Once Emma had changed out of her main gown, the two women stopped for a spot of lunch and to catch up. Victoria had also spent time in France recently, for Fashion Week, but had unfortunately missed Emma and Ailene while they were there. Emma made a promise to her friend, to bring her mother-in-law along to London Fashion Week later that year, where Victoria would have a show of her own.
When the two of them had finished eating, and washed up, Victoria made her way over to the second garment bag that was hanging up, waiting for Emma.
While she was unzipping the bag, to pull out the now complete gown inside, Emma slipped out of her robe. She turned back round just in time to see Victoria pooling the dress on the floor, ready for her to step into.
Emma took her friend's hand, and then helped her ease the dress up her body. While there was much less fabric to the second gown Victoria had designed, it was a little harder for Emma to get into, given how tight fitting the design was. She held the dress in place, with a firm hand over her bust, as Victoria began pulling it tighter, lacing up the back of the gown before she tied it off, into a beautiful bow.
It took everything Emma had not to look down at herself, to see how the lace that had been added to the gown enhanced the look. She wanted the surprise of seeing in it in full, not distorted, from above.
"Mirrors?" Victoria asked. Emma nodded her head to show her agreement, as she made her way over to the corner of the room once more.
When she was finally in place, she lifted her eyes to take in her own reflection.
"Oh, wow," she gasped, twisting slightly to look at the silhouette of the gown from every angle.
"What do you think?" Victoria asked nervously. "Too modern?"
"Probably," Emma agreed, "But I don't give a damn. I love it."
Like she'd promised, Victoria had added a layer of the same embroidered lace to the gown, as she had on Emma's shoes, veil and first dress. This time, however, the lace slightly overlapped the satin, enhancing the dramatic shape of the gown they'd opted for. She'd also gone ahead and added in the embellishments around the top, and under Emma's bust, which matched those on Regina and Belle's dresses.
The entire gown was very simple in its design, but it was strikingly beautiful.
"Killian's going to love this," Emma sighed, as she twisted to look at the corset back of the dress. She'd knew he'd have fun unlacing that on their wedding night.
"Glad to hear it," Victoria chuckled. "Does it feel comfortable?" she asked. "Can you move okay in it? Can you sit?"
Emma made a quick circuit of the room, making sure she could move, and sit in the gown, before nodding her approval. While the dress was rather restrictive in its design, it wasn't anything Emma hadn't experienced before.
"Excellent," Victoria sighed with relief. "I modified the design slightly to give you a little more room to move in it, but I was worried it might still be a touch too restrictive."
"I won't be running a marathon in it," Emma chuckled, "but I'm pretty sure that I'll be able to dance at my reception, while wearing it."
"So? How did it go?" Emma called out, as Rogan went scurrying down the hall to greet Liam.
Liam waited until he was in the lounge, and had thrown himself down beside her, before he huffed out a reply. "Fuck if I know. They're all so serious and stoic. I can't get a read on them."
"I don't think you're supposed to," Emma reassured him, leaning over to gently pat his leg. "Want me to make some calls and see if I can find out for you?"
"Nah. They said I'd hear within fourteen days. It's not that long to sweat it out for."
"Let me know if you change your mind." She rose from the sofa elegantly before turning back to face him. "What do you fancy for dinner?" she asked.
"Ugh. I have no idea."
Emma knew Liam still had his fitness tests to come that week, so she made a suggestion she wouldn't normally consider. "You know, we have a wonderful team of chefs down in the kitchens. I could ask them to make something tasty but good for us both?"
"You wouldn't mind?" he double-checked. Liam may not have known Emma as well as his brother did, but he did know that she rarely relied upon the paid help to do anything for her. Emma was a strong, confident, and independent woman. Bucking traditions and expectations in such a way was something she prided herself on.
"Of course not," she scoffed. "You know I have been known to call down to them on occasion myself?"
Liam suspected those were incredibly rare occasions but he didn't voice his opinion. Instead, he hauled himself to his feet, to follow Emma into her kitchen.
"That sounds brilliant. Thanks, Ems."
Thanks for reading.
