Lucky Charm (32 page)

“Snap out of it, Lilly!” Annabel whispered irately
. I
n all the years of their friendship, she had never taken su
ch a firm tone with Lilly, but
Lilly was not being herself
. S
omehow the confident, talented woman whom Annabel knew
as
her friend had
been
replaced by a whimpering, pathetic creature. As Lilly’s best friend, Annabel understood full well why Lilly was a nervous wreck, but that only mea
nt one thing:
as her friend, she had to get the real Lilly to come back this instant or this huge opportunity would be
lost
forever. “Your only job right now is to project confidence and leadership
,
so that the models can do their job. You’ve done your work
. Y
our dresses are beautiful, and now all you have to do is stand back and let the models show your gorgeous creations to the judges
. B
ut if you don’t stop freaking out like this, the girls will pick up on your fear
,
and they will mess up on the runwa
y.
Now, pull yourself together and tell the models to go out there and do their jobs!”

“Wow, I’ve never seen you this wired up! Who is this new Annabel – so bossy and full of fire
?
I think I like her
!
” Lilly winked.

“All right, girls
. M
ake me proud!” Lilly called out as she headed toward the c
luster of models with confident and
brisk steps. “Out you go, one by one, as we practiced before.”

“Yes
,
m
adam
.” The first girl, a waif-like creature wearing a flowing creation of champagne-colored chiffon
,
stepped onto the stage.

“Thanks for bringing me back,” Lilly whispered as she squeezed Annabel’s hand.

“What are friends for?”

Annabel held her breath as she watched the first model pirouette her way down the runway
. T
he girl showed the dress beautifully, and as the model made one final turn before heading backstage, Annabel could hear the judges gasp with admiration.

“
Lynn
, you go next; Gigi, you’re on after that, and then Francine and Annaise,” Lilly rattled out her directions to the models. “Lynn, remember to hold your chin up and your shoulders down when you walk
,
just like we talked about
. T
his way you will really show off the neckline of the dress.”

Together with Lilly, Annabel peered nervously from behind the stage curtain
. T
he girls were absolute professionals as they glided down the runway in Lilly’s airy, floating dresses. Annabel watched the judges carefully, trying to guess what was going through their minds. There were three judges in total: Emily Flynn, the woman with the frozen face
whom
Annabel remembered from earlier, and two men who flanked Emily Flynn on either side. The first one looked a lot like a poodle: short and pudgy, with a curly mop of black hair on his head and smallish, keen features. His fast eyes kept darting this way and that, and his nose twitched every time he made notes in his notepad. The other man was tall and incredibly lean; he reclined in his chair with an expression of disdain on his handsome, indifferent face
. H
is entire demeanor impl
ied
that he had seen it all and that the world had nothing to surprise him with, but now and then, even he broke away from his rigid stance to jot several notes in his notebook
. W
hen the last model, clad in a corseted dress of mauve silk appeared on the runway, he bowed his head in a barely noticeable nod of approval.

“Great job, Giselle!” Lilly clapped her hands as the last of the models returned backstage. Then, holding her head high and her shoulders back, Lilly stepped on stage and bowed to the judges. As Lilly was about to turn around to return backstage, Emily Flynn’s face melted into a smile
,
and the palms of her bony hands came together in a series of claps. The two male judges exchanged brief looks of bewilderment, and then
they
too joined in the congratulatory gesture.

“Congratulations! I told you everything would be perfect!” Annabel hugged her friend.

“I couldn’t have done it without you,” Lilly gasped. “You were my rock. I’ve got to call my mom and tell her the news.” Lilly quickly punched in the number on her cell phone.

A few moments later she hung up.

“No one is picking up,” Lilly said brightly, but the disappointed look on her face made it obvious that she was upset.

“Hey, it’s a six-hour time difference with
New York
. I’m sure your mom can’t wait to hear the big news, but she’s probably asleep by now.”

“She’s probably out on a date. I told her I’d be calling her, but obviously she can’t put her social life on hold even for one night.”

Lilly’s phone rang.

“See, that’s her calling you back.” Annabel exhaled with relief.

“Mom? Just wait till you hear this… Oh, hi, Dad! No, I meant to call you… Yes, everything went great.” Lilly launched into the details of the contest. “O
kay
, I’ll talk to you later
.
T
hanks for everything.” Lilly snapped her cell phone shut. “Well, it was nice of him to call.” She shrugged. “He thinks he can just buy his way out.”

“Don’t you think you’re being a bit hard on him?”

“Whatever, Ann. Your parents have been together for over thirty years
. Y
ou don’t know what it’s like to have a father who is married to a woman who is almost the same age as you.”

“I was just saying that maybe you could cut your father some slack.”

“Let’s not talk about it now,
okay
? I just want to enjoy this moment.”

“Yes, you’re right. I’m sorry.” Annabel held her tongue when she noticed the crowd of contestants rushing toward Lilly.

“What an amazing collection! Congratulations!” A tall, haughty girl who had snubbed Lilly’s attempts to talk to her only a few hours ago, rushed over to Lilly along
,
with the other contestants who were now also joining in the chorus of congratulatory wishes.

“I knew you’d do good, girlfriend!” Ronnie pushed his way through the crowd. “Just don’t start snubbing me now that you’ve become the next hot designer,” he jeered.

