His Naughty Lessons-Chapter 254: Center of Attention

** Eli **

There was no point in delaying the plan. Eli made a call the first chance he got to block off half of the weekend at the tailor shop, and he couldn’t wait to see the look on Harper’s face when she got to discover all the splendid options awaiting her choosing.

He wasn’t disappointed when they arrived at the salon first thing Saturday morning. The shop owner, Sean, was already waiting for them personally at the guest lounge when they entered. No time was wasted as soon as everyone exchanged friendly business greetings, and Sean led them into the private section of the salon where his latest personal designs were displayed. ƒrēewebnoѵёl.cσm

"Eli has stressed repeatedly that he needs my best of the best for this dress, Miss McKenzie," the shrewd designer smiled at Harper while they were on their way. "Rest assured, I will guarantee that whatever you receive as my final creation for you will become the center of attention the entire evening. Let’s start with getting to know your taste and preferences first — all the evening dresses here are my proudest collections from recent years, please feel free to try any of them on and see what you like. We can then figure out what style suits you best and go from there."

Harper nodded. Then she darted a questioning look at Eli. "Well, I haven’t really worn a floor-length dress before though, which I would expect to be the standard for this type of event? I suppose I might have to rely on your expert opinion on that."

Eli cocked his head. "No floor-length dresses? What did you pick for prom?"

Harper chewed her lips and, slowing down slightly to put some distance between them and Sean, whispered in Eli’s ear, "I skipped prom. You weren’t there, so I wasn’t interested."

That was ... not the response Eli had expected to hear at all, and it sent his heart straight into a full somersault inside his chest.

"You might notice that some of these are bridal designs, but obviously, the same idea will work as a formal evening dress with a few personal touches." Sean’s voice pulled Eli back from his daze, and he realized belatedly that they were already standing in the middle of the showroom, surrounded by three walls of dresses and a floor-to-ceiling mirror in the middle of the space. "You can take your time browsing, or if you need any suggestions, I’ll be more than happy to make a few as well."

Eli turned back, only to find that Harper’s jaw was already dropping.

To be honest, he himself was also quite pleasantly impressed by the variety of designs in sight. The racks and mannequins were sorted by fit — mermaids, trumpets, A-lines, ballgowns, etc. — and no two dresses looked remotely similar. Some were sleek and elegant, some were utterly creative and eye-catching. All were incredibly gorgeous.

"Um ... I’m thinking some professional advice might be a good place to start?" Harper muttered after pacing between a few mannequins. "So many to choose from ... Maybe we could at least decide on an overall shape first?"

"I would very much like to see you in a mermaid," Eli offered, darting a look at a bridal mermaid dress with a beautiful one-shoulder floral design. Damn, he was already imagining how divine his girl would look in a wedding gown like that.

"Mermaid would indeed fit your body shape well, Miss McKenzie." Sean tapped his chin with a finger thoughtfully before turning to a specific rack and bringing out a red mermaid dress. "I understand that red might not be the best color for your hair, but see if you like this shape. The waistline and flare skirt should attenuate your figure perfectly, and I imagine a plunge neckline would look very flattering for an event like the gala at Garden Royale."

Eli was subconsciously smiling and agreeing to how nicely the gown would show off Harper’s lovely curves ... until he heard the last part about the plunge neckline, and the way he looked at Sean suddenly turned a little dark.

How dare the guy mentally undress his girl and imagine how she’d look in such a risqué neckline! And try to convince her to wear something like that for all these other men at the gala to ogle!

"Oh. Um, it does look lovely." Harper regarded the dress held before her. "I like the skirt ... but perhaps the neckline is a bit too low for me?" She tilted her head, looking to her boyfriend for advice. "Would I look good in that?"

... Now, that was a question to put Eli right on the spot. Of course she’d look deadly gorgeous in it! But if he said yes ... then wouldn’t he have to share such a precious view with all these other guests that he couldn’t care less about?

Luckily, he quickly came up with an idea to dodge the dilemma. "Is that even a question? Absolutely you would," he said proudly. Then he waved her over and whispered in her ear, "You should try it. Though maybe save such a special view for something more special than just a gala?"

He didn’t dare say the word "wedding" to ruin any surprises for her, but he hoped she’d get the hint.

"Alright, I’ll give it a try." Unfortunately, the girl didn’t seem to have picked up the hidden meaning behind his comment. Dubious but curious, she gave Sean a nod, and a shop assistant quickly came up to take the dress to the fitting room.

... Fine. Wedding dress discussions could wait until a later time.

"We could also try an A-line," Sean continued. "It’s a universal fit that looks great on most, and very versatile when it comes to necklines and train options. Or if you’re interested in a ballgown—"

"No ballgowns."

"No ballgowns."

Harper and Eli both blurted so quickly at the same time that they surprised themselves, and Sean blinked before breaking into laughter.

"I see why this is your girlfriend, Eli." The designer gave them both an approving look. "Alright, no ballgowns. Then how about this slim fit A-line with a short train?" He moved on to the next section, flipping through the hangers to find the one he had in mind.

"Hey, did you really think I’d look that bad in a ballgown?" Harper asked in a low voice as she caught up to Eli’s side. "You sounded so terrified when he mentioned the option."

"Nah. On the contrary, I think you’d look like a lovely princess." Eli looped her into his arm. "I just don’t think a lovely princess is what you want to look like in a crowd of capitalist vultures."

"Yes! Exactly!" The girl in his arm grinned. "I mean, I would’ve totally loved to wear something like that to prom though, or maybe a dressup masquerade ... Too bad the gala is not the right occasion for something like this at all."

Todo list updated — take Harper to a masquerade someday and get her a beautiful, fluffy ballgown. "Glad we agree. And just by the way, although I would’ve loved to see you in a dress like that, I’m glad it doesn’t have to be a picture from your prom with someone else to make me insanely jealous."

Harper gave him a knowing smile. Then they both chuckled, and they continued to follow Sean to browse their next option.