The One Addicted (The One Trilogy Book 2)

by Alexandra North

  “I’ve totally got the wrong bra and panties on.”

  I pull the curtain back slightly to speak to her and offer to zip the dress up before sliding the curtain back fully so she can see herself in the large full-length mirror to the seated corner of the dressing area. Her eyes shine with joy as she tries and fails miserably to contain her excitement. “Oh. My. God, Lu, it fits!”

  “Like it was made for you babe. You look absolutely beautiful.” The black glittering lace, complimented her skin tone and brown eyes perfectly and the one-shouldered template with nipped in waist and full skirt was perfection on her athletic body. The addition of the thigh high split was pure genius and brought the

  Hollywood glamour dress into the 21st Century. I watch, as Abby turns and twists to assess her appearance from every angle and smile. She is so in love and I can tell that this means everything to her.

  “How much is it?” Her bottom lip trembles as she poses the question in the mirror to me, her big liquid eyes threatening to spill if the news is as she expects. “I daren’t look but it’s bad isn’t it? Is it bad?”

  “Hang on and stay still, the tag is still inside the back of the dress. Right here it is… it’s…” Bloody extortionate but she’s having it and I think quickly on my feet, mentally converting the dirhams to English pounds. “I think it works out around £275, when you convert it?” More like £2750!

  “Oh that’s not too bad for such a special occasion and its a staple that will be in my wardrobe for ever. Who’d have thought I’d ever own a Marchesa dress? I usually only see them worn on the stars in Hello and Ok magazine.”

  Women are so funny - we are all the same, trying to justify our spending but she was right and the dress was perfect for her. “Take the dress off and I’ll re-hang it and take it to the till, then get dressed and we’ll continue on - we’re on a roll.”

  “OK.”

  “You sure this is the one. It’s the first shop we’ve been in. We can look at some other shops and come back?”

  “No this is the one, babe - sometimes you just know don’t you. I suppose a bit like with men. You can shop around, keep going back to the same one, keep trying it on, unzipping it, it never really being right and then all of a sudden you walk into a place, see one and know that they will fit you perfectly, without even getting naked.”

  I smile at her fairytale analogy. “And that they’ll be a staple in your wardrobe for ever and a day- like some Misery serial killer.”

  “Oh bugger off - you know what I mean.”

  I know exactly what she means. I take the dress and pay for it using Nathan’s Visa, then explain to Abby as she exits the changing room that the tab has been settled by a secret admirer. I practically have to drag her out of the store before she manages to stop me and demands to know who?

  “Lucia Amelia, tell me who bought me this dress - right this second!” her foot hits the ground with a childlike stromp, which makes me grin and give in immediately.

  “Nathan.”

  “Nathan’s here?”

  “Nope - just his plastic. He gave me his card this morning and asked me to buy you your dress - so I did.”

  “Really? OMG. That’s so amazing of him and sooo romantic! Oh, Lu, Na bought me a dress!”

  “I know, I just bought it for him, well for you, you div.” I beam back at her, so pleased to have been part of the happiness that has her lit up like a Christmas tree. “You deserve it."

  “Eek. I’m so happy. Thanks for sorting this Lu.”

  “You’re welcome but now that you’re happy I need to come clean about something... So just remember those happy thoughts, OK?”

  “Lulu, what have you done?” Her smile wavers.

  “We…lll, you know how I converted the dress price to pounds and it came out as £275?”

  “Yy…es?” Her answer is more of a squeak. “Do I want to hear this?”

  “Well maybe add a zero!”

  “WTF! Lu - I’d never have bought it if I’d known it was so expensive!”

  “I know! Which was why I didn’t tell you. Na wanted me to spend on you and spend big and you adored that dress - it was made for you. Besides with the shares he now has in Silver Con he can afford it.”

