“Thanks, Cas. Here, do you or the boys want this?” I push the rich, dark, eastern-European coffee at him. It has all manner of extras in it that should never be paired with coffee. Nutmeg and chilli powder and some kind of berry.
“There’s a grate behind that plant.” He nods to one of the two pretty lemon trees flanking the door. “Tip it out before she comes back.” He leaves with a friendly smirk and wink. I shoot a glance at Sylvie, who has stopped dancing and appears to be wrapping up her call.
Draining the chili-spiced concoction, I land in my seat just as Sylvie slips the phone into her pocket and walks back to the table.
“Wow, did I take that long? You’re done already? Let me get you another.” She raises her long-tapered fingers and wiggles them at the server inside.
“Actually, I’m pretty tired. Do you think we could call this a day?”
“Oh.” Her face falls. Guilt stirs in my gut. She’s been generous to me today, and even if I don’t want a single thing she’s insisted on buying, I also don’t want her to think I’m ungrateful.
But this entire trip is an exercise in indulgence and gluttony.
No one needs this many items, or to spend such a degree of cash buying them. My family of six lives on less a year than Sylvie spends in a day and worse, she’s spending much of it on me. Are the twins struggling? Is Casey eating? Is my mother scrounging for work? And Carlo…what about everything Carlo lost because of me? Something as frivolous as a shopping trip isn’t going to make me feel better about that.
I look up to find Sylvie staring at me. “What’s wrong? You look upset.”
“I’m sorry. I’ve had a lovely day, and you have been really kind…” I shake my head and suck in a breath. I won’t hurt her feelings, but I won’t lie either. “I’m worried about my family. I don’t know where they are or when I’ll see them again. I don’t know if they are safe or if they have enough money to survive. The kids…” I swallow a thick lump that lodges in my throat.
“I understand. You feel guilty.”
“Yeah.”
“They have your mum?”
“And Carlo.”
“And Aiden?”
“For now.”
“Then Dax is taking care of them. You don’t need to worry. But you need taken care of too. You have one set of ripped clothing,.” She eyes the hole I’ve been picking at. “No money. Nowhere to go. You have to be your priority for a little while, and sure, I could havetaken you to a department store and picked up everything in one place for far less, but I owe you something nice; something special just for you. It’s okay to be spoiled at least once in your life. Plus, it doubles as my apology. I mean, I was out of order yesterday.”
She was a complete bitch yesterday, but I understood. If Dax was mine, I’d protect him too. And sure, if all this money was mine, I’d probably warn a bitch to back the hell off that too.
Excuses aside, though, is she right? Is it okay to enjoy such frivolity even with the uncertainty that lies ahead? She’s supplied me with a new wardrobe that I could make last for years if I’m careful about it. The day hasn’t been all bad either. Sylvie is intense, but she’s funny and has great taste, if you don’t count the coffee.
“I mean, I bought myself at least three times the amount that you let me grab for you.”
That’s true. Of the dozens of bags we’d surrendered to the guys, only three of them were mine. “Okay,” I give in. “Thank you.”
“Actually, that’s my line. I haven’t gone shopping like this for years. Not since my sister died, and Dax doesn’t like me going outside the compound, so it’s not like I have friends to do this with. Usually, the boutiques come out to the manor.”
Well shit. Sylvie’s lonely, and probably over-compensating.
“Well, you’ve given me my first real shopping day ever. And bonus, you picked out some great interview outfits.” These are the only truthful compliments I can give, but her face lights up regardless of how weak they are.
“That’s the spirit! Now we have one more store and then home.”
Fuck. No more. And yet why isn’t that what I say?
“Just one, though. At this rate, my feet won’t fit into those shoes you picked.”
Sylvie snorts. “You need to work on your stamina, Jules. Next time we do this, you need to last the entire day.” She grins and grabs her purse, sipping the last of her coffee.
“Next time? Can we negotiate that?” There’s no way I’m doingthis again, not without my own money and probably a trip to the Marina where everything is way cheaper.
Sylvie keeps to her word, and I have to admit the last shop is amust. The one thing I need desperately is underwear.
