She looked at me, and her face scrunched up in the most adorable glare I’d ever seen, her nose wrinkled and her lips puckered. There was no other way to describe that look other than cute as hell.
“That’s not helpful,” she said flatly.
It might not have been helpful, but it was the truth. My curiosity was piqued, although I had no idea why, other than I found everything about this woman interesting. And in spite of the fact that it wasn’t my business, I found myself asking, “What’s the deal with you and that guy, anyway?”
She gave a minute shake of her head and blew out a breath that ruffled her bangs. “It too humiliating to talk about.”
“Try me,” I replied, reaching out to give her arm a playful poke. “I’m a good listener.”
Another breath, another ruffle of her bangs. “I-I’ve had a crush on him for the past five years, and he doesn’t even know I exist. And I’m such a freak that I can’t even carry on a conversation with the guy!” She threw her arms up in the air in frustration, then let them fall back to her sides. “I just… don’t know how to act like a normal human being. It’s pathetic.” Her shoulders slumped as she lost steam and focused on her desk like it was the most interesting thing she’d ever seen.
We were back to her avoiding eye contact. Just great.
“Hey,” I whispered, putting my fingers beneath her chin in an effort to coax her into looking at me. “It’s okay. It wasn’t really that bad.”
She rolled her eyes to the ceiling. “Easy for you to say. You’re like, the most confident person I’ve ever met.”
A startled laugh burst from my throat. “Why do you say that like it’s a bad thing?”
Putting pressure on my fingers, she tried to move her head away, but I refused to allow her to retreat. Finally, she whispered, “Because I envy you. I wish I could be as confident as you are. You probably walk into a room and garner attention. Meanwhile, I walk in and garner pity and uncomfortable stares.”
Well that certainly wasn’t the answer I had been expecting. My chest tightened empathetically as I watched her pretty face morph into a mask of defeat. A woman like her should never have that look on her face.
“Being confident is all about your attitude,” I told her. “If you think you’re good enough, then you will be.”
She snorted derisively. “You make it sound so easy.”
“Because it is that easy. You just have to realize your worth, that’s all.”
All of a sudden, her eyes got big, and I could almost see her mind churning. Then she shocked the hell out of me by asking, “Will you help me?”
I jerked back, my brow wrinkling with confusion. “Help you with what?”
“Help me to be more confident!” she stated enthusiastically, reaching out to grab my hand. “Maybe if you help me, I won’t act like such an idiot around Logan and he’ll actually notice me.”
I held up my free hand and shook my head in an attempt to clear it. “Wait. You want me to help you so you can attract a guy?”
“Yes!” she cried, nodding frantically.
“Did we travel back in time to high school and I somehow missed it?”
Releasing my hand, she clasped hers together in front of her and poked out her lower lip. “Please, Chance. Pleeease. I need your help. I’m only asking because I’m desperate. And you’re the one who said we were friends now. Friends help each other out in their time of need!” Dear Lord, she really did look pathetic just then.
And, as usual, I was a sucker for a woman in need. I exhaled heavily and raked a hand through my hair. “Jesus,” I muttered. “I can’t believe I’m even considering this.”
“Does that mean you’ll do it?” She looked so hopeful, so optimistic that I couldn’t bring myself to deny her.
“Fine,” I sighed.
She emitted a squeal so loud I cringed as she launched herself at me, wrapping her arms around my neck in a tight hug. “Thank you, Chance. Thank you, thank you, thank you!”
“All right, all right.” Putting my hands on her waist, I moved her back. And it was then that I noticed, now that I was touching her, just how poorly her shirt fit. In that moment I knew exactly where I wanted to start. “I’ll help. But you have to do what I say. Deal?”
She reached out and shook my hand enthusiastically. “Deal.”
“Good.” I let my eyes rake her frame before meeting her gaze once again. Then I dropped the boom. “We’ll start with new clothes.”
Her head cocked to the side, her nose wrinkling as she asked, “Huh?”
I grinned and stood from the chair, straightening my suit jacket as I stated firmly, “Free up your schedule this Sunday. I’ll e-mail you the address of where we’re meeting.”
“What? Why?”
I smiled, knowing she was probably going to hate what I had in store. “Because we’re going shopping.”
Then I left before she had a chance to argue.
Chapter 4
Melany
“I DON’T UNDERSTAND why we’re here,” I grumbled as Chance’s hand on the small of my back forced me through the glass doors of a stylish little boutique called Fire & Ice.
“Because you asked for my help,” he stated casually. “And the first step to doing that is to get you a wardrobe that actually fits.”
“This fits,” I griped, glaring down at my skirt and pinching the material between my thumb and forefinger. When I lifted my head and met his eyes once again, he was staring down at me like I’d lost my mind.
“That’s a joke, right?”
I wasn’t sure why he’d consider that a joke—and a tasteless one, judging by the expression on his face—so I decided keeping quiet was my best option.
“Look,” he sighed, lowering his voice as the shop door closed and cut out all the noise coming from the busy street outside. “I know this is uncomfortable for you, but you have to trust me.”
I puffed out my cheeks and blew out a frustrated breath, sending my bangs flying around my forehead before falling flat over my eyes once again. “Fine,” I relented. “Just nothing too… risqué.”
Chance’s lips turned up in a devious grin. “I make no promises, sugar. Now move your ass.”
His hand on my back gave a small shove, forcing me further into the store. I stumbled over my own two feet, but managed to catch my balance on the nearest rack of clothing before doing something embarrassing, like taking a header inside the posh boutique.
“Chance?” a woman spoke as I shot him a murderous glare over my shoulder. “Well, this is a surprise.”
Choosing to ignore his pleased smirk, I turned to face the stunning redhead that had stopped only feet away from us.
