by K. M. Scott
One step into the room and I stopped dead at the sight in front of me. Next to the couch we'd sat on that first night, Tristan stood with some woman with gorgeous long, blond hair and legs longer than my whole body. She was standing entirely too close to him and fixing his tie like she'd done it before and felt completely comfortable with her hands on him. I only saw her from the side and hated her.
Then I heard her speak and the hate was purer than anything I'd ever felt.
"Tristan, this tie isn't going to work well. You need something brighter." Her voice was intentionally sultry, like she was affecting a sexy voice instead of using her normal one.
For his part, the man I'd just agreed to marry the night before stood like a statue as she fawned over his collar, but that didn't make it any better to watch. Jealousy coursed through my veins, making my hands ball into fists at my sides.
"Excuse me, am I interrupting?"
Tristan looked around the woman and smiled, but when she turned to look at me, her expression telegraphed loud and clear that, in her mind, I wasn't welcome.
"Nina, let me introduce you to my assistant. Kacey, this is Nina."
I waited for him to explain to Kacey who I was to him, but the words never came out of his mouth. Insecurity mingled with jealousy to create a noxious pain in my gut, and I walked toward them. Holding up my left hand, I said, "I'm his fiancée. Nice to meet you."
She extended her long, skinny arm and shook my hand with her bony hand that had just been fondling Tristan's tie. Her blue eyes slid over me from head to toe and back up again, and I was sure she was judging me.
"My pleasure. We're just getting ready for his interview this afternoon with Executive Homes. They plan to do an entire spread on him and this stunning house of his."
Ours. I wanted to correct her but as she stood looking down at me, I suddenly felt small and insignificant. All I could get out of my mouth was, "That's nice."
Then she asked, "Will you be staying?"
The way she said it made me feel like I was an intruder. I looked at Tristan for some support, but he simply stood behind her looking back at me. His silence was deafening and hurtful. I felt like a visitor in my own home, and suddenly, all I wanted to do was run.
As well as I could, I calmed my anger and said, "I'll leave you to your business. I don't know what time I'll be home, Tristan. Perhaps I'll stay in the city with Jordan. She's been wanting me to go out. I'll let you know."
Kacey looked relieved to see me go and returned to fiddling with Tristan's collar, but I noticed as I turned to leave that Tristan's eyes had narrowed ever so slightly. If he could hang out with his little friend, I could hang out with mine.
I marched out of the living room with my head held high and hoped neither of them saw how shaky my legs were under me. On top of the jealousy and insecurity churning in my stomach, now I was angry. Not only had he never told me his assistant was a female—a stunning one who looked like the actresses who accompanied him to formal events, no less—but he stood there like a statue, never saying a word to let her know how much I supposedly meant to him.
Jenson was nowhere to be found, so I waited outside by the car, preferring to shiver in the late fall weather of upstate New York than stay inside with Tristan and his assistant. It could have been twenty below and I wouldn't have felt the cold I was fuming so badly. The man who had made me the happiest woman in the world less than twenty-four hours earlier now had just let some gorgeous Amazon woman make me feel like an outsider with my own fiancé.
The front door opened and I heard footsteps, but when I turned around I saw it was Tristan. I quickly set off down the drive, but he kept pace with me and overtook me in mere seconds. I so didn't want to have the conversation we were about to have.
"Nina, I think we should talk."
I turned my back on him and stomped off in the other direction. "I don't think so. Go talk to your assistant if you need someone to listen to you."
His hand touched my shoulder and I jerked my body away from him. He wasn't going to get a pass on this one with just a touch or a few sweet words.
"Nina, I'm not going to chase after you," he said as he followed behind me.
"Fine. Don't. It's not like I'm anyone you should be chasing after anyway."
"You're acting ridiculous. You can't be jealous of Kacey. All she did was adjust my tie. It's not like she saw me half naked."
I stopped dead and turned around to see him standing there grinning like some sexy Cheshire cat. So that's what this was all about? Blake and my dropping bikini bottoms?
"Don't even tell me she's not a total bitch who made me feel like I was unwelcome in my own home and you didn't just stand there and let her do it."
"You saw what your jealousy wanted you to see. Sound familiar?"
"So it was just a coincidence that Kacey the blond bombshell was here today after what happened with your gardener? I doubt it. And why didn't you ever tell me your assistant looked like that?"
"I've never told you what any of my employees look like, Nina. They're simply people who do things for me. I don't pay attention to what they look like."
I raised my eyebrows in disbelief. "Is that supposed to make me jealous too?"
Tristan smiled and reached out to caress my cheek. "No. You misunderstood. But perhaps you can see my point from earlier now?"
Sighing heavily, I wilted under the weight of my anger. I hated that I was jealous. I hated that it was so easy for me to feel insecure.
"Tristan, I don't want to do this for the rest of my life. I can't be worrying so much that my husband is having some hot thing with his blond assistant that I go crazy here out in the country and begin to stalk him while he's at work. And I have to be honest. I'm not above the whole stalking thing. It's not my most attractive trait, but I get jealous."
