Just a Simple Love Story by Kimberley Nunes (best historical fiction books of all time TXT) 📖

of the finance department" he sighed.

Sebastian had explained that his older brother decided on starting his own company right after marrying Karin, ultimately dumping this position onto the younger brother. Of course, he didn't blame Ian or any of that sort. It only took a toll on the young Benz sometimes, as his father expected way more from him after his older son, the known prodigy had left.

"You shouldn't put on such a face" I ran my fingers over his frowning brows.

He took hold of my hand and planted a kiss on my palm.

"I need to leave" the corners of his mouth fell slightly.

This past week had been especially hard on him, as he needed to finish the usual workload, plus all the work he had missed due to his stay in the hospital.

I sat up and took his face in my hands: "Take care of yourself and don't overdo it, understood?"

He smiled: "Yes, Doc."

He kissed my lips before walking out of the bedroom and out my apartment. I fell back into the bed and checked the time: it was quarter to seven. Sighing loudly I decided on calling my parents back in my hometown.

 

At exactly twelve o'clock Madeleine got out of a slick and expensive car, making her way over to where I was waiting. She hugged me tightly, a wide smile plastered on her face.

"Kaitlynn!" her warm voice greeted me, all excited.

"Madeleine, how are you?" whenever I saw her, she made me feel happy.

"Oh, I'm great! Wow, you look wonderful, darling" she complimented me.

I blushed before returning the compliment sincerely. We walked into the restaurant I stood in front of. Our waiter escorted us to the table Madeleine had reserved well in advance. The food we were presented did not just look exquisite, but tasted even better.

"I've already thought about the perfect dress" she squealed in delight.

I laughed somewhat embarrassed: "At least one of us has. To be honest, I was so relieved when you told me you would help me pick one."

"Don't worry, darling" she reassured. "I never had the chance to go shopping like this."

"Like this?" I inquired.

"What I mean is, as I have two sons and no daughter, I was never able to pick out any dresses or have the chance to talk girl-to-girl like this."

"Wow, Madeleine. I feel so honored" this was the truth. Whenever I met her, she always treated me kindly, especially after I started dating her younger son.

"But what about Karin?" I asked truly interested.

My opposite rolled her eyes: "She is, how do I put it... she is quite peculiar."

I chuckled at her choice of words.

"I really don't mean to gossip or talk bad about my son's wife, but I really don't know how to handle such a person" she confessed.

So even the gentle and caring Madeleine has her own problems concerning the red-head.

"It's not that I didn't try, but whenever I went out with her it ended in me returning home with a despicable headache after half an hour. It amazes me how Ian gets along with her" she shook her head.

"I understand what you're saying" I assured her. "But, I guess, there's a side to her only he knows."

I shrugged and my opposite nodded.

"Yes, well, who knows?"

We finished up our food and I insisted on paying.

"No, Madeleine. This is my treat" I vehemently insisted. "After all, you are going to help me pick out a dress. And whenever Sebastian takes me out, there's no chance for me to even pull out my purse."

After going back and forth, I got my way and paid for our meal. We then left and headed straight for an exclusive looking shop. Right after entering, we were greeted by two shop assistants who recognized Mrs. Benz.

"Good afternoon, Mrs. Benz. How may we help you today?" the tall girl with short brown hair asked.

"Hello," the addressee greeted formally, "actually, I'm not here to find anything for me today." She motioned towards me, explaining: "This young lady needs a dress as gorgeous as herself."

Both of the salesgirls eyed me. The same one who had greeted Madeleine nodded.

"Of course. We surely will find something. Luna, take our valued customers to the back and show them our newest collection" she ordered her partner with long blonde hair, tied into a strict bun.

We were brought to the back of the shop. My eyes grew wide as I saw rows and rows of dresses.

"Ms.-" the shop assistant called Luna addressed me.

"Her name is Kaitlynn Noakes" Madeleine explained, as fascination overtook me.

Luna nodded in appreciation and diverted her attention back to me: "Ms. Noakes, do you have any specific concept, as in how the dress should be cut, or the color?"

"Uhm..." I stood there dumbfounded.

"I was thinking about a long, backless evening gown. Tight on the top and from the waist down in a flowing pattern" my companion expertly explained.

"I understand" the saleswoman nodded. "I presume you are a XS, max. an S?"

"Depending on the dress, yes" I was amazed at her ability to guess my size by just glancing at me, although I had been wearing my trench coat on top of my short white dress.

"Please, take a seat. I'll be right back with a few dresses" Luna motioned to a few luxurious armchairs.

Madeleine and I did as we were told and were asked whether we would like to have a drink. Both of us ordered a black tea and conversed casually until Luna returned with quite a few dresses.

"I think we'll find something suiting you, Ms. Noakes" she smiled. "Please follow me."

I left my bag and coat on the armchair I had been sipping my tea on just a minute ago and followed the shop assistant to the changing area. Huge is definitely an understatement! She hung up several dresses before picking the first one for me to try on. It was a beautiful emerald satin dress with a neck holder and a little silver ornament on the chest. Of course it was backless, just as Madeleine had asked for. Luna helped me put it on and eyed me. She doesn't look happy.