  “Oh. My. God - I’ve never spent that much money on one item of clothing in my life! I feel like Cinderella or Demi Moore from Indecent Proposal or Julia Roberts….! No I’ll stick with Cinderella, less streetwalker… I should take it back though, shouldn’t I? Its way too much.”

  I snort at her waffling. “Take a breath, hun. Yes, it is way too expensive, no, you shouldn’t take it back and now you need to revel in the fact that your man cares enough about you to want to see you happy - it won’t be on you for long anyway knowing Nathan!” I silence her with my last comment, as she smiles secretly to herself, deep in her own thoughts. “Come on. We still need to go buy undies, masks, shoes and my dress - no time to go all dreamy again.”

  “Like you’ve got any room to talk, Mrs - your head is permanently in the clouds but yes come on, let’s shop for your dress first, then we’ll grab a bite to eat and do the rest.”

  “Sounds like a plan - where to?”

  “Go big or go home, baby.”

  “Where you thinking?”

  “Here!”

  She grabs my hand and pulls me to a stop, and then steps back, showcasing the beautiful store that beckons us, with a well-manicured hand. We’d walked up to and entered the exclusive Dubai mall and I’d not even seen where we were headed. God she was good; she’d manipulated the situation whilst allowing me to relish in my own skilful manoeuvring, lulling me into a false sense of smugness.

  “Ellie Saab!”

  “What?” My screech causes a passerby to look our way in shock and we giggle in unison at my dramatic reaction. “I can’t afford to go in there - would love to and adore his dresses but no way, José.”

  “Very well, I may as well come clean now or I’ll never get your arse in the shop - your fairy godmother or rather Finn’s extremely wealthy alpha Godfather, Seb, gave me his credit card last night and asked me to pay for your dress today and all the trimmings that go with turning you into Cinderella for the ball.”

  “Are you serious?”

  “As the Silver brothers’ next credit card statements.”

  I laugh openly at her quick comeback. Touché

  “I know - we have seriously doting men here, Lu and I’m not about to disappoint Silver brother No.1. We are spending and spending big. They obviously want us to look and feel amazing to represent the Silver brand at tonight’s Ball and who am I to say no to being pampered and spoiled in such an extravagant manner?”

  Her lovely face is animated and full of passion and I take a second to mull over her words, feeling my grip on control and feministic views slipping away - she was right. We are here to represent them and I want Sebastian to stop breathing when I walk in the room tonight and be proud to have me on his arm. I want him to know I’d gone the extra mile for him, the way he had indulged me and pampered me during our amazing trip in The Maldives. Besides, I really do have nothing with me that I could wear to a black and gold Masquerade Ball.

  “Come on.” I link arms with my best-friend and squeeze my shoulders upwards in excitement, as we turn to enter the Aladdin’s cave of jewelled gowns. “Ellie Saab it is - I feel sick just thinking about the money we’re about to spend but by God, we’re going have some fun. You only live once.”

  *****

  Half an hour later and I’m slipping into what could be the ninth, maybe tenth Ellie saab creation, each one more stunning than the first but none of them were the one and all of them were black.

  “I’m so sorry, Abs. I knew I’d be a pain - you’ve got such a perfect body for couture, tall, athletic small busted. I’ve got these and these…” My hands grab my voluptuous breasts in frustration and hips in annoyance.

  “You have an amazing body, Lu and Sebastian can’t get enough of it. Your waist is tin
y, we just haven’t found the right dress yet, but we will.”

  The pretty shop assistant assesses my form, in the mirror her lips pursed in thought. “I have several items in the back, that are from the new season; they’ve come directly from the new Spring Line for 2015, which has plenty of gold.”

  Abs interrupts. “Ooh yes, can we see?”

  “We…lll, I’d have to check but I’ll see what I can do.”

  She disappears and returns promptly with a rail showcasing a further five dresses, all in varying shades of gold and instinctively I head over to them, to tentatively view. “Wow, these are stunning.”

