Tonight, Lucy was working late at her studio, offering me the perfect opportunity to continue the discussion we started the other night in my crusade to get to know each other better. The rest of the team was sent home over an hour ago, and all who remained were Sophie—who I learned during our last trip was her right hand—and Myles keeping a watchful eye. Lucy broughtAmy’s wedding dress with us to Milan and was working overtime to get it done in time.
Lucy paused her meticulous work on the dress, pulling out the pin she held between her teeth. “I guess I started to fall in love with it when I was five or six.”
That surprised me, but I took a vested interest in the origin of her ultimate passion. “Really? That young?”
A corner of her lips quirked up. “I used to sit with my mom for hours as she got ready for fancy state events and balls. She wore a new gown to each one, and I found myself entranced with the many different styles and fabrics. To a casual observer, they might assume that meant I fantasized about wearing them myself, but it was never about that for me. I viewed each dress as a piece of art. Most were made custom for her—they were always the perfect complement to her body shape and coloring.”
“I’ve noticed your eye for color and design in every piece you wear.”
“That’s a part of what I do, but I love the idea of a woman wearing one of my pieces and it making her feel as beautiful as she is within.”
I may have done my research on her debut fashion week this fall, so I was able to ask the question that found its way into every article about her line. “Is that why you cater to a wide range of body types and sizes?”
That caught her slightly off guard. “What do you know about that?”
Smirking, I retorted, “Other than the fact that you said you had a model my size and proceeded to build a dress around my body?”
Blushing, Lucy bit her lip. “Yeah. Sorry about that.”
I waved her off. “No need. We both did a lot of things we aren’t proud of.”
She tilted her head. “I didn’t say I wasn’t proud. Just that I was sorry.”
There she was. My spitfire. Slowly, she was coming back to me.
Reinvigorated by her flash of fire, I prodded, “You didn’t answer the question.”
“There are so many reasons why I cater to a wide range of sizes and shapes. Mainly, I think the pressure society puts on women to be perfect is ridiculous. Women shouldn’t be pushed past the boundaries of what their mental health can handle because they don’t fit inside a box created by a man.”
“Mental health?” I wanted to truly understand. As a man, it was simple—you put on clothes that fit and went about your day.
Sighing, she explained, “I’m sure you noticed Natalie’s transformation when you last saw her. She was so sickly, starving herself for so many years, we worried we might lose her. All because the press claimed she wasn’t thin enough.”
“Nothing was wrong with how Natalie looked when she married Leo.”
Lucy scoffed. “You think I don’t know that? But it didn’t matter. She literally couldn’t see what was in front of her in the mirror. Her brain was so altered from years of verbal attacks on her size that her vision of herself was distorted. You wouldn’t believe how shocked she was when we showed her pictures of her at her thinnest. I can still hear her crying, claiming it was photoshopped. She couldn’t see what we saw until it was almost too late.”
My heart broke for Natalie. I couldn’t put myself in her shoes, but Lucy’s account of her struggles made me re-evaluate every fashion ad I’d ever seen. She was right. They were all unnaturally thin women.
“So, Natalie is your inspiration?”
“Amy is too. She’s curvy and confident, and I want that for all women, no matter their dimensions.” Lucy hesitatedmomentarily before adding, “What I really want is to normalize that women’s bodies change throughout their lives. It’s natural, sometimes unavoidable, and they shouldn’t have their clothing choices restricted because of it.”
I was floored. Impressed wasn’t a strong enough word to describe how highly I thought of Lucy’s mission to improve the fashion world. She was a thin woman but could think beyond herself, advocating for all women.
Before I could vocalize how incredible I thought she was, Lucy asked a question of her own. “What is it that you do, Preston?”
Wryly, I answered, “Nothing now.”
Rolling her pretty blue eyes, she huffed, “I meant before.”
“Well,” I began. “As you know, I’m a second son. It’s why Liam and I got on so well. We were more than happy not to have to step into our fathers’ shoes one day.” Lucy coughed slightly and avoided my gaze, focusing again on the dress before her. Her reaction piqued my curiosity, but I continued, “While he re-enlisted, choosing to serve our country physically, I chose to do the same, but in an intellectual capacity.”
“I remember Grandfather mentioning you were an attorney for the Crown,” she mused. “But that is the extent of my knowledge of your profession.”
“Yes. While Liam continued with the Bellestonian Army, I attended university and law school. Until recently, I was working to support the royal family’s charitable pursuits and foundations, but that was only a stepping stone for me.”
“Will you tell me what you were working toward?”