"Hmm, we will have to alter all the dresses at the bottom, although I already picked out the shorter ones" she murmured more to herself.

"Yeah, well, I surely am not the tallest" I sighed, knowing that my height had always been an issue when buying clothes. That's the reason I wear heels.

"How high will your shoes be?" Luna asked getting a few pins from an adjacent drawer.

"I don't know, yet" I confessed. "I guess it depends on the dress. But I don't wear heels below 4.7inch."

She nodded in appreciation: "I'll pin up the dress for now. But you will need to return with the shoes you plan on wearing."

I slipped into my grey-blue-black pumps and allowed the shop assistant to provisionally shorten the dress.

"This looks better" she exclaimed. "What do you think?"

I stared at my reflection in the mirror: "It's not bad."

"You don't like it?" Luna asked.

"Hmm, the dress is beautiful, no doubt, but... it doesn't really suit me, does it?" I looked over at her.

She contemplated for a while and nodded in agreement: "You're right. Do you still want to show it to Mrs. Benz?"

"Yes, please."I walked out of the enormous dressing room and to where Madeleine was sitting. She spotted me and her brows wrinkled: "You like it?"

Seeing her expression and hearing the skepticism in her voice made me chuckle: "This reaction is proof enough we are on the same page."

She smiled understanding and waved me off: "Next, please."

I scooted back to my changing room where Luna had rearranged a few dresses. I shook my head signaling that this wasn't the dress I wanted.

"Let's move on to the next dress. I took the liberty of sorting out a few of them" she explained motioning to a wall.

"I'm ready for the next one" I smiled, relieved that I didn't need to try on all those evening gowns anymore.

"Then, this one is next."She offered me an elegant black chiffon dress with an one shoulder strap. Simple, but elegant. Just the way I like it. I slipped in and waited for Luna to pin it up. I liked what I saw in the mirror. This one too, hugged my torso tightly and got wider from my waist down.

"A hundred times better!" she laughed for the very first time.

I nodded in agreement: "Oh, yes. I like it!"She opened the door for me to show it to Madeleine who smiled the very moment she saw me.

"Wow!" she exclaimed in amazement. "This one is way better. You look stunning, darling."

"Thanks, Madeleine."

She circled around me and examined the dress in detail.

"I like it" was her simple conclusion. "What about you?"

"Me, too. But I would still like to try out the other dress Luna has kept ready."

"Oh yes, please do that" she happily went back to her seat.

I returned to where Luna had been waiting for me with the last dress.

"So?" she inquired.

"We share the same opinion on this one" I reassured her.

"That's a relief. You still want to try this one?"I nodded eagerly in response. Again, the shop assistant who seemed friendlier by every minute, helped me take off the black dress and wear the last one in store. This time it was a navy blue chiffon dress, with a layered skirt, two straps reaching down to my lower back and a rather deeply cut neckline.

"Amazing" I heard Luna call out astonished.

I looked into the mirror. Wow!

"You have to show this one to Mrs. Benz" the saleswoman called out.

She led me to Madeleine who in response jumped up from her seat.

"Oh my gosh! You look mind-blowing, darling" she exclaimed excitedly.

"It's great" the brown-haired shop assistant who had greeted us, complimented me moderately.

"We are reserving this dress" Madeleine let everyone know.

Both the saleswomen smiled contently.

"That will be no problem."

"You really look fantastic, Kaitlynn" the present Benz hugged me.

After reserving this dress, Madeleine insisted on taking me to another shop before buying it. I changed back into my clothes and we left the shop. My companion linked her arm with mine and we walked through the streets smiling and talking about the dress. I suddenly stopped at a window, my eyes growing wide. Madeleine followed my line of vision, her eyes widening as well. She hurriedly pulled me into the little boutique and stomped directly to a young man in an expensive looking suit.

"How may I help you, madam?" he asked rather surprised at our suddenness.

"This beautiful young lady would love to try on that dress in your shop window" she explained in one breath.

"Of... of course" he stammered before pulling himself together and glancing at me.

"Would a S-size do?" he directed his question to me.

I nodded and he swiftly disappeared to get the dress. A few moments later he returned with the desired object.

"Please follow me, madam. I'll lead you to the changing rooms" he led me.

In comparison to the first shop this dressing room was tiny, but cozy. The young man left after pulling the curtain. Cautiously, I stepped into the dress and zipped it at the side. I walked out of the room and to where Madeleine was chatting with the salesman. She stopped mid-sentence and gasped, pulling her hands up to her mouth: "Beautiful."

"Truly beautiful, madam" the young salesman complimented me smiling widely.

"What do you say, Kaitlynn" Madeleine asked.I was speechless and overwhelmed, so all my opposites received was a curt nod."It's perfect" I finally breathed.

"Yes, it is!" she agreed.

"We'll be buying it."

"Thank you very much, madam" the salesman was grateful.

I returned to the little cabin and looked at my reflection once more. The dress was really as Madeleine had said, beautiful. The top part was creased, tight and backless, the neckline was shaped into a heart form and followed up to the navel. From there onwards the light cloth fell to the ground elegantly. To round up the dress a slit was visible on the right side reaching from my mid-thigh all the way to the bottom. This cut