  Abby jumps up and joins me, pulling one of the dresses out and fingering the delicate filagree straps. “Can you do alterations by tonight?”

  The shop assistant who is patiently waiting whilst we ooh an ahh, hands behind her back, nods obediently. “Of course. The seamstress can pin the dress here and then we will deliver to your hotel before the ball tonight.”

  “Wonderful. Did you hear that, Lu?”

  Huh? “Sorry what?”

  “They’ll do alterations - so you can wear the dress you want and it’ll fit you.”

  “That would be amazing because I think I’ve found it.” I select the last dress on the rail and lift it carefully, before holding it up for Abs to inspect through its clear protective wrapper. “This one. This is The One,” I breathe reverently.

  The exquisite glittering gold fabric was barely there in all the right places, creating a sexy, yet elegant look and would caress my curves perfectly and the back plunged, just the way Seb liked them to.

  “Ah, Lu, its fabulous! Right, come on, get the thing on - I’m bloody starving!” Abby claps her hands together in glee.

  The next few minutes I’m fussed over with pins and tape measures, I can’t make any sense of the language the seamstress and shop assistant speak amongst themselves but its fast and businesslike. Eventually, I am advised that I can get dressed and the gold froth is taken to be practically re-made in time for tonight’s Ball.

  As I head out of the changing rooms I notice that Abby is chattering away on her iPhone, coyly playing with a lock of hair, she waves to me mid sentence and mouths “all sorted and paid.” Before nodding in the direction of the door. I say thanks to the Sales Assistant who, elegant as ever, is now returning the rail of ‘special dresses’ to the back room. I’ve got my dress for the night yay! Time to go get some do-me-shoes to really send Sebastian over the edge.

  After a lovely lunch of feta salad and sparkling water, we browse several shoe shops before both settling on Gina sandals, it was just too hot for stockings and shoes in Dubai. Next stop was lingerie and after a visit to Bloomingdales, we found a bra that worked with both our dresses, without showing any form of straps, before purchasing new lipstick, eyeshadows and make-up essentials.

  Swinging our bags we make a last stop to purchase our clutches and then head into our final destination, where we buy our masquerade masks, before grabbing a taxi back to the spa.

  “I can’t wait for this bit… I’ve been dreaming about the Ayurveda Treatments since we saw the brochures in the hotel foyer on arrival. My poor feet are in need of massage.”

  “Me too, I’m not sure about all the mind body and spirit gobbledegoop but I’m definitely up for some de-stressing.”

  “I booked us both in for the Super Detox Treatment Ultimate Ionithermie, its sounds like bliss and will blast my cellulite and make us feel all shrunken for our dresses.”

  “Is that the one with the clay wrap?”

  “I think so. I also booked some scalp massage, followed by a back massage and reflexology.”

  “Oh my word. I’ll want to go to sleep after all that.”

  “By the time we’re done we’ll have three hours to get ready, plenty of time for a quick Nana nap and an afternoon quickie if you fancy?” she winks saucily at me.

  “Not a chance. I’m banning Seb from the room. You can come get ready in mine if you want - that way the men can share yours? I want our reveal to be a big surprise.”

  “Sounds like a plan. Right, we are here. Time to go balance our well-being.”

  “I’ll just be happy to lie down for a bit - my well-being has been well-tended to for the past few days. I’m shattered.”

  We link arms and head inside, my excited nerves bubbling at the surface, threatening to explode and send me haywire - I can’t remember the last time I was so concerned about my appearance. Tonight I wanted to be everything for him; to him.

  *****

  The spa is an uber sophisticated delight. Firstly our mani-pedi’s are attended to, whilst we complete medical and general health questionnaires and we then both receive a sitting facial which promises to rejuvenate and plump.

  “As long as it makes me look 10years younger I’ll be happy.” Abs chatters away to the attractive therapist from Saudi, who doesn’t speak a word to us the whole hour.

