mean?” Alice asked.
“Well, I know what’s in his bio on the KRG website. Schools, degrees, awards, stuff like that. I know he was an only child and hated his school uniform. And that’s about it.”
It was a strange kind of trust. She trusted him not to set off a panic attack but she didn’t trust him to want a relationship with her. She pulled herself up short. There was no relationship after a mere four days. Working so closely together on the gym’s issue just made it feel that way.
A melodious but mechanical woman’s voice interrupted them to say, “An authorized visitor is arriving on the elevator.”
“Darn!” Alice dropped her napkin on the table and stood up. “That’s the dress designer.” She pointed at Dawn. “We’ll get back to you and Leland later.”
As she hustled out of the room, Natalie looked at Dawn. “Brace yourself. There’s going to be a lot of lace and satin and tulle.”
Dawn dropped her head into her hands with a groan. “Why does Alice want me here? I know nothing about this crap.”
“Because you’re her maid of honor and her friend.”
She lifted her head. “So are you and this is more your kind of thing.”
Natalie rose from her chair with fluid grace. “She wants to share her joy with us.”
“When you put it that way . . .” Dawn pushed up from the table and squared her shoulders. “Although I’m not a hundred percent sure how debating puff sleeves versus cap sleeves shows how happy she is.”
Natalie laughed as they followed Alice’s voice to the dining room. An older woman propped up poster boards with drawings attached, while a young man draped swatches of fabric over the glossy wood table.
Alice’s face glowed with pleasure, so Dawn pasted on a smile before she marched through the door.
Two hours later, the designer and her assistant had packed up their materials and departed, leaving three exhausted friends sprawled in the dining room chairs. They’d brought more champagne from the kitchen to relax after the intense decision-making.
“That is going to be one beautiful and unique gown,” Natalie said, waving at the on-the-spot sketch the designer had presented Alice with.
“You’ll look stunning in it,” Dawn agreed.
Alice threw back the last gulp of champagne in her glass. “Only because you all chimed in when my brain started to fry.” She tilted her empty glass at Dawn. “You’re going to make sure my arms look slender and shapely in those puff sleeves.”
“I love a challenge,” Dawn said with a grin.
“Ouch!” Alice held out one of her arms to examine it. “Are they that bad?”
“No, but I figure it will make you work harder,” Dawn said.
“You’re so evil,” Alice said, pouring herself more bubbly and pinning her gaze on Dawn. “Now we’re going to get back to you and Leland.”
Dawn sighed. Just when she’d thought the worst was over.
Instead of grilling her friend, Alice stared at her fizzing glass for a long moment before she said, “You mentioned that you didn’t know much about him, so I’ve been thinking about what I know that I can share with you.” She swallowed a sip of champagne. “Leland was raised by his mother—who died recently. He took it pretty hard because they were close. No father in the picture. I’m pretty sure they were never married to begin with.”
Dawn felt a pang of sorrow for Leland’s loss. She couldn’t imagine losing her own mama, who was the sun around which their family orbited, even though Dawn’s siblings were grown and scattered geographically. It would leave a black hole in her heart.
“His mother was from Puerto Rico and she worked more than one job to support them. She’s where he learned his work ethic.”
“I knew he had something to prove.” Natalie looked very pleased with herself.
“So I guess the father is where he got the preppy looks? He always seems like he’s slumming in his jeans and T-shirts,” Dawn said, trying to reconcile the seemingly aristocratic southern gentleman with his surprising history.
“Evidently. He never talks about his father, so no one knows who he was.” Alice shook her head. “Leland is so smart that he got full scholarships at every school he went to but there are always extra things a kid needs. His mom gave him whatever she could but I gather he always felt out of place. You know, he didn’t have the latest cell phone or the high-end gaming computer or the right clothes.”
“So that’s why he never wears a suit.” Dawn understood