A Perfect Fit

14

Isabelle

"Bella, we're here."

My eyes flutter open and I slowly take in my surroundings, noting that I'm in some kind of car with fancy leather seats. It appears that I'd fallen asleep on Jackson's shoulder earlier.

Speaking of sleep, I have just woken up from the strangest yet most vivid dream ever—I dreamt that I was at a gas station with Jackson and we ran into Ivy. I even introduced Jackson as my boyfriend to her. For some reason, the dream almost felt like reality.

I rub my temples and let out a groan. "Where are we?"

"We're outside your apartment," Jackson gently replies.

"I miss my bed," I murmur.

He tucks a stray of strand hair behind my ear. "We'll be inside soon. Let me get the car door for you."

With that, he steps out of the car and holds open the car door for me as I get out after him and mutter a thank you to him and his driver. His suit jacket is around my shoulders but it's cozy, smells nice, and a large part of me doesn't want to give it back. Instead, I remove it from my shoulders and snuggle it protectively against my chest, as though I'm guarding it.

A teasing expression dances across his face. "Would you like me to hold that for you?"

"No, don't steal it from me," I snap, holding his jacket closer to my body.

He lets out a light chuckle. "As I said, it's yours to keep, baby."

"Good," I say. He doesn't say anything in reply but circles a hand around my waist as we make the trek toward the elevator and then my apartment.

Once we're inside, I'm instantly reminded of the mess that's on the floor. My lounge room serves as my home studio for my business, with my work table, a mannequin, and a shelf that holds my fabric, sewing threads, and other items. Currently, however, there are piles of new fabric I recently purchased which are sitting randomly on the floor.

"Okay, before you judge, I bought new fabric recently but they don't fit on my shelf," I tell Jackson. "I also need to buy a new shelf but haven't had a chance to do that yet, hence why the fabric is lying on the floor randomly and whoa—"

I end up almost tripping over a pile of fabric, but once again, Jackson is here to prevent my drunk self from falling flat on my face.

"Careful, Bella," he gently murmurs, momentarily placing his hands around me.

"I'm fine," I chirp.

An idea then pops in my head and excitement stirs in my body, my sleepiness from only moments ago disappearing. "Do you want to see my designs for New York Fashion Week?" I exclaim. "You can't say no!"

From behind, I hear him let out a tiny chuckle. "I'd never say no to you, Bella."

"This is an exclusive sneak peek and you're the first person to see them," I continue as I sashay over to the clothes rack in my lounge room. "Even Jen hasn't seen them yet."

"I feel very special then," he says, a playful cockiness to his voice.

"As you should," I proudly add, before gesturing to the first outfit, a maroon halter neck dress with a slit at the side. "This is the first one, I wanted to go for a bit of a classic look here."

Jackson walks over to where I'm standing and carefully studies the dress. He then turns to me, a softness in his brown eyes. "It's gorgeous, Bella. You're so talented."

"Oh, you flatter me," I giggle, waving a hand. "Don't say stuff like that or I might end up becoming cocky like you."

I'm half expecting him to say something witty in return or make a joke, but the softness in his facial expression doesn't fade. He takes another step toward me and gently caresses my cheek. "It's true."