“You’ll never guess what he had to give me,” Katherine shook her head, leading Talia to her bedroom, where the beautiful gown hung from her the bedroom door.
“Oh my God! Katherine! He gave that to you?” Talia’s hand went to her heart as she stepped back, looking the gown up and down.
“Isn’t it beautiful?” Katherine stared proudly.
“I mean, he’s a bagillionaire, so I expected him to send over some nice stuff, but this is even better than I expected,” she said.
“Wait. You knew he was rich?” Katherine asked Talia.
“Of course. He has that whole doggy empire thing,” she shrugged like it was common knowledge.
“Why didn’t you tell me?” she shrieked, still shocked that she had no idea about Ben’s success.
“It’s an advantage to being new here. I didn’t want to ruin it. If you knew who he was, you might not have liked him. And hell, he might not have liked you. It was perfect the way it happened, but you must have been shocked to see his place. My friend said he has like a twelve-car garage!”
“It’s only a six-car garage,” Katherine corrected her with a smile, and the two girls fell out laughing. It was a fairy tale, and they both knew it.
“I only wish he had turned my way that day he walked in the bakery, but it was clear who he wanted from the moment he set eyes on you,” Talia remembered.
“I didn’t even notice him!” Katherine shook her head thinking back to that fateful day.
“And maybe that’s what he liked about you. Ya know, besides your gorgeous face and perfect body,” Talia teased.
“Oh, shut up! Are you going to make me pretty for the charity event or what?” she asked.
“Let’s get you in some clothes,” Talia noted, pointing to the large towel covering Katherine’s body. After showing her the shoes and dress she would be wearing, Talia and Katherine decided on pulling her hair back into a chignon for the evening.
“Why don’t you wear your natural blonde hair?” Talia asked.
“To blend in,” Katherine answered.
There was a long silence between them, and Katherine knew Talia was putting the dots together to understand she dyed her hair to maintain some sort of separation from Tim. It was a dark cloud constantly following her, but with Ben she had found a way to leave it behind her and find a new sense of freedom. She had a fresh start and it felt amazing.
Just as Talia finished up Katherine’s make-up, her phone began to vibrate. She glanced at her phone as a smile spread across her face reading his name.
“Hi,” she answered, leaning into the phone as if it were attached to him.
“Are you ready, sweetheart?” he asked, his voice strong and commanding.
“Just about,” Kather
ine smiled, glancing at herself in the mirror. Talia was a wiz with her make-up brushes, and had created a beautiful smoky eye that complimented her dress well. With her hair pulled back, her shoulders were accentuated, and her neck appeared longer.
Never in her life had Katherine felt more beautiful. She was so excited to see Ben, she rushed off the phone to finish getting ready. Talia helped zip her into her gown before applying the last-minute touches to her make-up as Ben knocked on the front door.
It was the first time she had invited a man to her home in the two years she had been on her own. It was a new level of comfort as she opened the door, welcoming Ben, who was absolutely stunning in his black tuxedo. With his face freshly shaven for the first time, Katherine was even more smitten with the clean-cut version of the man of her dreams.
“Are you ready?” he asked, extending his elbow to escort her to the car. Followed out by Talia, Katherine locked her front door before climbing in the back of the waiting limo with Ben.
“You look amazing,” he smiled, as he settled into the backseat.
“I was going to say the same thing about you,” Katherine leaned over to kiss him as they finally greeted each other in private. With the partition closed, the driver couldn’t see into the back of the car, and Katherine decided to take advantage of the seclusion.
After hours away from Ben, which felt like days, she wanted to touch and taste him, but he stopped her before she could climb into his lap.
“I got something for you,” he explained, reaching into his suit jacket before retrieving a thin Tiffany blue jewelry box wrapped in white ribbon.
“Ben! You’re spoiling me!” Katherine gasped, opening the box to reveal a flawless diamond neckless.