Private Emotions – Promises (The Private Emotions Trilogy) (17 page)

“Emily.” I turned to see my mother decked out in a dress that made her shine.

“Mom? I didn’t think that you could make it! You said that you had another commitment.”

“I lied, so sue me. I wanted to surprise you and show you proud I am of your accomplishment here today. Did you really think that I would miss one of the most important days of your life? You should know me better. I have always been behind you in whatever you did and today, my dear, would be no exception.”

I hugged my mom warmly and said, “I know, believe me I really do know, mom. Thanks for coming. It would not have been complete without you. Let me introduce you to some new friends of mine.” I took her over and introduced her to Sophie and Joanie, Barry and Maria, and Julia and Scott. She already knew Ronnie and Mark so everyone was accounted for, everyone except Ethan. They all got along splendidly together and started reminiscing about my childhood, so I decided to leave them to their devices and mingle among the crowd. I needed to put myself out there and get to know my soon-to-be clients.

It was thirty minutes later when my mother came over and said, “So, judging from the glow on your face I suspect that this young man is Ethan Sterling?”

“Yes, mom, this is, Ethan.”

“It’s my pleasure to meet you and I have to tell you that I care very deeply for your daughter. She has made me the happiest guy in the world.”

“Hmmm, as Emily tells it, you are making her very happy as well. So I can assume that your intentions are genuine?”

“I can assure that I have nothing but good intentions and I am really looking forward to getting to know everything about her.” He was his usual charming self and had my mother eating out of the palm of his hand before she even knew what was going on.

Once he left us to mingle with the crowd my mother leaned towards me and said, “I like him, he’s a keeper. Don’t let this one get away because they don’t make them like that anymore.” I hadn’t told her about how we met. All she needed to know was that we did and although the road was rocky at the beginning we were now driving on the same path. “I’ve known plenty of men and very rarely have I seen any man look at a woman the way that Ethan looks at you. He tries to hide it from everyone including me but from my point of view it’s pretty clear how he feels. There’s just something in a person’s eyes that reveals all and do you remember what I told you when you were younger?”

“That the window to the soul is in the eyes.” It was something that my mother was constantly harping on and it was advice that had served me well.

Michelle was the last one to arrive later in the day but we saw each other over the crowded room and she was all smiles. It was nice to know that there were no hard feelings between us.

“Looks like you are having a very successful opening and I have to say that I am not at all surprised. I always saw something of a spark in you and you just needed someone to provide a little fuel.”

“This business is hard work and I think you know that, however it can be equally rewarding and I am guessing that you know that too.”

“Absolutely, Emily. You have done well and I am happy for you but I’ll leave you to it. It is just a short visit to see how you were getting on and to wish you well. Don’t forget, I am just on the other side of town so stop by and we can do lunch or get a coffee. If there is anything that stumps you about the business side of things, then just give me a call.”

I spent the remainder of the day introducing myself to my visitors, answering questions and collecting business cards from potential contacts that could be of great benefit to me in the future. It was a whirlwind of a day but I was enjoying every second of it. This was my moment to shine and I embraced it completely.

I saw some big time players in the industry and one was the guy from the fashion-fest who had offered me a job. There really wasn’t any time to schmooze, but we did exchange meaningful glances and I could tell he wasn’t happy with what he probably considered competition.

There was even an amateur seamstress that had come in briefly and she meekly handed me her resume. She told me in hushed tones that she wanted to work for me during college and way beyond that if I gave her the opportunity.

The way that she presented herself made me think of myself at her age and I knew that I was going to give her an opportunity to prove her worth. This would give her the same chance that Michelle gave me when I first started out. I told her that she could work after school and weekends but she should be prepared for hard work as this industry is not an easy one. She assured me that she would put her best foot forward, so I invited her to return in a couple of days’ time for an interview.

Sophie and Joanie walk over to me, and Sophie said, “My wife is gaga over this shop and she is wondering if you ever thought of having a website.” I had never considered that but it seemed like the next logical step for expanding the business. There was one cardinal rule that I would live by, and that was not to get too big too fast. If I concentrated on what I did best then the rest would fall into place. I wanted my boutique to be known for producing quality items, so I was determined not to compromise on this element of the business.

By the time the day was almost over, I had several sales already under my belt and even Sophie and her wife had ordered Emily originals to complete their summer wardrobe. For a startup, I was well on my way to financial success.

By the time everyone had left I was on such a high that I felt dizzy. I was calculating the sales when Ethan said in my ear from behind me, “I want you to know that I’m beside myself with how confident and self-assured you were all day and I don’t want to live my life without you in it.”

I turned around, smiled at him and said, “I don’t want to live without you either.” It was a bold declaration from the both of us as we stepped over the boundary of friendship into something even stronger. He pulled me into him and gave me a long, dreamy, passionate kiss. I closed my eyes and melted in his warm embrace. His smell, his touch, his taste…it was all I needed to feel like the luckiest woman in the world.

