“Right this way, please.”He leads us through a showroom lined with dresses.Some hang on racks, while others are displayed on headless mannequins.Leah gawks at everything, eyes wide, lips parted.Gage watches her with an indulgent expression.
He’ll buy her every fucking dress she touches, I can already see it.And I don’t blame him, because I want to spoil her in the same way.
We follow Charles to a small sitting area with some flimsy-ass chairs.Their wooden arms and legs are trimmed with gold paint.A low table sits between them.On it are a bottle of champagne, three glasses, and a pitcher of orange juice.There’s also a plate of cookies.
“Make yourselves comfortable.I’ll be right back.”Charles hurries away.
“Would you like a mimosa?”Gage asks Leah.
She grins.“Maybe a tiny one.”
He pours her a drink, which she carefully sips.
Charles and another woman come from the back of the store with two racks of dresses.Leah’s mouth falls open in surprise.“Those are all for me to try?”
“We’ll be working in the back so you can have some privacy.”Charles gestures to the racks as the woman pushes each one into a dressing room.“These are all in your size, Leah.Let us know if you need anything.”
Leah’s eyes fill with tears, but she’s smiling.She marches over to Gage and wraps her arms around him.“Did you arrange for us to have the whole store?”
Gage kisses her forehead.“Given our recent unwanted publicity, I figured this would be more comfortable.”
Damn.The fucker’s pretty thoughtful.I’d like to believe I would’ve thought of something like this.But the truth is, it never would have crossed my mind.
Maybe this kind of thoughtfulness comes more easily to people with money.I’m not struggling—the fund my grandfather set up assures that—but I’m also not throwing around thousands without planning ahead of time.And the truth of it is, I don’t want to spend Granddad’s money.It’s dirty, and it makes me feel dirty.
Leah’s auction was different.For the first time, I was ready to throw away everything in my account.I even considered asking Granddad for a loan before I realized Gage was never going to stop bidding.
I wonder what would’ve happened if I had won?
But something about her spoke to him, just like it speaks to me.He never would’ve let her go once he saw her.
And now here we are.
Leah goes into her dressing room, and Gage and I stand looking at each other.
“Shall we?”Gage gestures to the stuffy-looking chairs.
“You went all out.”I snag a cookie and ease into one of the chairs.I half expect the seat to splinter beneath my weight.When it holds me, I try to relax.
Gage pours himself a glass of orange juice and adds a tiny bit of champagne.“It’s important.She’simportant.”
Nothing to argue with, there.
“Do you have a tux for the benefit?”Gage sips his mimosa.
I see what he’s doing—he wants to make sure I’m well-dressed and that I won’t embarrass Leah.If I didn’t have anything, he’d be offering to either buy it, or spot me the money.Luckily, my parents sent me to a charity thing last year.I had to get a tux for that.“I’m set.”
“A rental won’t?—”
“It’s not a rental, asshole.It’s a bespoke Rubineri.Chill.”
He raises his eyebrows so high they reach above his glasses frames.“It seems I don’t know you as well as I thought I did.”
“Does the fancy tux make me cooler, somehow?”I can feel my frown deepening.
He laughs.“Chill.It doesn’t make you cooler.I hope I’m not that shallow.”
A couple of seconds later, Leah’s dressing room door opens.She steps out, and I forget how to breathe.The chair’s toothpick arm creaks in my fist as I lean forward.
