Chapter 3

The sight of it stopped him dead in his tracks, and he stared at it with his mouth hanging open. He walked up to the window and pressed his hand against it like a little kid who’d spotted a new shiny toy in the window display of a toy store. He couldn’t believe the beauty of it.

It was pure perfection: soft and delicate instead of stiff and unyielding like regular tulle. It flowed from the mannequin’s head, down her shoulders, and all the way to her hips. But it was the crystals that caught Luca’s attention. They were sprinkled all over the fabric like tiny stars in the night sky, and they glimmered and shone in the window

“Wow,” he whispered. He walked into the shop and asked the assistant if he could try it on.

“Certainly, sir,” she said without batting an eye. She helped him put it on, draping it over his head as carefully as if he’d been a bride. “It looks good on you, sir,” she added and sounded like she meant it.