Designing Abigail Kilton's Dress - #1 The Wedding Dress

Chapter 6 - Dreams Be Only For The Bold

Kayleigh dropped her Louis Vuitton bag by the door of her apartment and slumped into the nearest chair. She set her forehead on the table and tried to inhale as much oxygen as possible, willing it to go to her brain.

It was sort of working. At least she wasn't hyperventilating. Not yet. And her core vision was still focused. Her peripheral? 

Not so much. 

She closed her eyes and inhaled again.

"Okay. Okay. Okay, okay," she said to herself. "It's not that bad, Kayleigh. You've been through worse. You can do this."

Then, the doorbell rang.

She wondered whether or not to open it. She hadn't been in London long enough for anyone to know her address. But whoever was at the door was persistent and the sound of the bell was agitating her even more. So, she stood up and opened the door just a sliver.

"What the hell are you doing here?" she exclaimed without opening the door further.

"Always a pleasure to see you too, Kay Kay," a scowling Marcus replied. "May I come in?"

She took in his haggard appearance. He was still in yesterday's clothing and his hair was slightly undone from his man bun. It was nothing short of unfair, Kayleigh thought, that he still looked too bloody good.

"You could have taken a shower before leaving this morning, you know?"

Her quip only darkened his features. 

"I would have, but my host seemed in a rush to get rid of me. Are you going to leave me out here?"

"You shouldn't even be here," Kayleigh replied. But she opened the door for him nonetheless.

He walked in and looked around her apartment, eyes lingering on the unmade bed, just visible through the open bedroom door.

"Relax," he murmured. "I just wanted to check in and I don't have your number, so I couldn't call. This was the only way I could make sure you're okay."

Kayleigh couldn't help rolling her eyes at his words. "You don't need my number. You've done pretty well without it for the past six years."

"Kay Kay..."

But it was like his calm was directly proportionate to her anger.

"This was supposed to be my opportunity to get some exposure and experience in the fashion industry, Marcus! And instead, I am designing your girlfriend's wedding gown! For your wedding! The wedding I found out about right after I slept with you!"

"Well, if that's not an opportunity-"

"This isn't funny, Marcus. Do you know how much pressure this is? Even without... you know!" Kay waved her hands between them before running them down her face. "How did this even happen? I can't handle this."

The fear and concern surfaced through her anger. Marcus clenched his fists at his side, unsure what to do with his hands. He watched her pace around the tiny living room for a few minutes.

Then, in a gentle voice that stirred too many emotions for Kayleigh's mental sanity, he said, "First of all, you can handle this. You have a whole department at your disposal, and from what I hear, Greta Borg is an amazing manager." He sat down on the chair she'd been occupying before he arrived and pulled another out so that she would follow suit. To his surprise, she did. "Secondly, I have never seen Abi so excited about anything before. So, I take it she really liked your design. You got to see the worst of her today, but it's all wedding stress. She's a nice person once you get to know her."