He kissed me and pressed his forehead to mine. "I love you, Nina. Even the jealous you. Maybe we should both remember what happens when we get jealous."
"Okay. I promise no more flashing your gardener," I teased.
He straightened to his full height and laughed. "I wouldn't worry about that. I fired him."
Guilt over Blake's firing made my stomach turn and I stepped back away from Tristan. "Are you kidding? How could you do that? You fired someone for something I did? Do you plan to fire Kacey too since she made me jealous?"
He seemed to consider my idea and reached out to take my hand. "No, but I see your point. I will if you want me to."
I pulled away, horrified at what he was saying. "No fucking way! I won't be responsible for you firing someone twice today, even if it is that snarky bitch. If you fire her, it's because you want to, not because I said to."
"Nina, I want you to be happy. Tell me what would make you happy, and I'll do it."
The petty, jealous me wanted him to fire Kacey, but that was no more right than firing Blake. I understood his jealousy, but we couldn't go on like this. Not if we ever expected to be happy together.
"Don't fire Kacey, but promise me she doesn't ever get close enough to you to touch you again."
With a smile, he took my hand in his and brought it to his lips. "Agreed."
"And give Blake his job back. I can understand you aren't crazy about him working as the gardener since he saw me without my bikini bottoms, but give him another job somewhere else."
Tristan took a deep breath and let it out slowly. "Agreed. Now here's one for you. No staying in the city tonight."
"Agreed." I hadn't planned on staying with Jordan anyway, so it wasn't much of a concession.
"I have to get back to work. That magazine is expecting to tour the house, and I have to be there."
A stab of hurt pushed on my heart and I began walking toward the car. I guess I wasn't allowed to be known as Tristan Stone's live-in girlfriend. "Fine. I guess it's your house, so you should be there."
He grabbed my arm and pulled me back toward him. "Nina, let me explain."
"No need. I understand," I said wit
h a pout.
Spinning me around, he forced me to look at him as he explained, "No, you don't. I didn't think you'd want to announce our engagement to the world this way. I know how private you are, and I love that. I don't need anyone else to know how much I love you as long as you know. But eventually the world is going to find out. I just didn't want it to find out this way."
I couldn't disagree with that. This way, I'd have the chance to tell Kim and Jordan first.
"Okay. I can see your point."
Smiling that warm smile I'd loved since the first night I met him, Tristan pulled me to him and held me tight as he whispered in my ear, "I love you. Tell Jordan I said hi and she's welcome to stay at the hotel for as long as she likes."
God, when he said things like that, I had a hard time remembering that sometimes he really did things that pissed me off. How was I supposed to stay mad at him when he was so sweet and thoughtful to not only me but my best friend?
Hugging him, I said, "One of these days I'm going to figure out how you make me love you so much, Tristan Stone. One of these days."
He pulled away and smiled as he cupped my chin with his palm. "Then that's the day I'll have to figure out a new way."
Chapter Twenty-Two
Jordan and I spent hours poring over thick, glossy bridal magazines, oohing and ahhing over the most gorgeous dresses I'd ever seen. Every few pages we'd find another one that we added to the list of "possibles" and fold over the corner of the page so that by the time we were done, the magazines had grown to twice their original size.
My call to my sister went as I thought it would. She couldn't believe her baby sister was getting married and had at least a dozen reasons why I shouldn't marry someone I'd only known for a few months and why they couldn't just pick up and leave to go on a vacation to some island in the middle of December. After her lengthy lecture on how marriage was a serious step that should be taken only after two people knew each other for much longer than six months, I explained that it was an all-expense paid trip for her and her family and if she didn't want to be there, so be it.
Jordan was much easier to convince. I don't think I had gotten the complete story about our island wedding plans out of my mouth before she was jumping out of her chair and racing around the hotel suite rambling about all the things she had to do at work to be able to go. But most importantly, she promised she'd be there, standing next to me as my maid of honor.
By the time I arrived back at the house, the Executive Home people were nowhere to be found. I threw the mail Jenson had picked up at the apartment on the desk in the bedroom and set out to look for Tristan. I found him sitting at his desk in his office looking particularly tired.
"Hey, you. How did your photo shoot go? Did they love the house?"
He looked up at me standing in the doorway and forced a smile. "It was fine. You know how I hate pictures."
"You look exhausted. Tell me what I can do." I leaned over behind him and nuzzled his neck. "A nice massage?"
He hung his head and cracked his neck. "I'd love that. I have to get ready for one of those goddamn events tonight."
My hands eased the tension from his shoulders and neck, which felt like they were twisted into tight knots. "Just remember it's for charity."
Pinching the bridge of his nose, he grumbled, "Not this time. This time it's pure promotion. The Richmont is hosting the release party for some author's new book."
"Why do you have to be there?"
"The board loves to have me at these things. Any time the hotel is featured in some book or movie, they love to build the whole thing up. It's ridiculous, but as the face of the business, I have to be there."
"You mean the hotel was part of the book's story?"
