Eliza glanced up to find Carter observing her. He smiled and offered his arm so the two of them could help at the cake table.
As Eliza slid her hand along his arm, an electric current fluttered in her chest and raised gooseflesh on her skin. Her already warm body heated with his simple touch and tightened in all the right places.
Chapter Five
“I need your help.” Eliza stood in Samantha and Blake’s living room pleading with Gwen.
“You need my help?” Gwen sat taller and lifted a manicured eyebrow high. She appeared just as surprised to hear Eliza’s request as she was in giving it.
“Shocking, I know. But you have experience with this kind of thing and I’m clueless.” Eliza didn’t like asking for advice, but she didn’t have a choice.
“What experience?”
Eliza lifted her hand to her mouth and nibbled on a fingernail. “Carter asked me to join him at a press conference tomorrow. I don’t know what to wear—don’t know what to say. I don’t want to come off as some hick. Lord knows those pictures of us in the parking lot were less than flattering.”
“I thought they were splendid,” Gwen said.
“For a jeans and beer ad maybe. This is a big deal for Carter. I should look…I don’t know, dignified. I’m good at evening gowns. I can do casual. But a press conference? Not a clue.”
Gwen placed a hand on her chest. “I’m proud you came to me.”
Oh, good. “So you can help?”
“If there is one thing my mother taught me, it was how to handle the media.” Gwen stood and stuck out her hand. “Come. Let’s start with the perfect clothes.”
Thirty minutes later, they were standing in a designer dress store Gwen had obviously scoped out on one of her visits. The owner greeted them the moment they crossed the threshold.
Someone pressed a glass of wine in Eliza’s hand while Gwen explained to Nadine, the owner, what they were looking for.
Drinking the wine kept Eliza from biting her nails.
She half listened while the other women walked around the room. Gwen removed a couple of skirt and blouse combinations from the rack. “I think dark colors will bring out her complexion and photograph well.”
“Right. But not black. You’re not attending a funeral,” Nadine announced.
Eliza laughed, not able to shake the feeling that standing in front of a bunch of cameras might actually feel like a funeral. She’d spent most of her adult life hiding from cameras. Now she was going to be center stage.
“What about a hat?” Gwen asked. “I realize it’s English of me, but a hat adds mystery and can hide some of your nerves.”
Eliza snapped her attention to Gwen. “I like that idea.”
Nadine left the clothes she had in her arms on a sofa. She then stepped to the back of the store and returned with a few hatboxes, removing each hat carefully. “We want mystery, not a statement. Nothing small or with feathers.”
“But I like feathers,” Gwen announced.
“Well, maybe a small one on the brim,” Nadine agreed.
One at a time, the hats met with Eliza’s head, briefly. Other than a baseball cap to hide her hair on bad hair days, Eliza didn’t wear hats. The large brims felt awkward. After seeing her reflection, she couldn’t help but admire how they transformed her face.
“I like the second one,” Gwen said.
The brim covered Eliza’s face enough to where she could dip her head maybe an inch and hide her identity. “I like it, too.”
“Super. Now, on to the dress. Clean cut, nothing too low. It will be warm so short sleeves on the jacket and it needs to be silk. You’ll feel confident, despite your heart pounding in your chest. Never let them see your nerves,” Gwen said.
As she spoke, Nadine removed different dresses and placed them behind a screen.
There was some debate of color, but they decided on a deep navy matching the hat. The shoes were practical two-inch heels, and if Eliza were honest, more comfortable than her six-month-old running shoes. Amazing what a pricy shop could provide.
Thinking about the price of the ensemble shocked her back into reality. Although Lady Gwen and Samantha could tap into a duke’s wealth, Eliza could not.
As they bagged the dress and the hat made its way into a large round box, Nadine handed Eliza the bill.
She drew in a quick breath. Three grand was a hard pill.
“You take credit cards?”
“Of course.”
“Let me,” Gwen offered.
“When I asked for your help, I didn’t mean financially.” Eliza removed plastic from her purse and pushed it toward Nadine.
“I’ll be living with you by next week. I owe you something for that.”
Although Eliza couldn’t afford the dress, she wasn’t about to let the other woman pay for it. “When you move in we’ll arrange something.”
Gwen must have seen the determination in Eliza’s eyes and dropped the debate.
****
The doorbell rang to the Tarzana house Eliza had shared with Sam before her marriage. Carter was five minutes early.
“Coming,” she yelled down the stairs, not sure he could hear her. She slid on her heels and checked her appearance one last time. She wasn’t sure where Eliza Havens had gone. The woman in her reflection was a stranger. A mysterious, and yeah, slightly beautiful, stranger. “You can do this,” she said to herself, desperate to calm her nerves. The entire ruse would crumble if she started biting her nails and fidgeting.
Gwen’s pointers had gone long into the night.
“Stand still. Shoulders back, chin high. Not too high. Now tilt your head to the side and let your lips lift a fraction. Not a smile, not a smirk. Perfect.”
The tips went on and on.
Gwen had done the impossible. Turned Eliza into a sophisticated lady over night. Maybe not impossible.
The bell rang again, and Eliza blew out a deep breath. “Here we go.”
She straightened her skirt one last time before opening the door to greet Carter.
It wasn’t Carter.
“Ms. Havens?” The short man wore a three-piece suit and a smile. In her driveway was a town car and a driver standing at the passenger door.
“I am.”
The man removed his glasses and did a quick scan of her body. Nothing sleazy, just a short appraisal. His lips spread into a large grin like a man with a secret. “I’m Jay Lieberman, Carter’s campaign manager. Sorry for the inconvenience, but he has to meet you at the hotel.”