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“Still water is fine,” Marissa answered.
Olivia left, and Marissa sat on the sofa. She looked around the store. They seemed to be the only ones there.
Olivia returned with a chilled bottle of water and a glass containing two cubes of ice with a lemon tucked onto the side. She placed them in front of Marissa.
“Are we the only ones here?” Marissa asked.
“Yes. The store closes at five, but Mr. Santana asked us to stay open to accommodate your schedule.”
Marissa opened her mouth to apologize but stopped. This was the norm in Bruno’s world. She just wasn’t used to it.
“Thank you for doing that,” she said instead.
Olivia asked Marissa a series of questions about her tastes and then disappeared again. Marissa sipped her water and ate two of the sandwiches while she waited. One was filled with salmon and cream cheese and the other with cucumber, cream cheese, and dill. They were so delicious she had to rein in her greed.
Olivia rolled out four dresses on a rack for Marissa’s review, each eye-catching in its own way. She stated why she chose each one, explaining that she incorporated Marissa’s preferences as well as her own assessment of what would flatter Marissa’s shape and coloring.
“We’ll start with these four, and if they don’t work, we have others you can try,” Olivia said.
“Sounds good.”
With Olivia’s help, Marissa tried on each dress. The first three fit well, the fabrics draping just right over her curves. In the full-length mirror, she admired her appearance in the third dress from different angles. Electric-blue, the top fastened around her neck with a gold loop.
“What do you think?” Olivia asked.
They both stood in the mirror in the dressing room. “Making a decision is tougher than I expected. The black is really nice, but I also like this one. This blue is gorgeous.” She smoothed her hands over her hips.
“This dress does look good on you,” Olivia agreed, adjusting the neckline. “But we have one more to go. The red.”
Marissa checked her appearance again. The blue did look great, but red was her color, so she couldn’t leave without trying it on. When she did, the transformation was immediate—even without the accessories, jewelry, and having her hair done.
“This is the one.”
Olivia nodded. “This is the one,” she agreed. “We’ll need to adjust the bodice a little, but that shouldn’t take long.”
They smiled at each other in the mirror.
“One moment. I’ll be right back.” Olivia left and returned with a gold clutch.
“Oh no, I don’t need a bag. I’m only getting the dress,” Marissa said.
“Mr. Santana told us to provide you with the full ensemble, including shoes.”
“Shoes?”
“Yes. What do you think about the clutch?”
Marissa took the purse. The metallic gold leather was the perfect complement to the red dress. “I like it a lot,” she admitted.
“Excellent. Now let’s find you some shoes.”
In the end, she had the dress, a pair of high-heeled sandals, and a gold clutch, yet didn’t have any idea how much everything cost. She wanted to ask but refrained, afraid to find out the damage.
“You’re all set. Now I need your address where we can deliver the dress and your accessories after the bodice adjustment is completed.” Olivia waited patiently at the register with her hands on the keyboard.
Marissa gave her the information, slightly overwhelmed but giddy at being treated like royalty.
Afterward, she shook Olivia’s hand. “Thank you.”