  Then we are taken into separate rooms for our individual treatments. I undress ready and climb onto the bed, where the senior therapist, who’d seen us earlier, places a warm towel across my body. She then sets about, darkening the room and beginning my reflexology. Cocooned in my chrysalis, I begin to relax under her expert massaging, the soles of my feet practically crying out in pleasure, as she works through the crystals clustered in certain parts of my body. This was heaven.

  I almost jump out of my skin as the reflexologist speaks. “This is your hip…” she presses on the outside of my anklebone, before moving across to my inner anklebone. “…And this is your pelvis. You have pelvic issues yes?”

  WTF? How did she know that? “Hmmm - yes.”

  She goes quiet again and I feel her pressing just below my inner ankle bone area, nearer my sole, it feels a little more tender; actually that’s a bit sore.

  “No more reflexology for you today. You didn’t mention your pelvic issues.”

  I sit up resting on my elbows surprised at the sudden abruptness of her decision. All I can say is “Oh.”

  “You have puffy tissue around the inside of your ankle bone, near the sole. This means NO reflexology.”

  She’s very strange but also quite scary so I don’t argue with her and instead lie back, expecting to receive the detox cellulite bollocks that would make me look all slinky for tonight instead.

  “You get dressed now.”

  “Am I not having the Detox treatment either?” Maybe Abby only booked it for herself by accident?

  “NO.”

  “What about my back and scalp massage? I think my friend booked me those as well?”

  “You can’t have those - we use aromatherapy oils and they are not good for you with pelvic issues.”

  Great. I hop off the bed and begin to dress. Well at least I’d had my nails done and a facial - which had made my skin feel like a baby’s bottom - oh, and a partial foot rub.

  Abby would be ages. Crap!

  I head into the Reception area and find a lemon water waiting for me and some magazines. The therapist makes her way over to me and asks if I’m alright, and tells me to wait 30minutes before leaving, as the reflexology can make one feel nauseous. Double great.

  An hour later Abby arrives, all fresh and relaxed, swearing that she’s a full dress-size smaller and we head back to the hotel. I explain briefly what had happened but don’t go make a meal of it, in case it makes her feel bad. She’s very sympathetic, especially when I truly do begin to experience waves of nausea, like the therapist had suggested was a possible side-effect. Back at the hotel, we arrange to text once the men have left and meet in my room, to assist one another with our dresses.

  When I let myself into our room, I call out Sebastian’s name but he’s not there. They must still be entertaining the Sheik? I drop my bags, kick off my shoes and collapse on the bed, glad to close my eyes for while. A quick nap and I’d start getting ready for the Ball.

  *****

  I awake to a note from Seb, and a
Black leather jewellery box, nestled on my pillow. Stretching I sit up on the bed and cross legged, reach for both, then notice the dress carrier hanging from the large mirror - ooh my dress must have been delivered, I hope he didn’t nosey. I return my attentions to his note, which is handwritten and his hasty scrawl warms me; capital letters as per usual;

  I hold the letter to my mouth, wanting to cherish the words a moment longer. Seeing them there, handwritten in black and white was so defining. I bite my lip and squeal into the empty room. Then remember the box. It opens seamlessly and I sigh as the light catches the stunning Pave diamond drop earrings encased within. They were fit for a Princess and far too excessive. I take one slim pendulum jewel from its velvet cushioned base and hold it up at my ear in the mirror, turning my head this way and that to catch every angle. God they are stunning. Soft tones of white, yellow and rose gold mix together tastefully with diamonds to create a hammered effect that sparkled with each movement. They would look perfect with my dress and I wipe the tear that had formed at my eye at his thoughtfulness; it is nice to sit back and let him spoil me without considering equality for once - sometimes a girl just wanted to be pampered - no questions and without guilt and Sebastian Silver did that to perfection.

  He knows me so well - my taste. He gets it right every time. I love that he’d bought them for me, to wear tonight and I’d happily wear them and nothing else later to show my appreciation.

  *****