Page 80 of Marry Me Not
“Oh no, no, no?—”
“Fabiana,” Cosimo’s voice had gone completely flat. “Where did you get this dress?”
I swallowed. “Anthony made it for me.”
“Christ.” Anger flashed in Cosimo’s gaze. “Didn’t I tell you he has no idea what he’s doing?”
“I thought you just didn’t recognize his artistic talent!” My voice cracked. This was a nightmare. “What am I going to do?”
The tiny, glittering pieces kept dropping, scattering across the marble. It was like the glue holding them to the mesh had begun to soften for some reason, and my every panicked breath seemed to loosen more of them.
What would happen when they were all gone? Let’s just say it wouldn’t take a photographer’s flash to make me look naked.
Cosimo drew his jacket closed around me, his hands fisting the fabric at the front. A couple walking past slowed when they noticed the mess at my feet. The woman whispered something to the man beside her.
I wanted to die.
Tears burned behind my eyes.
Cosimo dragged his palm over his mouth. “I’m going to kill Tony.”
A sob tore out of me. His gaze jumped to my face and softened. He cupped my cheeks. “Calm down. I’ll fix it.”
Calm down? I was so far beyond that. “Ladies’ room,” I choked out and then pushed past him, clutching his jacket tightly closed since it was the only thing still holding my dignity together. My heels struck hard against the marble as I searched through blurred vision for the restroom signs.
“Fabiana!” he called out.
I didn’t look back. If I looked back, I’d see him following me. I’d see the faces turning. I’d see the glittering trail of rhinestones I was leaving behind.
Evidence of my own stupidity.
The worst part wasn’t even the dress. The worst part was that Cosimo had been right.
I was a liability.
CHAPTER 27
COSIMO
One thing wasclear to me. I needed to find a solution to this clusterfuck before I went chasing after Fabiana. The quickest way to get her to calm down would be to hand her a brand-new dress that didn’t have a fifteen-minute lifespan.
I dialed Tony as I moved through the atrium. He answered on the third ring. “Cosimo?”
“I will gut you the next time I see you.”
Something clattered on his end of the line. “What? Why?”
“That. Fucking. Dress.”
“Do you think it’s too much? You think it’s too much. What can I say, your wife isn’t afraid to take risks. Finally, someone in this family understands me?—”
“It turned transparent under a camera flash.”
Silence.
“And now the stones are falling off because the glue is melting against her skin.”
“What?” His voice went up an octave. In my opinion, he still didn’t sound sufficiently alarmed. His atelier was done.Hewas done. “The dress was tested under light, I swear! And the bonding agent is solid. It’s just a bit heat sensitive.”
