Page 77 of Shape Of My Heart
He ran his hands across her back. “Anytime,Amy.”
“This means a lot to me, Josh.” She lifted her head so she could see himagain.
“I know, now go win their hearts. I’ve already booked your celebration dinner.” Hesmiled.
“Josh, that’s like jinxing it.” Shelaughed.
“It’s not. Also we haven’t exactly been on adateyet.”
She thought a moment and it occurred to her that theyhadn’t.
“A date, with Joshua Mancini. Wow, now I’m nervous.” She fanned herself as helaughed.
“Hey, I’m the lucky one here.” He leaned forward and kissed her lightly. Josh always placed her on this pedestal, as if she was this perfect being, but he didn’tneedto.
“Me too,” she told him, whispering againsthislips,
“You’re doing something crazy to me,AmyRose.”
She knew what he meant; she felt like that too. “I know thefeeling.”
* * *
The grand hallof the Pegasus Hotel was filled with all sorts of officials. Amy had forgotten what the fashion world could be like. Filled with extravagance, glamour, and beauty. Bursting with talent andcreativity.
There were fifty applicants competing for one of the new designer positions. Fifty. At application stage she knew there were a few thousand who had applied. They’d whittled it right down to a mere fifty. Soon that wouldbefive.
It was a rigorous process, anxiety-filled and nerve wracking. It could make her mad if she thought about it because there was some realcompetitionhere.
For the first hour each applicant had to display their design across the runway, pausing at each point of interest for the camera. Not everyone had chosen dresses or even evening wear, but there was a good number of people who had. She chose it because she felt it could display her talent the most and allowed her to be creative with something that would matter. Celebrities wore Dior evening wear all the time. She wanted to show that she could deliver the standard expectations, and meet all the requirements and qualities a celeb would go for in choosing adress.
The next part of the showcase involved talking about the design and the inspiration behind it. For that she spoke with herheart.
The dress that got destroyed was designed to represent what she thought they would like. It was in keeping with what she’d seen before. This one did the same but it was different. It was inspired by how she feltaboutJosh.
This dress was priceless, and for that she spoke about hope and courage, of coming back strong from something that could break you down, and of taking chances to see where they could lead. That was what she’d seen in Josh, and that was what inspired her. Her heart spoke and she hoped it wasenough.
The evening was intense, but not as intense as the final stage of the night when she had to stand with the host of other talented designers and wait for her name to be called out if she wasselected.
While she waited, she thought of her life and how hard it had been. She’d always had to fight. She had to accept that if she wanted something, she had to take that leap of faith and fight for it. She’d been through so much to get to thisstage.
“AmyRose.”
She’d heard her name but couldn’t remember why it was beingcalled.
The presenter called her name again and her heart leapt into her throat as realization filledhersoul.
She looked past the girl next to her, who’d designed a nineteen-twenties-style Gatsby dress, and over to the presenter who was beaming at her. Amy shook as he put his hand out and beckoned her to move across and stand with the other two designers who had beenselected.
Had she seriously just beenselected?
“Come on, Amy.” His smile widened, showing off perfect white teeth that dazzled under the bright lights. The crowd in the audience started cheering and she realized that people liked her. They liked her and she’d just been chosen. Her hands flew up to her mouth as she squealed with delight. “Come and take your spot,sweetheart.”
She moved, gliding across the runway, trying her best not to trip over her ownexcitement.
To her absolute amazement people started to stand and cheer. She never expected that. She could hardly believe this was happening. She’d dreamt of it several times over and believed in her talent, but this wasn’t a dream anymore. Itwasreal.
She couldn’t wait to see Josh and tell himthenews.
