Cinderella's Enchanted Night by Amber Daulton

Author:Amber Daulton
Language: eng
Format: epub
Tags: romance series, fairy tale romance, romance anthology
Publisher: Books to Go Now
Published: 2017-03-27T00:00:00+00:00

Chapter Three

“NO. NO!” ANNALISE OPENED over ten white garment boxes and stared down at her mother’s presents. She owned nothing suitable for a night at the Krinard House except for the couture fashions her mother gave her. Sybil married a French fashion designer about seven years ago and, while she liked Monsieur Albert Baudouin, Annalise didn’t understand why an upscale man like Albert fell in love with her mother and whisked her off to his chateau in France. Though to be fair, her mother no longer drank by the time they met and she acted like a respectable, intelligent woman. Annalise, however, couldn’t let go of her bad childhood and she refused to try to have an adult relationship with Sybil, whom she never aloud called Mom anymore.

She stared at the boxes scattered around her bedroom. “This sucks.” She grabbed the nearest box, pulled back the tissue paper and scowled at the high neck black and white gown. “Ugh. This thing has feathers.” She poked at the bodice and realized dyed-black ostrich feathers covered the neckline. Annalise grabbed another box, then another, and she cursed her mom for sending her dresses an average woman in Portland, Oregon could never wear. And, knowing her skinny-as-a-rail mother, Sybil likely sent her dresses a few sizes too small.

“This works.” Annalise lifted a taffeta and silk gold gown out of a box. Gold and brown sequins and beadwork adorned the netted, off-the-shoulder neckline, the heart-shaped bodice hem and right below the breasts with poufy silk in the middle. Wide strips of gold silk wrapped around the stomach area with decorative beadwork in between the two layers. Different shades of gold shimmered in the flouncy skirts with the light. She hoped it fit. If not, she’d likely have to wear clubwear or something with feathers.

She stripped out of her bathrobe—she’d already showered and curled her hair—and dressed in the overpriced pair of bra and panties she’d bought from a lingerie store on her way home. With any luck, Elijah would peel it off of her tonight. She shimmied into the gown and, though it fit perfectly, it took her a moment to zip it up her back.

Then she dug a pair of silver heels out of her closet and held them up to the sequins on the bodice. In the right light, the shoes matched the dress but she always thought gold and silver matched anyway. “Talk about a knockout.” Annalise sashayed her hips in front of her floor-length mirror. The heels accentuated her long legs, the bodice and bra pushed up her breasts and she didn’t bother with a necklace since the scoop-neck, decorative neckline of the gown drew enough attention.

“Hmmm? What about...” She rummaged through another couture box and pulled out a silver silk shawl that matched a too-short dress she’d considered wearing. She didn’t want to embarrass herself or Elijah, however, or give him the wrong idea of what kind of girl she was.

Or what some people thought she used to be.

No negative thoughts, she told herself.

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