Alpha's Substitute Bride

#Chapter 3: Shopping for the Perfect Dress

I look at Ethan, eyes wide and unblinking.

“Do you accept?” He repeated.

I barely have to think about it. I grab the pen from his hand and sign my name in big, loopy cursive at the bottom of the last page.

Relief rushed through my body.

Ethan is better than I could have ever dreamed up. He understands that we were both thrusted into this situation with no choice. With the divorce, he’s giving me a choice.

I take a moment to consider him, I think I could really be happy with him for the next year.

“Are you enjoying your dessert?” He smiled and grabbed the contract back from me, putting it away.

“It’s amazing, want to try?” I grab my fork and offer it to him. He looked at the fork and raised an eyebrow. “Come on, you’ll like it.”

A spark of mischief glints in his eyes.

“Alright,” He conceded and opened his mouth.

I blink, not sure what he expects me to do. He grabbed my wrist and led my hand to his mouth to feed him. My entire body erupts in a fiery blush. I can feel it in my ears and my chest, and I know I must be pink from head to toe.

He lets go of my hand and I draw it back quickly. He chewed the sweet treat tentatively before frowning.

“It’s okay,” he shrugged, “There used to be this one powdered pastry that they sold here. Guess the chef left, they don’t make it anymore. It was really good.”

I had to bite back a smile. Those were my specialty pastries. I made at least four dozen every morning and they’d still be sold out by ten. Maybe I could make them for him one day.

“More for me then,” I teased and grabbed a big forkful, shoving it into my mouth.

Ethan’s face relaxed and he smiled at me again. He took the napkin that was resting on his lap and dipped the corner of it into his glass of water.

“You’ve got a little-” He gestured to the side of my mouth. “May I?”

He held the napkin a few centimeters from my face. Struck like a doe in headlights, I simply nod.

He smirked at me and gently brought the cloth to my skin. I could smell the cologne on his wrist. The scent made my stomach flutter - earthy and warm like firewood and coffee. My face is once again lit up in a blaze.

Ethan doesn’t acknowledge it. He just smiled and put the napkin down.

“Are you ready to go shopping?” He asked.

I nod once again, speechless.

“Good.” He got up, abandoning our table, and held out his hand for me to take. “Let’s make you a bride.”

When we got to the boutique, I was struck by the bountiful shelves of lace-trimmed gowns and beaded skirts that lined the walls.

Ethan leaned down to whisper in my ear. “Go look. I’ll wait here.” He urged me forward.

I’m practically floating through the aisles of wedding dresses as I was looking. Each gown I picked up was more extravagant than the last.

It took me a while, but after searching around I found a particularly beautiful beaded gown. I signaled for the clerk in order to get a dressing room, but caught a glimpse of the price tag and choked on the air in my throat.

Ten thousand dollars?

I hurriedly shoved the gown back onto the rack before the clerk made it over to me.

“May I help you, Miss?” She asked in a pleasant tone.

“Yes, actually.” I tried to compose myself. “Can you show me your least expensive wedding dress?”

Her polite smile fell immediately at the request. She pursed her lips and c****d her head to the side. “Why of course, follow me.”

She turned swiftly and started walking away from me to get to the complete opposite side of the store. She moved fast, I was breaking a sweat just to keep up with her.

“Here.” She pulled a high-necked, lace gown from the rack. It wasn’t as ornate as the others I saw, and the fabric wasn’t nearly as soft, but I had no room to complain. Not if it’s what Ethan could afford on his salary.

“Thank you!” I smiled gratefully, and had her show me to the dressing room. I gave a quick shout to Ethan to let him know where I was, then I went in.

I slipped my casual clothes off and stepped into the dress. It scratched at my skin as I pulled it up. The petticoat was made out of some plastic tulle material, and the lace felt like it might as well have been made of shredded dish rags.

It was awful.

I put my arms through the sleeves and buttoned the collar at the base of my neck. I reached behind me to pull up the zipper, but it only rose an inch before getting stuck.

I popped my head out the door to the fitting room, and spotted the clerk organizing dresses just a few feet away.

“Excuse me,” I called to grab her attention. “The zipper’s stuck. Can you help me?”

She didn’t even acknowledge me. She rolled her eyes and walked away.

“Great.” I mumbled to myself. I stepped back into the little room. I fumbled around with the zipper when the door to the changing room opened.

“Is everything okay?” Ethan’s voice surprised me.

I jumped at the intrusion and turned my exposed back to the wall so we wouldn’t see.

“Ethan!” I yelped. “No, I’ve got it.”

Ethan looked me up and down. His gray eyes scanned every inch of me and I squirmed a little under the scrutinization. My hair was mussed, and the effort of lifting the heavy skirts to fix the zipper made my face shiny with sweat. I definitely did not look like I had it.

He gave me a look. One that said, I don’t believe you, and took a step into the small space of the changing room. He closed the door behind him.

“Turn around.” He ordered with a chuckle.

I hesitated. He placed his hands on my shoulders and gently turned me around himself. I let him.

“You know,” He started pulling up the zipper. His knuckles grazed along the length of my spine the entire way up. I shivered involuntarily at the feeling. “You’re going to have to get used to this when we’re married.”

He turned me back around. I gasped inwardly as he got to his knees in front of me and started toying with the skirt of the gown so that it was fluffed properly. He got them just how he wanted them, and placed his hands on my hips to hoist himself up.

I bit the inside of my cheek and looked down, too embarrassed to make eye contact with him once he was standing at his full height.

“How do you feel?” He whispered, still standing so close to me. Goosebumps danced across my arms.

Once it was zipped up, the dress felt so much worse. It was too tight in the bust and the ribs, and the skirts were too heavy to move. I hated it.

“It’s perfect!” I grinned.

“You don’t look comfortable.” He looked me up and down. “It doesn’t suit you. We can pick another.”

He opened the door and left to beckon for the clerk once again. I followed him out and grabbed his hand.

“Wait,” I whispered so we wouldn’t draw attention. “Please, we can go somewhere else to shop. These dresses are too expensive.”

Ethan looks at me quizzically. The clerk came over, barely stifling a laugh at the sight of me.

“You two should go to the discount store down the street.” She turned to acknowledge me, “You’re a little too cheap to shop here. You aren’t worth the silk and satin. Sorry.”

I stared at her, not sure how to defend myself. I didn’t have to, though. Ethan stepped in,  his face thunderous.

“Get your manager.” He grit out through bared teeth. The store clerk’s high attitude diminished immediately and she went to fetch an older woman.

“Find me the most expensive dress in the store,” He demanded. When the store manager tried to politely soothe his temper, he pulled out a sleek black credit card. “Now.”