“Oh, I think it’s a bit too early to talk about ‘being the next hot designer
,’
Ronnie. And I think you know that I’m not a snob.” Lilly smiled, almost on the brink of tears from all the excitement. “The results are yet to be announced, and besides, this is only one competition
.
I doubt it would make that much of an impact,” Lilly’s voice trailed off, and Annabel could guess that, in her heart, her friend was hoping for the opposite.

“Whom are you kidding, girl? Emily Flynn smiled at you and clapped her hands for you
. D
o you even know what that means? I didn’t even think that the woman was capable of smiling, let alone clapping! And I’m not even going to say how Francois Samoi and Rene Gustav swooned over your stuff! Lilly, you are in for a ride of your life
.
I’d be jealous, but you deserve every bit of it. Congratulations!”

“Thanks
,
Ronnie, but I still think it’s a bit too premature for a celebration.” Lilly shrugged, but by the way her eyes glowed with anticipation, Annabel could tell that her frie
n
d was hoping that every word of Ronnie’s jubilant speech would come true
.
Lilly ha
d
been waiting a long time for her big break, and it was high time for things to start going her way.

“Ms. Clayton
.
” A familiar sharp voice instantly caused the chatter in the room to fade into complete silence.
“I’d like to congratulate
you on a superb collection.” By the gasps that spread through the air, Annabel could guess that Emily Flynn did something remarkable again when for a brief glimmer of a moment, her mask-like face spread into a warm smile.

“Thank you, Ms. Flynn. And please, call me Lilly.”

“Well done, Lilly. As you know, the results will be announced seven days from today, but I wanted to let you know personally that your collection was the highlight of the show.” And then, just as quickly as she had appeared, Emily Flynn disappeared behind the stage curtain.

“Now you’ve done it, girl. They are going to be all over you, like vultures!” Ronnie whispered, and just as he finished his last word, every single contestant in the room rushed toward Lilly.

“Can you believe the nerve of these people
? A
few hours ago, they would not give me the time of day, and now everyone wants to be my best friend! How pathetic is that!”

“Well, it’s not like you’re new to the world of fashion, girl
. Y
ou should be used to this by now.” Ronnie shrugged.

“You have a point, there, but somehow human baseness never ceases to amaze me. Come on, we’ve got to get out of here, fast.” Lilly snapped into action. “Help me pack the dresses before they shred us to pieces.”

An hour later, Lilly and Annabel finally emerged outside
. U
ntil the results of the competition
were
announced, all the collections were to be stored on
the
premises, with each designer’s name attached to the storage area
. G
iven her newly-found attention, Lilly had to triple check to make sure that her designs were stored away safely. Ronnie had been a tremendous help, holding off the never-ending stream of new
“
friends
”
who were now so eager to associate themselves with Lilly. Lilly had offered
for
him to join them, but Ronnie had opted out, mysteriously adding that he had a date.

“God, I thought we’d never get done!” exclaimed Lilly. “There they are! I see Simon’s car over there!” Lilly pointed across the street.

The contest did not allow any spectators other th
a
n the judges and boutique buyers
. E
ach contestant was only allowed to bring one person backstage, and although Simon had wanted to be backstage with Lilly, she
had
insisted that Annabel come instead. Now that the tough part was over, they were going to go out and celebrate on a double date.

“I hear that congratulations are in order!” Simon exclaimed as he scooped Lilly into his arms.

“Let’s just say that I’m keeping my fingers crossed.” Lilly beamed. “And I couldn’t have done it without Annabel.”

Annabel felt Etienne’s gaze upon her
. H
e had arrived in Simon’s car, but had stood back until now, allowing Simon and Lilly their moment of celebration.

“I missed you tremendously,” Etienne murmured, and before Annabel could say that she
had
missed him just as much, his lips were upon hers in a long, passionate kiss.

“Come on you, two! Get a room!” Simon joked.

Etienne pulled away from Annabel, the tan color of his skin reddening ever so slightly
. I
t never ceased to amaze her just how old-fashioned he was in some respects – a quality that she positively adored about him.

“Tonight
,
we’re going to paint the town red!” Lilly shouted.

“Count me in!” Annabel threw her head back
. F
or once, she did not find herself resisting Lilly’s party mood
.
Etienne was by her side, and all was right with the world.

While Annabel and Etienne waited their turn at the Angelina Bakery, Annabel stared at the countless rows of pastries. Just the mere sight of the savory confections on display was enough to make one’s mouth water, not to mention the intoxicatingly sweet smell that filled the room.

“Mmm, everything looks so good. What should we get?” she asked, looking at Etienne.

“Well, I know that you love macaroons, so we have to get that.” He wrapped his arms around her shoulders, pressing his lips to the nape of her neck. “And then
Mont Blanc
is their specialty, so we have to get that. What’s Lilly’s favorite
? T
his is her party.”

Yesterday
,
Lilly
had
learned that not only was she the winner of the fashion contest, but that she also
had
received orders for her line from two major boutiques in
France
. Needless to say
,
she was beside herself with excitement and
she
decided to celebrate by inviting Annabel and Etienne for a home-cooked dinner at Simon’s place
. J
ust who would be cooking was not mentioned, but Annabel was fairly certain that it would be Simon
,
since Lilly never went into the kitchen for anything more than getting a can opener.