Too Late for Regret (Annalise and Roger) novel Chapter 156

Laney’s POV

I hadn’t expected this, but I was amazed at the striking difference from how I looked before. Greg is so talented, and he made me look beautiful. I honestly can’t remember a time I looked this good before. I wanted to cry, but I knew it would ruin my makeup. I just couldn’t stop looking at myself in the mirror. I looked strong, smart, and capable. This was exactly what I wanted; I didn’t know how to explain it.. Ana was right, Greg was super talented.

“Since your bangs are so long, you’ll have to come in every three to four weeks for a trim, but they look gorgeous on you. They help to frame your face and bring out your gorgeous blue eyes. Here’s my card; it has my cell number on it. Call me when you need to set up an appointment. I’ll make it happen,” Greg told me.

My nails were painted a beautiful blush color, and my makeup looked natural. The only real difference was my now nude pink, and the eyeliner and mascara had played up my eyes. Ana was right -the cornflower blue was a perfect choice, as my eyes really popped now. The technicians seemed as happy for me as I was.

“Thank you for all your hard work. I have never felt this beautiful before, and it’s all thanks to you and Ana,”

I told them.

“You’re welcome, dear. You were already beautiful; we just brought it out more. Congratulations on your promotion,” the guy who did my makeup told me. I fanned my face to dry the tears in my eyes. He was right, I wanted my brothers to see me like this when I got home. I almost wished we could go out so I could show off my new look. The boost it gave me was surprising.

“You look gorgeous, now on to Fashion Forward. I was thinking four dresses, and two evening gowns to start? What do you think?” Ana asked as we headed to her store.

I’ve passed her store plenty of times, but never gone in. They are a one–stop shop now, with their new leisure line. Everything from gowns and dresses to jewelry, purses, and shoes was there. I hadn’t really looked into all the bags, but I noticed a few bra and panty sets in there. I was surprised that Ana had picked the right bra size for me -a 34C. I’m just glad Seth hadn’t noticed them. I’m sure he would have made comments.

Ana stopped at the glass storefront and motioned to the evening gowns in front of us. “Which kind of dress do you like?” she asked.

“I don’t want strapless. I think my shoulders are too big. I usually need to wear a bar, so I usually choose something with straps,” I replied.

“We will try them on, I think your proportions are good. Whoever told you that probably didn’t want you to outshine them. But we’ll go with what you’re most comfortable in,” she told me.

She was so focused when we entered the store. The salespeople rushed up to help her. Probably surprised that she had come back the same day. They were excited to help us and quickly took me to the regular dresses first. Ana went directly to one of the walls and brought back a stunning lilac dress. I already loved it. She told the salesperson to put it on the rack outside the dressing room.

They made short work of picking out dresses for me. They took turns showing them to me to approve or veto. I’ve never experienced anything like this before, and doubt I will again, so I was just as excited as they were. Ana would give me tips on what would look best on me. Soon, I headed to the dressing room to try on the first six dresses chosen. Ana headed off to pick out some evening gowns for me. I tried on the lilac dress first, as I loved it. One of the assistants zipped me up, and that’s when I saw the problem.

It looked good, but I felt exposed. The neckline wasn’t low, but the cinched waist made my chest even more prominent. It was a nice dress, but maybe a little too much for the office. I hated that, as I loved everything about it, but I needed to be frugal. Even though they were paying for it now, I would eventually pay for it. I stepped out, as I knew Ana wanted to see it on, and she was already back, sitting in one of the chairs just outside the dressing room hallway.

I stepped in front of the three–way mirror before turning back to her and saying, “I love it, but I think that it’s a little too much for the office.”

“I agree, it looks great on you. But that’s definitely a date night dress. I think you should keep it. You never know when you’ll need it,” Ana told me.

“I haven’t been on a date since before Mom passed away, Ana. I think I’ve got some time before that happens. So far, no one’s pounding down my door to ask me out,” I replied sarcastically, but even I heard my wistful undertone.

“I doubt that’s going to continue, Laney. Your brothers are adults now. It won’t hurt for you to go out and have some fun. They love you, and they know you put your life on hold for them. They’ll want you to go out and enjoy yourself. You went over and above in order to take care of them and keep your family together. If anyone deserves that dress, it’s you. If for nothing other than the fact it’s your favorite color,” Ana stated.