We stood side-by-side outside the shop after I had closed up for the night. Ethan hugged me from behind and we both smiled as we looked up at the sign that he had made for me. It was a little cold outside but I didn’t feel cold at all.

Chapter Nine
Ethan’s Promise

It has been a long and exhausting few days and my business was well on its way to becoming the s
uccess that I had envisioned. All of my friends had been instrumental in getting everything ready for the grand opening and it all went off without a hitch. At that point, I knew without a doubt that I had made the right decision to step out on my own.

It had been a few days since the opening but I had barely seen Ethan in all that time. Most likely he was getting ready for his own grand opening and had very little time to spend with me, outside of the occasional overnight visit to my place. Although our new ventures were an exciting time in our lives, I looked forward to the day when our hectic schedules would stabilize and give us more time to be together. It would be nice just to make love to him all night and have the luxury of staying in bed all morning after making love again, of course.

The young girl that I had hired from the college nearby was doing wonderful work for me. She had a real flair for listening to a client and assisting me with the designs to create an Emily Original item. There was a lot of work to do and I had underestimated the demand that would be put on my time but I was determined to not let my business take over my life. I could imagine that would be the case for any business owner during the startup phase of their venture. I was told that the beginning was the hardest part and once the first year was behind me then I would start seeing real progress. As long as I put in the extra effort at the start to ensure the foundation was solid, then I would save myself a lot of time in the long run. I was used to working around the clock to make sure everything got done so hard work never fazed me.

I could not stop looking around the shop and thinking, this was mine, I owed it all. I wondered how long it would take for the novelty of it to wear off…if it ever would. “Excuse me, but are you the owner, Miss Emily Harris?” I turned around and found myself facing a man in a tuxedo complete with a top hat. There was something so old-fashioned about his attire that it immediately sent me back to a different time and place. He was exactly what I would picture if I were sitting down and watching an old movie on television. This man looked exactly like an English butler from the 1800s and he was holding a scroll in his hand, like he was going to make some kind of proclamation.

“I am Miss Emily Harris. What can I do for you this fine day?” I actually found myself playing along and feeling like I was truly immersed in the days of yore.

“Ah, Miss Emily, you are cordially invited to Au Chanté for dinner with Mr. Ethan Sterling. His desire is that you sign on the dotted line as proof that you have accepted his invitation.” Not hesitating for second, I signed my name on the bottom of the scroll. “I shall send word that you have granted his request.” He took his leave and left me to ponder what Ethan was up to. I suppose that I would find out later this evening.

“Um, Emily, did you know that we are getting a shipment of material from Hong Kong this afternoon?” My little protégé, Jill Killian, was right on the ball and it was lucky that she had no scheduled classes as I could really use her help in making a mountain of work into a molehill.

“Yep, I know, it’s Sophie’s connection and we will be receiving shipments from him once a month for the conceivable future. He promised to send me only his best stuff and to throw in any unusual material that he finds on his side of the ocean. We are lucky that he speaks English or our conversations would be even more interesting than they already are.” Jill laughed at my last comment as it was an obvious thought in her mind.

“Okay, that’s good to know considering the fact that we have orders that need to be filled quickly. Emily, it may not be for me to say but we could really use a second pair of hands to make things go smoother. If you were willing to bring on another person, my best friend, Samantha, is in my class, and I’m sure that she would be willing and able to jump in feet first.” I wasn’t thinking about bringing on anybody else but it was starting to look like my business was taking on a life of its own. I would need the extra help, at least for the interim. The grand opening, plus the interest that my designs had created at the fashion-fest, had given the boutique a good chance in a very competitive market.

“Sure, if I can get her in the same capacity as an intern, I would be very willing to bring her onboard. You can tell her that if she does as good a job as you then I will also consider hiring the both of you when you get out of college for the summer. I will not be able to pay a lot but the experience alone will be well worth your time.” I could already see that Jill was going to be a valuable employee and if Samantha were anything like her then I would truly have the right staff in place to get things done.

There wasn’t a whole lot of time to think about what Ethan was up to, as we were completely swamped with orders. I had to throw in my own expertise to show Jill how to get things done quickly but without compromising the quality of the garments. There were a few shortcuts that I used in my own work with Michelle and I planned to use them in my own business as well.

There didn’t seem to be much demand for the clothing that was on the rack as everyone wanted something original to add to their closet. Thankfully, prom night was coming up, so I was expecting the dresses on the rack to sell very quickly.

“Jill, you’ve done enough for today, so you’d better get yourself home and make sure that you’re ready for another taxing afternoon tomorrow.”

“I could stay a little longer if you’d like because my parents usually don’t have supper until 8 PM, so that leaves me with another hour or so before I have to get underway.”