Blowing air out in a heavy sigh, he nodded. "Yeah. It's the setting for a good portion of the book, I guess. Thank God it's not a murder mystery or my lawyers would be suing the poor author for all she's worth."
"Oh. Well, it won't be so bad. You'll have one of the actresses there and you'll be able to practice your looking-like-a-statue skills," I said with a laugh.
He lifted his head. "I have a better idea. Come with me."
"What?"
He spun around in his chair and faced me. "Come with me. It's only a matter of time before we tell the world about us, and at least we won't be the focus tonight. You'll get to see what you'll be facing from now on. I promise to even smile."
"The press will know for sure there's something going on if you smile, Tristan."
"Then it's settled," he said suddenly looking much happier.
I shook my head as the realization of what he wanted me to do settled into my brain. I had no dress to wear to an event like this. I had no practice dealing with the public or the press. My hair and makeup would need to be done.
Shaking my head, I backed away from him. "No, Tristan. I don't have anything I need to be able to go. I don't have anything to wear."
"No problem. Let me take care of that." Turning around toward his desk, he dialed the phone and said, "Angelo, it's Tristan Stone. I need a gown, red or black, for the same client you handled before and I want to see your choices at my house in Duchess County in an hour."
Angelo said something that pleased him because he smiled broadly as he hung up the phone. I walked to the side of the desk and folded my arms across my chest. "Same client you handled before? I thought you said you picked out all those clothes that day."
Turning on the charm, he pulled me back to sit on his lap. He traced the outline of my lips with his fingertip and said, "I'm guilty. It was a little white lie. I trust Angelo, so it's like I picked them out myself anyway."
"Actually, I think I'm okay with you not picking out my outfits. It has a weird vibe to it and there's something about you knowing that much about women's clothes that I'm not really feeling."
"That's good because other than wanting to tear them off you at times, I don't know much about them. But Angelo does, so don't worry. He'll make sure you have a dress worthy of you."
Worthy of me? Never before in my life had I thought of clothes in terms of anything being worthy of me. If something fit and I liked it, I bought it. Its worthiness or mine was never an issue. A dress worthy of me sounded like another sign that I wasn't ready for this party.
"Are you sure about this?" I asked quietly as he busied himself with shutting down his laptop.
He looked up with a quizzical expression on his face. "Sure about what?"
"Me going with you tonight. I don't want to ruin anything for you."
"Nina, you could never ruin anything for me. You're the woman I love and intend to marry in a few short weeks. Tonight is more for me than anything else. I don't want to go, but at least if you're with me, I'll be happy."
"It's just that..." I stopped myself and then said what was really on my mind. "No matter what Angelo brings for me to wear, I'm not going to look like the women you usually take to these kinds of affairs."
Tristan stood from his chair and wrapped his arms around me, pulling me close. "I don't have any interest in those women. I've told you that. They're picked because they look like the typical type of woman men like me date."
"But that's the point I'm trying to make. I don't look like that type of woman."
"You don't see many of those relationships lasting very long, do you? What kind of man wants to be with a woman who loves the way she looks more than she loves you?"
I looked down to avoid his stare, no matter how much love I knew was in it. "I just don't want to embarrass you."
He gently forced my head up with his hands on the sides of my face so I had no choice but to look at him. His caring eyes stared intently down into my eyes. "I don't ever want to hear you say that again, Nina. I love you for many reasons, but I won't lie. The way you look is one of those reasons. It may not be the only reason or the main reason, but I think you're beautiful. I don't want a stick woman who doesn't enjoy the food I want to buy her or who thinks spending hours doing her
makeup and hair is important. I want you because you aren't like them. I can be myself with you. You don't know how much that means to me. I've spent years around women who I had to pretend with. From the first night we met, I didn't have to be anyone but myself. I love that in you."
His words convinced me. I could be the person I needed to be for these events. "Okay. Let's do this."
"That's my Nina. Now go enjoy a nice bath while I discuss something with Jenson. I'll let you know when Angelo arrives."
The bath helped relax me a little, but the reality was that I was terrified of being compared to those other women he always escorted to events. After spending enough time in the water to get pruney, I dressed in the clothes I'd worn that day and fiddled with my hair to get that upswept look like movie stars wore to award ceremonies. Over and over, I twirled and twisted my light brown hair only to have it fall down in a mess around my face. The problem was that Tristan's bathroom had none of the necessary items required to keep my hair like that.
Sure it was hopeless, I stared into the mirror wondering how I'd ever pull this night off. I could probably do something pretty nice with my makeup, but no hair pins meant my sort of straight in parts and sort of curly in other parts look would be the one I'd be stuck with.
Crestfallen, I tried once more only to have the end result be the same, but then an idea struck me. I tore through the house to find Rogers. If there was a hair pin or anything else that might work, he'd be the one to have it. I found him arranging the silverware in the kitchen and as I tried to catch my breath, pleaded, "Rogers, I need hair pins. Please tell me somewhere in this house there's something that can help me look like the women who go to these affairs Tristan attends."
His expression was blank for a long time, and then his long face lifted into a tiny smile. "I think I might know where one or two are, miss. Give me a moment, please."
