• WATTYS 2022 WINNER •
When Iris Monet married millionaire Jared Darling, she had only one rule - that he could cheat on her with anyone except the household staff. This arrangement of theirs would have gone on quite happily if she hadn't caught him...
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"YOU need to stop being so stiff."
Akai fiddles with the cuffs of his formal shirt, looking both tetchy and uncomfortable. Behind him, Edlyn stands with her right hand on her hips and a pair of scissors in the other.
"It's the blazer," she announces. "I messed up. It doesn't sit right. It's my fault."
"No, it's not," I say hastily. "The blazer's fine! Akai is just ... not used to being a model."
"That's because I'm not." His stormy eyes catch mine in the mirror. "And I had no plans to be one."
Edlyn runs a hand over her hair, tugging out strands from her typically fastidiously neat bun. She looks unusually frazzled today, nothing like her self-assured, grumpy self. Which isn't good, because today is the day of the festival.
"Why don't you ask Rose for a cup of tea?" I suggest soothingly. "I'll handle things here."
Edlyn leaves and I turn back to Akai, who hasn't stopped scowling.
"Look." I sigh. "How about we try to work on your expression. You need to lose those disapproving eyebrows. Also, your eyes can be a little less hostile. And your mouth could be a bit more smiley."
"You just listed every feature on my face, Miss Iris."
"Yes, because they're all so very stiff. You are the worst case of resting bitch face I've ever seen and believe me – I've seen plenty."
Akai frowns. "I don't look like a bitch."
"Not dogs." I throw up my hands. "Never mind. Just – here."
I press down on Akai's shoulders. "You're too rigid. Why do you have to stand like that all the time?"
"I believe it's called good posture."
"For a corpse maybe. Relax. It's a formal suit you're wearing, not a battle armor."
I start digging the balls of my thumbs in between his shoulder blades. Akai stiffens even further, and I take my hands away quickly.
Right. He probably hates the physical contact and wishes I was standing half a town away.
I change the subject. "Why haven't you put your tie on?"
"Because I do not know how to tie a tie."
I stare at him. "You don't know how to tie a tie?"
"You will find that work on the farm provides very rare occasions to wear one, Miss Iris."
"But" – you're going to be a company heir! Is what I want to say, but I don't. Instead, I pick up the fabric. Moving in front of him, I begin knotting the tie around his collar.
Silence in the fitting room. My hands move deftly on their own as they obey muscle memory.
"You seem quite proficient in tie-tying," Akai observes.
