His Naughty Lessons

** 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?