Exposed - Chapter 34 #2
“Well if I’m being honest…you seeing me naked is the kind of thing that will make Matt jealous.”
“Really?” He seemed genuinely surprised by this news.
“Yes, really.”
“Huh. Okay. Weird. I’ll just turn around then.” He clapped his hands to get everyone’s attention. “Everyone start with garment bag one. Then do number two. And save three for last. Trust me, you’ll want to do them in order.”
Each girl had their own assistant and dress rack. Yeah…this was all a lot. But I was grateful.
Tanner handed me a dress over his shoulder. I was pretty sure it was made of diamonds. And since there was barely any fabric, it was virtually see-through.
Ummm…I can’t wear this.
“It’s from next spring’s collection,” Tanner said. “Have you changed yet?” He started turning around.
“Nope!” This dress was pretty much the same as him seeing me naked. But somehow having a dress on seemed like a better option. I quickly changed. God, you could see my nipples through this thing.
Tanner turned before I covered them. His eyes went straight to my breasts. “I think Matt will like this one best.”
Yeah, he was probably right about that. I put my hands over my chest. “I can’t wear this in public.”
“Why? You look amazing, Brooklyn.”
I could feel my face turning red. I looked over at my friends. “Wait, why is Bee’s dress a normal ballgown?”
“Because it’s in garment bag one.”
I didn’t know what he meant by that. Bee twirled around in front of the mirror. She looked great. And not at all naked. But she looked as confused as I was about her first dress. I had no idea why though. It looked great on her.
“You’re sure it’s not the one?” Tanner asked.
“Positive.”
“Very well.” He unzipped the second garment bag. “Next!” he called to everyone.
And then he handed me a dress that looked a little more similar to Bee’s first one. Although again, the bottom of the ballgown was sheer somehow. Even though there were so many layers.
“Hmm.” Tanner folded his arms as his eyes trailed down my body. “Turn for me.”
“You’ll see my butt.”
He shrugged. “I really don’t see the harm in that.”
I threw the hanger at him.
He caught it and laughed.
“Tanner, I can’t wear something sheer like this.
” I looked over at Penny who was wearing a two piece dress.
She was covering her stomach with her hand.
She had a newborn baby. And it was clear she was disappointed with garment bag number two.
Was Tanner purposely trying to make us all uncomfortable in these dresses?
I heard Kennedy laughing. She was wearing a short dress that was really cute. But it was hot pink, which was definitely not a color Kennedy would have chosen.
Daphne was in something that looked like a fashionable burlap sack.
Hailey was in a denim romper.
And Bee was in another gorgeous gown. What the hell?!
“Tanner, why did you bring us these dresses?”
“There’s still one more.” He handed me the zipped up garment bag.
I eyed him skeptically.
He stepped closer to me. “Honestly, all the dresses I’ve sent are perfect,” he whispered.
“Bee looks amazing in ballgowns even though she prefers to show more skin. Daphne needed something unflattering in order to be bold enough to choose something skin tight and sexy. Penny is self-conscious about her stomach when everyone else here can see she’s already shed the baby weight and looks amazing.
Hailey needed to see something casual to know she needed diamonds.
And Kennedy looks amazing in that color.
I was hoping she’d be able to see that, but I knew if not she’d settle for a lighter version that will look just as good. ”
I looked over at my friends. Wow. He’d really nailed that.
“And I’m all for a big reveal. Everyone will fall in love with the dress in bag number three.”
“So why did I need the first two dresses?”
He pulled the third garment bag off the rack.
“You’re a little nervous that Matt fell in love with you when you were 16.
That he envisioned you frozen in time and that he won’t love your body just as much now.
But Brooklyn, you looked stunning in that first dress.
” He walked behind me. “And your ass looks perfect in this one.”
I put my hands over my butt.
Tanner laughed. “Matt loves you for you. Not just for your body that is probably more curvaceous and sexier than it was at 16. But for your heart. And your soul. And I have a feeling this dress will be a little more you.” He handed me the third garment bag.
“It was always all about dress number three.”
I pulled the zipper down. And stared at the blue dress. A dress that looked like a more modern version of my mother’s blue dress. The one my father had given her. The one she’d danced around with me in the kitchen. The one I’d worn to homecoming. “Tanner…how? How did you know about my mom’s dress?”
“I saw a picture of you in it framed on your father’s desk. So I asked him about it.”
My hands froze. “What? Why were you with my dad?”
