His Naughty Lessons-Chapter 256: Perfectly Like You

** Harper **

Hmm? What goddess? Did this dress make her look like some anime or game character that she didn’t get the reference of?

"Goodness gracious." Meanwhile, Sean clapped his hands together with an expression that looked like one of those emojis with a lightbulb flashing on top of his head. "I knew it! I knew this dress should’ve come out this way! The design wasn’t the issue, it was the model! The match!"

Um. Harper stood there in confusion, darting questioning looks between the two men who gave her nothing but unfathomable reactions. What on earth were either of those comments supposed to mean?

"Sorry, let me tell you the story behind this dress." Thankfully, Sean started explaining. "It was designed last year for a fashion show. I had this idea of a deep sky in mind, and I wanted to express through this piece the feeling of gazing up at the stars. Granted, we did well at the show and I was satisfied with our model — she had a glamorous air and really brought out the cosmic grandeur I was looking for behind the imagery — but still, I kept feeling like something was missing. There was a part of the emotion I couldn’t name that wasn’t there, and it kept bothering me this whole time until now."

Sean shook his head as if marveling in disbelief, before continuing, "But of course! It’s the magic and awe of beholding the most surreal sight! The lux glamor of our model overpowered that subtle part of the message, but with you in it, it’s right there in front of my eyes! It’s the brightness, the light and hope and mysterious wonder that only the endless starry sky can make us feel ..."

The designer trailed off, lost in his own thoughts, his eyes still gleaming as he kept staring at his proud creation in front of him.

Eli, on the other hand, looked like he had just snapped out from a second daze of the day. "I suppose Sean is more eloquent than I can ever be," he chuckled, "and quite accurately so. I like the word ’brightness’, Harper. That does seem to describe you incredibly well."

He came closer to Harper’s side and helped her smooth out the frizz in her hair. Then he knelt down in front of her — with one knee actually on the floor — and tidied up the slightly entangled layers of the skirt so that she could see herself more properly in the mirror.

This time, it was Harper’s turn to let her jaw fall to the floor. Since when had she ever seen a guy in such a humble position in front of her? And how come he was doing it so naturally, with an almost reverent gentleness that somehow made her truly feel like a goddess?

"Ahem ..." Slightly overwhelmed by the attention she was receiving, Harper tried to refocus her attention on forming her own opinion of the dress. "I, um, do like the sparkle in this material a lot. The tiny crystals look so much more elegant than just sequins or glitter. Although ... isn’t the overall style a bit too over the top for me? Especially with the high slit and the cutouts everywhere ..."

Eli looked up, still half kneeling at her feet. "What do you mean by over the top?" he asked with genuine puzzlement. "I thought you loved a glam look, like the renaissance dresses from last weekend?"

"Well, I do." Harper chewed her lips, trying to decide how to elaborate the somewhat contradicting thoughts in her head. "I like gorgeous gowns. But it’s just ... It doesn’t feel like me, you know? The extravagant air is really nice for a photo, but if I’m actually wearing it and walking around in it, it makes me feel like ... like I’m pretending to be someone else. And these sexy cutouts all over the place? I’d feel eyes all over me in a weird way all day!"

The look on Eli’s face turned thoughtful at that.

"Isn’t having eyes all over you all day the exact purpose here?" Sean interjected with a chuckle.

"I’ll have to admit that I wouldn’t mind wrapping you all up and keeping those sexy views to only myself." Eli returned her comment with a knowing wink. "But in all seriousness, I think I have to disagree with what you said about the glam style. You look perfectly like you right now, Harper. And like Sean said, you bring out the magical part of this gown the way no one else can. It’s as if this dress is made just for you, and you simply need to let yourself see that breathtaking side of you as much as we do."

Harper blinked, both at the factual tone in his voice and the almost worshiping look in his eyes.

"That said," Eli continued, "I’m not saying you have to like something you don’t like, and even if you do decide to give glamorous a try, it’s certainly not something that has to be done right away at the gala. We can save an option like this for a better occasion ... Christmas? A New Year’s ball? I’m sure Sean would love to make a new design for you whenever you’re up for one."

"Oh, yes yes yes." Sean, who had just been named, nodded a little too eagerly. "The salon will be ready for you any time you want, Miss McKenzie. And if you’re ever interested in ... ah, a new career adventure, we will also be incredibly honored to have you as a distinguished fashion model as well."

Harper: "..."

Who would’ve known that a trip to a designer’s salon would even end up with an unexpected job offer?

"Speaking of which, why don’t we go ahead with that red mermaid dress we were considering earlier? It’s another one of my fashion show creations, and I would absolutely love to see how it looks on you." Sean was getting straight into that potential job now, apparently ready to make her try every style around the room. "And are you completely sure that you don’t want to see a ball gown after all?"