“It’s not my big night. It’s all yours. Well, a little for Penny. But it’s more about you, and Penny’s fine with that.”
Okay…“Well, you look great.” He did. He was already in his tuxedo. It was a dark blue with some kind of finish that made it a little shimmery in the light. But I’d hardly classify it as eccentric. It just looked good on him. Was this what he’d been talking about when he’d mentioned his fun suits?
“Thanks, but you really gotta stop hitting on me. Matt gets a little jealous about these things, and I do worry our friendship will be on the rocks if you keep ogling me.”
I laughed. “I’m not hitting on you, Tanner.”
“It’s fine, most people do.”
“I’m in love with Matt.”
He put his hands on my shoulders. “Splendid.” He squinted his eyes at me like he was trying to read my mind or something. “But really…are you good? Do you need to talk about anything at all? I’m here if you do.”
It was almost like he could hear the clock ticking down in my head. I shoved the thought aside. “I’m good, Tanner.”
“Good. That’s great! I just want to make sure tonight goes perfectly, and there’s already been a few hiccups at the venue. And this is all riding on me for some reason despite the fact that I’ve never even thrown a modern day promenade.”
I’d never actually heard anyone call the prom a promenade before. I didn’t even realize prom was short for something. “I’m sure it’s going to be great.”
“It will be. I called my animal guy after the hiccup. He’s handling it.”
An animal guy? And handling what exactly?“There’s going to be animals there?”
“It’s a promenade, Brooklyn.” He laughed like I was the one being silly. “Now get naked and let’s try on these dresses.” He unzipped the first garment bag.
“Oh, I’ve got it, Tanner.”
“I told you, I’m good at this.” He turned around and saw that I was still completely dressed. “Brooklyn, we only have an hour before your limo comes.” He reached behind me and somehow unhinged my bra through my shirt.
I grabbed my chest to keep my bra in place. “You’re good at finding the perfect dress for customers? Or you’re good at undressing women?”
“Both, honestly.”
“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?”