“How did you know that?” I asked, my tone a little sharp. I never told her that; only my brothers and mom knew that it was my favorite color.

“You have several items in your office that are lilac. Frames holding pictures of you and your family. It was just a guess, Ana replied,

“It is. I’m sorry, Ana, I didn’t mean to be rude. You just caught me off guard. You’re very observant,” I replied.

I was surprised she noticed that. There were only five pictures in my office. One of me at my college graduation, with my mom and my brothers. One with just my mother. The other two are my brothers and I at each of their high school graduations. The fifth one was Micah at his college graduation with me and Andrew. Next year we will have Andrew at his graduation. All milestone moments, and I’m so proud of them both.

“Please, don’t be upset, Laney. I wasn’t trying to be nosey. I just happened to notice your pictures in your office. I also saw a few little knick–knacks, so I assumed,” Ana responded.

“No, it’s fine. The frames are right there in full view. I was just surprised you noticed such a small detail,” I answered.

I felt terrible for making her feel that way. She has done nothing but try to help me out, and I’m embarrassed at my reaction to her knowing such a small detail.

“Let’s get back to trying on the clothes. I want to see you in the black–and–tan dress next. I think it’s perfect for work,” Ana said with a smile.

I went to change and tried on the dress she suggested. She’s right, it was perfect. The top part of the dress was black, and the bottom was tan. There was a belt with it, with the colors reversed; it emphasized my waist, but the black top minimized my chest. It looked great on me. I looked elegant and classy, and I loved it. Ana squealed as soon as I stepped out of the dressing room.

I tried on four more dresses, but I only liked two of them. Ana took the pile of them to go put back, and took the three I loved to the register. She had three evening gowns for me to try on. I gravitated to two of them. The first dress was violet; the second was a black dress with a sweetheart neckline and small sleeves in sheer material; and the third was an ombre red. I tried on the violet one first. I loved how it made my skin seem to glow. It came down from one shoulder and across my body, like I was a Goddess.

Flowing down my body with the chiffon, kicking out with each step. I loved it.

The second dress was a bold red, high–necked halter that fastened with a hook–and–eye at the back of my neck. It slid on easily and didn’t have a zipper, so I could put it on and take it off myself, but it had a very low back. Like non–existent. There would be no bra worn this this option as the open back went down to my waist, but it looked great on me. It was fitted all the way to the floor, with a slit on the left leg to prevent limiting motion. It was another excellent choice, except that the entire back was gone. I think this is more of a date dress than something to wear to represent the company. But it was a gorgeous dress. I was looking at it in the mirror and never noticed eth. Not until he spoke.

“You look stunning,” Seth’s voice came from the seated area. Where was Ana?

I whirled around to look at him, and he was staring at my face like he couldn’t believe it was me. “What are you doing here?” I snapped out.

“I’m funding this trip. Ana already bought you several outfits earlier today,” he replied as if that was supposed to be obvious.

“No, Ana said she would do this. I would rather owe her than you, actually,” I replied.

I hurried back into the changing room, with my heart racing. Why is he noticing me now? He never did before, and it was quite the slap in the face that I wasn’t good enough before, but suddenly I’m worth noticing now. I hope he doesn’t think that I’m going to fall all over myself because he’s showing me a little attention. That’s not going to happen. I undid the hook and eye, and the dress pooled at my feet. I hung it back up and grabbed the black dress.

The sweetheart neckline showed off just enough to emphasis my figure, without showing too much. I liked the sheer cuffs resting just below my shoulders. I felt like a princess in this dress. The skirt was a little bigger than the other two, but I loved it. Ana was right, this strapless dress looked great on me. I just needed someone to zip me up. I was not walking out of this dressing room, where a single misstep could expose me in front of Seth.

“Can you zip me up?” I called out for the assistant who had helped me with the other dresses. The door opened, and I held the front of the dress against my chest, and looked down, so my hair didn’t get caught in the zipper.

As the zipper went up, I froze in place. I could smell Seth’s cologne, and the hairs on my arms rose in panic. What is he doing in here with me? The moment I was zipped up, I turned around and gave him a look that should have frozen him in place. But it didn’t; he just started laughing as if my anger amused him.