“I probably should have led with that tonight. I have great news. My source was having trouble verifying your father’s story. His and Poppy’s story. So I decided to go straight to the source myself…”
“I don’t want you getting in the crosshairs of this, Tanner. I don’t want to put you in danger too.”
Tanner waved his hand through the air. “I’m not scared of Richard Pruitt.
If anything he should be scared of me. And you, my best friend’s beautiful girlfriend, have nothing to fear either.
He was telling the truth. Poppy and him had nothing to do with the explosion.
They weren’t trying to kill you. Or Miller. Or my grandson.”
I opened my mouth and closed it again. “But…how do you know? If you just spoke to him how…”
“I didn’t just speak to him. I also talked to Poppy. Although that conversation was much more hostile than the one with your father…”
“Tanner, you could have been killed!”
He laughed. “No. Definitely not.”
“But if you only spoke to them…how do you know they’re telling the truth?”
“I have my ways.”
The way he said it made me believe him. “You didn’t like…torture them or something?”
He laughed but didn’t respond to my question.
“Brooklyn, you can trust me when I tell you that your father doesn’t want you dead.
I would never do anything to put you in harm’s way.
And if anything, your father wants you very much alive.
He told me he’s been trying to call you. Why haven’t you answered?”
“Because I thought he killed my husband.” Had he really not? Could I really believe this? I stared at Tanner. I trusted him. I knew I could.
“I swear he didn’t.”
“But he’s still dangerous. Matt told me he stepped down. But…that doesn’t just make his enemies disappear. I don’t want to be part of his world.”
Tanner nodded. “Sometimes we don’t choose our circumstances though. Just because he’s stuck doesn’t mean he wants to be. And if I learned anything over our dinner…”
“You had dinner with him?”
“I had a lot of questions. That’s not important. What’s important is that he’s not a patient man. And if you’re worried about your safety, I’d think it would be better to answer him when he requests an answer.”
“I’m not going to be at his beck and call after everything he did to me.”
“Trust me, I understand completely.” His eyes searched mine. “You know, you can just say the word and I’ll take care of him if you wish.”
I didn’t know what he meant by that. And I realized that I knew very little about Tanner. Not much at all really. Was he…was it possible that he was a mobster too?
Tanner cleared his throat. “Enough about this. It’s getting late. Put your dress on.” He turned around to give me my privacy.
Tanner’s words should have made the uneasy feeling in my stomach disappear. My father hadn’t ordered the hit. He didn’t kill Miller.
But my heart was still broken. Maybe when it was beating a little better, I’d be able to forgive him for everything. One day. But that day wasn’t today.
I just wanted to enjoy prom. I smiled at the thought. Prom. Matt was amazing.
I changed into the dress that looked like my mom’s. It was more sheer in places than the original. And a little tighter. But after Tanner’s assessment of me, I felt more confident in this one than the other two. I felt like me.
Tanner turned around and smiled. “Just right?”
I nodded and looked over at my friends. Bee was smiling ear to ear in a very sheer dress.
Kennedy was wearing a short dress that was such a light pink it almost looked white.
Her smile was just as big as Bee’s. Penny was wearing an emerald floor-length gown with a little ruching in the middle to hide what she didn’t need to hide.
Daphne was wearing a tight midnight black dress that was the complete opposite of the burlap sack.
And Hailey’s dress was dipped in diamonds and made her look like a million bucks.
It was all just right. Tanner was magical. He’d pushed them and they all looked amazing.
Justin whistled. “I’ve never been surrounded by such hotness.”
“See…” Tanner said. “Nailed it.”
“You really did. Thank you. For all of this.”
He winked. “The best is yet to come. Your big night has only just begun, Brooklyn. Speaking of which…” He glanced at his watch. “I must be going. My carriage will be arriving any second.”
“Right, you don’t want to turn into a pumpkin,” I said with a laugh.
“What?”
“Like in Cinderella.”
“Never heard of it.”
How had he never heard of Cinderella? “You didn’t watch Disney movies when you were little?”
“No, I didn’t have a TV growing up.”
How was that even possible? Surely he at least knew someone with a TV.
He shook his head. “I mean, because I was abroad. TVs existed when I was a youth.”
I was pretty sure they had televisions overseas. But I didn’t get a chance to ask him any more questions because his phone rang.
“Nigel, what is it now?” he said with a sigh. “Damn it. No, it has to be bigger than that. I need it to be to scale. And yes, I told Claude he could go right up.” He looked at me and silently mouthed, “My animal guy.”
Well, of course.
“No, Nigel. Absolutely not. I said to cancel the human cages.”
What?