Harlequin Heartwarming December 2019 Box Set by Cynthia Thomason

Author:Cynthia Thomason
Language: eng
Format: epub
Publisher: Harlequin
Published: 2019-02-15T00:00:00+00:00

CHAPTER THREE

“I’M ALL BOOKED UP, Mr. Taylor, until next fall. Best of luck to you.” The dial tone ended Theo’s conversation.

His prior conversations had circled around variations of the same theme.

Oh, this is for Adriana? I just noticed there’s a conflict on the schedule.

Even for that price, Mr. Taylor, I cannot find more hours in the work week. And I would need infinite hours to meet Adriana’s exacting standards.

I fear Adriana and I would clash, Mr. Taylor. Our aesthetics do not align, as it were. That can be very unpleasant.

Each phone call had been a dead end. Each one an unavailable wedding-dress designer. That totaled nine well-established designers unavailable or unwilling to work with Adriana. Theo was two hours into his workday and already things were descending into the discouraging and disappointing column.

If the designers on both coasts knew about Adriana’s reputation as difficult and micromanaging, then the TV producers likely knew, too.

A city bus shuddered to a stop on the street corner behind Theo. The gasping squeal of the brakes ratcheted his headache to another level. Theo’s phone rang. “Fran, tell me you found someone.”

Fran’s bluntness cut through the speaker. “No available dress designers.”

He rubbed his forehead. “What about my mother?”

“She’s refusing to let me return the exclusive Linden Topher wedding gown. She’s intent on getting married, Theo.” Fran’s tone was resolute.

Theo switched his phone to his other ear and pulled a business card from his pocket. He checked the address printed on the card and continued down the sidewalk. Frustration quickened his strides. “Tell me something good, at least, Fran. What did you find out about Josie Beck?”

“Josie is the sole owner of The Rose Petal Boutique.” Fran paused. The sound of her rapid typing drifted in the background. “It’s a unique consignment wedding-dress shop for every bride.”

Good news would’ve been Josie Beck had earned a bachelor’s degree in fashion design or apprenticed in top fashion houses in Europe. Theo clenched his phone and stared at the vintage exterior of The Rose Petal Boutique drooping in front of him.

He was anything but charmed.

The boutique reminded him of a neglected stepchild. The run-down building was smashed between two vibrant, profitable older sisters, their buildings renovated and restored. The boutique signage was simple and faded. The paint around the wood molding on the front windows was cracked, chipped and dingy.

If he was interested in an instant makeover, he’d paint the exterior lavender to help the small building blossom like a vibrant, rare rosebush on the block.

But his sister needed a wedding gown.

And Theo needed to know an unknown designer was worth his trust.

Theo tugged on the door handle. The warped front door never budged. Perhaps that was all the proof he required about Josie Beck. Certainly, if the boutique owner wanted more customers, even sidewalk window-shoppers, she would have repaired her door. Wedged as it was in the door frame, the welcome sign in the window should’ve read Go Away.

Theo yanked harder and forced the door open. A set

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