“Cognac?” A sultry voice asked, shaking him out of his thoughts.
“Yeah, sounds great,”
Meeting the serviceable gaze of a honey blonde with eyes the color of pale ale, he immediately averted his attention to her tray. Normally, someone as cute as she was would activate the inner charmer in him, if only for the target practice. But right now he felt nothing. It was strange, because this chic was cute. Even had a little meat on her.
Kudos to Claudio for hiring real women.
“If you'd like to sit, there's a small lounge behind that door.”
“Uh, thanks,” he managed, lifting the glass of expensive liquor and taking a sip.
Giving him a smile and a nod, the server made her way toward the secret room behind the registers where all the goodies they offered their clients were kept. He was pretty sure they even had coke back there for the high-end clientele who snorted it like it was candy.
The privileged world is a different place.
Snapping his head up at the sound of the door, his heart took into a race at the sight of flowing, black hair and the body of a goddess hidden beneath a pea coat. Sighing, he downed the rest of the cognac and set it down at the edge of the men's shoe display. No point in keeping the princess waiting.
Jackie
Jackie nearly turned around and walked right out of the door when she saw Liam heading toward her, smoldering and gorgeous as ever. Somehow, she managed to grab hold of her wits before she could react poorly.
Which was good.
She'd have to get used to seeing him for family functions. Donna was sure to invite him to everything anyway. Come to think of it, her mother had probably arranged this. No definitely. Her mother had definitely arranged this. Because the obvious had escaped her.
“Fancy running into you here,” she managed, giving him a quirk of a grin before taking in the full layout of the expensive boutique.
Giving her a brisk nod, Liam shoved his hands in his pockets.
“I'll show you to the fitting room.”
So no small talk then... Alright.
He turned and she followed, feeling far more uncomfortable with this change of gears than she'd expected. Actually, she hadn't thought he'd ever become chilly with her. The possibility had never even crossed her mind. Maybe that was arrogant. She felt kind of silly about it. The sure perils of taking things for granted while thinking you know what you want when you don't...
He gestured her into the fitter's alcove when they reached it, and Jackie stole a glance around the rounded half-room.
“He'll probably come in a minute. Can I get you a drink?”
Jackie quirked a brow.
Eh, why not?
“Sure, thanks. That would be nice.”
She smiled as genuinely as she could, but it wound up feeling twitchy and forced. God, things felt so strange between them now. It was incredibly uncomfortable. A total switch from where they'd been several days before. His brows rising, Liam gave her a half-nod and stepped away from the arch leading into the small, half-circle room.
Jackie waited, wringing her hands as her mind turned over the position she'd found herself in. Roxy's advice and the way he'd looked at her at the bar last night... It was confusing the decision she'd already made to keep her distance from him. Maybe it was simpler than she was making it. Could be she just wanted what she couldn't have.
Whatever it was, she hated how things felt between them now, and she wanted to at least find a place of peace between them. She imagined that would be easier said than done with the way she'd handled things. She'd give her the side-eye, too, if she was on the receiving end of being walked out on twice.
Funny, when she'd first embarked on the diva experience, she'd only considered how she'd felt and wanted to feel. She'd never considered she might actually hurt someone in the process.
She'd gone off of the fact that most men, in her eyes, at least, didn't want anything more than new pussy and a quick romp in the sheets. But Liam was different, apparently. And it was clear she'd hurt him, at least a little bit. That didn't give her a good feeling.
“Ah, what a beauty. I consider it an honor to fit you. You're a voluptuous goddess, Jackie. The things you will do to the right dress,” the tailor, Claudio, announced, sweeping in, his Italian accent lilting at the edges of his words. A distinguished and industrious looking man full of life, he reminded her of a well-kept grandfather who still had his pick of the ladies.
“Come closer. Let me take your measurements. We're going to dress you like the princess you so obviously are.”
Jackie flushed. She was in love with this place, already.
~
Not expecting Liam to wait around while she was fitted, she decided to have a look around the store after Claudio finished, utilizing the smidge of extra time she had on her hands.
There were tons of lavish accessories she could pair with the drop-dead gorgeous dress he fitted her for, and the bad angel was nudging her on to take at least some advantage of her future step-creep's credit line.
Might as well make sure she was looking good for the photo opp. It was going to be connected to VitaGourmet, anyway. She'd be a fool not to milk that sort of marketing opportunity for all it was worth. If she stood out in the press photo, and she was determined to, she could launch a social media brand off of it, and turn the attention toward her and her mother before the press had a chance to decide their line of snacks had anything to do with him.
Yeah. She'd need to contact a reporter or two and get the first story out about how they'd come to be. And make sure it was known that Gary Cross came along well after they acquired their clients at the mall. Fingering several, luxurious cocktail dresses, she pulled the one that caught her eye most off of the rack and held it out, whistling at the price tag: 1000.00
Brows rising, she had to fight her way past the pride trying to convince her to put it down. She wouldn't. If she was going to be subjected to press conferences and parties, she was going to look like money doing it. And it wasn't on her dime, so... no worries paying the rent after buying this little number. Sleek and wonderfully trimmed, its emerald green was deep enough to be mistaken for black in dark light.
Exactly her sort of classy. Yeah. If it looked as good on her as it did on the hanger, this one was going in the cart, too. Nipping her lip, she smiled to herself and headed off toward the dressing rooms, taking a glance behind her when she slipped into the door of the first compartment and promptly stripped down to her skivvies to slip it on.
Tilting her head this way and that in the mirror, she gave herself an assessing look. Not bad. She wouldn't know how it really looked until she got someone to button the back for her, though. Turning herself around, she reveled in the feel of the luxuriously, woven cotton. The tailoring was impeccable, down to the eyelet edging.
Gorgeous.
She'd turn heads in this number.
Nodding to herself, she poked her head out of the door, hoping to find an attendant to button up the back and stopping short when her eyes met Liam's. Averting his gaze immediately away, he turned his back to her, like he might be invading her privacy.