Secret Words(41)

"Ha-ha. No. I'm going to make you clothes."

Jasmine gaped at her friend. "You make clothes?"

"Well, I design them and I get someone else to sew them for me."

"You're a designer? You never told me!"

"I'm just a wannabe designer. I don't have the guts or the resources to make a living out of this. As it stands, I spend a lot of my salary making samples that are not going to make it to production. So you could say this is a very expensive hobby."

"Show them to me," Jasmine cried, letting her excitement for her friend cover up her pain.

Ari gave her a dazzling grin and opened a section of her wardrobe. She pulled out two gorgeous dresses and held them up for her. "What do you think?"

"Wow! They look amazing. You designed these for yourself?" Jasmine asked, feeling the soft material between her fingers.

"Yes. Do you want to try them on? You and I have the same dress size."

"Yes, please."

Jasmine took off her dress, not at all shy at being in her undies in front of her friend. She put on the first one and admired herself in the mirror as the material hugged her trim figure perfectly.

"Ooh, that looks good on you," Ari said.

"It does, doesn't it?" She twirled around in front of the mirror, checking out the garment from different angles. "How did you learn to make dresses like these?"

"I worked for different fashion houses for ten years and I've always been interested in designing, so I made sure I learned as much as I could," Ari replied.

"So how did you end up working for Eros?" she asked, wondering why her friend now worked for makers of intimate apparel.

"Six months ago, I developed this desire to design lingerie. I was already getting disillusioned at my old company so I left and joined Eros."

Jasmine nodded. "You really want make something out of this, don't you, Ari?"

"Yeah, I do. I don't know how yet."

"Well, I reckon you should continue looking for ways and develop your connections in the industry. You have real talent for this," she said sincerely.

Ari laughed. "No need to flatter me. I'm already making you that dress. Now try the other one and see if you like it, too."

"Let me pay for the cost of the materials, Ari. Please," she said as she changed dresses.

"Not for these first two. I still have excess materials for them. I'm just excited that someone else apart from me will be wearing my designs. Whoopeee!"

Ari danced around the room while Jasmine laughed and buttoned herself up. Ari's exuberance was successfully distracting her from the pain of her broken heart.

She turned to the mirror, a big grin spreading to her face. "I definitely love this one too! Are these the only designs you have?"

"No, I have three more. The others are more casual. These are cocktail party type dresses."

"Show me all of them. If I like the others, I'm paying for them."

"Okay, I'm so excited," Ari said as she pulled more clothes out of her wardrobe.

Jasmine tried Ari's casual designs and decided she also wanted them.

Ari stilled and looked at her gratefully. "Thank you."

"No, thank you for your wonderful creations. And thank you for being such a wonderful friend. I'm glad I met you."

"Me too, Jaz."

They hugged briefly and she changed back to her own clothes.

"Have you designed some lingerie already?" Jasmine asked.

"I've already sketched some. Wanna see?"

"Oh, yes!"

Ari pulled out a sketch pad from a drawer and they sat on her bed to inspect them.

"Oh my God. These are hot," Jasmine gushed.

"I know. They are, aren't they? I designed these after I broke up with that cheating ex-boyfriend of mine. I wanted to create something that would make me feel sexy and desirable after being dumped. I guess I should thank him for giving me the motivation."

Jasmine gazed at her friend in wonder. "Ari, that was deep. Thank you."

"Was it?" Ari asked with a chuckle.

"Yes. I've been struggling to finish my fourth book because of my breakup with Kane. But you know what? I should put all the emotions I've gone through into my books and then create the happily ever after that I want. I could use Kane as an inspiration to come up with new material instead of letting my pain halt my writing progress."

"Yes! Let me go get us glasses of wine and we can toast both our exes."

As she watched Ari bounce out of the room, Jasmine smiled a bittersweet smile. She wouldn't be surprised if the ache she felt in her chest became a permanent fixture in her life. She loved Kane. He was the only man she'd ever loved. And by some cruel set of circumstances, she lost him. But she could choose to focus on the love they had shared and celebrate that over and over again through her books.