’d like to have a female friend.
I’m not comfortable borrowing such valuable diamonds, though.”

“Wealthy women don’t wear their
expensive jewelry, Lily. They keep it in their safe and wear replicas.  You
will see a lot of diamonds and other jewels tonight but most will be replicas. You
aren’t wearing real diamonds but you can’t tell the difference,” explained
Andre.

Andre knocked on apartment 23A which was
immediately opened by a petite attractive woman with curly dark hair.  Andre
said “Lily this is Molly, my good friend, and who I hope will be yours, too.
Molly, this is Lily.”

“Lily, I am so glad to meet you. Please
turn around I want to see all of this beautiful dress you made. You really are
talented as Andre said. That dress is absolutely gorgeous and, I might add,
sexy as hell. I’m really annoyed with you, Andre. Here you have a gorgeous date
and everybody will be agog with curiosity and I won’t even be there to enjoy it,”
moaned Molly. “For sure I would have gone if I’d known it would be so
interesting.”

Lily said, “Molly, we’ll get together
tomorrow and have a good gossip and I’ll tell you all about it. Men always
leave out the most interesting details, anyway. Of course, I don’t know anybody
but I’ll do my best.”

“I’ll look forward to it, Lily. You
know, you need more jewelry – a bracelet, I think.”

“No time, Molly,” said Andre. “We need
to go. Bye for now.”

Once in their car, Lily sat still stiffly
staring straight ahead. She had never been so nervous in her entire life. I am
totally out of my element, she thought. “Are you nervous, Lily?” asked Andre. “Oh,
yes, Andre. I’m very nervous. I’ve never been to an event like this and
particularly dressed to draw attention to me. Suppose I say the wrong thing or
do something stupid,” Lily replied.

“Lily, you are not going to do either of
those things. There are a few rules I think you should follow. We will create a
lot of attention. I’ll try to stay close to you but you have to learn to take
care of yourself around people. Be mysterious. You’ll be asked a lot of nosy
questions. Don’t give any information, just smile. I will probably know a lot
of the people there but I haven’t been out socially in quite a while. A lot of
people I won’t know so smile and don’t give any specific answers to nosy
questions. Answer a question with a question.

You’re bright. You’ll catch on. I long
ago decided small talk is an art where you talk but don’t say anything. You may
be asked about that sexy dress you’re wearing. Jacqueline may be here to see
how things go. Remember we are supposed to be an item so we need to be
affectionate toward each other and pretend we are in love.”

“I don’t understand why we have to
pretend to be an item. Why can’t we just go as friends?”

Andre hesitated. “I will admit it makes
things easier for me. The way you look, men are going to be all over you and if
they think you’re taken, they won’t hit on you as much. Plus I can say that
you’re with me and give them the evil eye. I am assuming you don’t want to be
hit on?”

“Definitely. I have enough to deal with
just learning how to conduct myself in this situation. I don’t need men hitting
on me. I’ll just smile and let you handle it. How do I act if we’re an item?
I’ve never been part of an item before.”