15 Bridal Style

How Lyra wanted to hide behind a rock and just disappear when she saw it was future brother-in-law walking in on the gown fitting.

While his sister-to-be was getting cold feet, Kurtis didn't show a flicker of emotions in his calm green eyes. Aside from the first glance he took at her, he didn't pay her any special attention.

He was following Ms. Ivanna around as she was walking in circles again, trying to pinpoint whatever was throwing her off.

"What could it possibly be?" she wondered aloud. "I was sure it was perfect before I called you over Mr. Wellingotn."

"Please, just Kurtis."

For someone of his background, Ivanna was pleased with his easygoing nature. This only made her like the racer even more. "Well, Kurtis, what do you think?"

Kurtis turned from the older woman to the girl in the elaborate bridal gown, not once meeting her gaze, only scanning the piece she adorned from top to bottom. It was clear he was evaluating the dress, but that didn't change the fact that his seductive eyes were wandering all over her body.

That thought made Lyra blush as she focused her gaze on the floor, trying her best not to make her presence anymore noticeable. She didn't want to see or look at Kurtis, afraid of how he'd react this time if he found out what she was up to again.

"Sweetie, stand straight, eyes up for your handsome fiancé," the assistant said to Lyra who only ended up looking more abashed as she lifted her chin a little but turned away.

The other assistant simply gave Lyra a gentle nudge to the back which did yield the desired result when she tucked her stomach in a little more and stopped slouching.

It was by accident, but she ended up meeting Kurtis's ravishing stare and time seemed to stop. He looked so gentle and desirable as he lifted his eyes upwards to look at the beauty standing on the podium.

"It's perfect," Mr. Wellington said in a low voice, almost soft as a whisper when he locked eyes with Lyra.

At the words, the other ladies in the room were ecstatic.

The designer eyed her work once more. This time, with the bride standing straighter with her head held high, the dress did look right on her. For some reason, it didn't achieve the same racy look she intended it to emphasize with the plunging neck line and tight fit, but instead, there was a different charm.

On her, there was an unspoken seduction behind the classic elegance she seemed to emit in that dress. Ivanna didn't sense this type of radiance during their first meeting. It was almost as if her client changed persona overnight.

'Did I mistaken her personality?' the top bridal designer wondered to herself.

"If you're satisfied, then I have nothing more to say," the older woman said to Kurtis before turning to Lyra. "Dress is yours, hon."

Lyra beamed a most grateful smile, shocking the designer with a side to her she didn't notice earlier. At first, she was worried that the bride wouldn't be able to do the gown justice, but on further analysis, perhaps the dress just wasn't designed to bring out her special qualities.

When she met with Ms. Cades a month prior, it was almost too easy to draw up a sketch. She was outgoing and extroverted, free like the wind and sturdy as a mountain. Her insecurities did not lie within her appearance or abilities, but with relationships. She craved attention, demanded it, and expected it. She was a powerhouse full of life and fun.

Thus, the current dress was birthed. It was an exquisite piece—sleeveless with a deep décolleté bodice completed with a flared skirt draping elegantly to the ground. The gown exposed the back and was fitted at the waist, highlighting her enviable figure.

It was a guaranteed show stopper.

Despite agreeing to sell her the dress, Ivanna couldn't help but do a double take on the client.

The wedding gown looked absolutely stunning on the bride, but she looked like a beautiful flower ready to bloom, but still a bit shy. Such a look worried Ivanna who wasn't sure if the dress design was catered to her correctly.

The designer was half way out the room when she couldn't hold back and turned around.

"Hon! I can have another dress ready in a week for you to try. I can promise the next one will bring out your true brilliance," Ivanna Selené said with such determination and confidence in her eyes that Lyra was shocked speechless.

As if timing couldn't be more unfavorable, she was in the moment of stepping off the 24-inch podium and upon hearing those words, confused her footing and tripped from the misstep of her high heel on the flare train of her dress.

Kurtis moved at the speed of lightning, successfully managing to intercept her fall with one arm locked tightly across her back and the other behind her legs. Had he not saw it coming from the way she wobbled in those stilettos from when she finally could stop posing, he wouldn't have caught her in time.

The irony of it all, they landed in a position where he was carrying her bridal style.