Wow.
Calling her pretty would have been like calling Khal Drogo from Game of Thrones attractive: a massive understatement!
She was absolutely gorgeous. And I immediately felt inferior. Her bright green eyes were offset by a mass of hair styled in thick, glossy curls that hung down her back and shoulders. She wore an emerald green wrap dress that hugged her curvy frame like it had been custom made for her. On her feet were a pair of gold, strappy sandals with a four-inch heel. It was an outfit I never would have dreamed of wearing, but she managed to rock it, looking as comfortable as someone who’d just rolled out of bed and slipped on a pair of sweats.
If I attempted shoes like that, I’d probably break my ankle.
“Pepper,” Chance said, startling me back into reality. “Nice to see you again.” Placing a palm on her trim waist, he leaned in and gave her a kiss on the cheek, leaving me with a strange, unpleasant feeling in the pit of my stomach.
“Nice to see you, too.” She smiled genuinely, only enhancing her already beautiful features. “So, what brings you by?”
Taking a step back so that he was side by side with me, Chance slung his arm over my shoulder and started introductions. “Pepper, this is my friend Melany. She’s Collin’s assistant.”
Pepper’s—a fitting name if I’d ever heard one
—eyes lit with recognition as her gaze met mine.
“Oh, yes! I’ve heard of you.” Her hand shot out, and I lifted my own for a quick shake. “I’m engaged to Collin’s cousin, Griffin. It’s nice to meet you.”
“N-nice to meet you, too,” I stuttered quietly, my anxiety at being the center of attention quickly pushing to the surface.
Chance’s arm around my shoulders gave a tiny squeeze, and I felt that twisting in my gut start to loosen the slightest bit at his small show of support. It was amazing how he could do that. With such a small gesture, Chance was able to help alleviate a bit of the stress that was beginning to bubble up inside me. It was almost like a sixth sense of his, recognizing when I began to spiral. I’d never met anyone in my life that was that in tune with my moods.
It was… nice.
“We’re on a mission,” he continued. “Melany’s in need of a complete wardrobe overhaul.”
I narrowed my eyes and scrunched my face in a scowl as I shoved my elbow into his ribs.
I turned back to Pepper, feeling triumphant at the sound of Chance’s pained grunt. “Not a complete overhaul.”
“Well…” Her eyes did a sweep of my ensemble before coming back to meet mine. “What is it you have in mind? Are we talking just a few key pieces to add to what you’ve already got, or—”
I stopped listening right after she asked what I had in mind, because in all honesty, I had no freaking idea what I was doing there. I couldn’t have put a decent outfit together if someone had a gun to my head.
“Uh…”
“Why don’t you just start pulling stuff for Melany to try on and putting them in a dressing room for her,” Chance spoke up, saving me from further embarrassment. “Whatever you think might look good on her.”
“Ooh!” Pepper clapped excitedly. “I love giving makeovers!” She hooked her elbow through mine and led me away. I glanced back over my shoulder as she rambled about taking my measurements and mouthed, “I hate you,” in Chance’s direction.
He responded with a wink. A sexy, confident, skin-tingling wink that left me just the slightest bit breathless.
“This is going to be so fun,” Pepper continued, pulling my attention back to her. “You’re not going to regret this. Trust me.”
“Why does everyone keep saying I should trust them?” I groused petulantly as she led me to an area in the back of the store and plopped me down on a small cushioned bench behind a red velvet curtain before taking off for parts unknown.
Well, I thought as I took a good gander in the full-length mirror at my less-than-intriguing outfit, it can’t possibly get any worse, right?
Or at least that’s what I hoped.
Chance
THERE ARE TIMES in a man’s life when he takes a look around himself and asks how the fuck did I get here?
Sitting in one of the plush, oversized chairs of Fire & Ice while Melany took her sweet time behind that damned curtain was definitely one of those times. I was shopping. Not only that, but it had been my suggestion. How the fuck did something like that happen?
I despised shopping with a passion. Hell, I didn’t even shop for myself! That was what I had a sister, mother, and the occasional relationship for. I couldn’t remember the last time I’d walked into a clothing store to buy something for myself. But Melany had looked up at me with those big doe eyes of hers and asked me to help her be more confident, and this was the first fucked-up thing my brain had come up with.
Shopping.
Someone shoot me. Please.
“For Christ’s sake, woman!” I shouted toward the curtain of her dressing room. “We don’t have all day. You don’t come out in something other than that godawful skirt, I’m going to be forced to come in there.”
“Don’t you dare!” she returned on a squeak. “And stop making fun of my clothes! My skirt is perfectly acceptable!”
I let out a quiet scoff and muttered, “Yeah, if you’re modeling for the Salvation Army.”
“I heard that!” she shouted back from behind the curtain. I didn’t bother trying to suppress my grin. Screwing with Melany was just too much fun. And for all her insistence that she didn’t do well with people—especially members of the opposite sex—she never seemed to have a problem going toe to toe with me when she felt the need to put me in my place.
“Quit arguing and get your ass out here.”
I heard a low, defeated groan coming from the curtain just before it flapped open and Melany came stomping out, her nose and mouth scrunched up in that expression of displeasure she liked to wear so much. She actually looked pretty damn adorable when she made that face.
But it wasn’t her cute expression I was focused on right at that moment.
Oh no. What I was focused on was the fact that she’d walked in there in an outfit that made her look like she had the shapeless body of a pre-pubescent boy, and stepped out flashing curves I didn’t even realize she had!
And, fuck me, were they some killer curves.
“Oh my God! You look so pretty!” Pepper cried from somewhere behind me.
Pretty most definitely wasn’t the word I was thinking as she rushed over and took Melany by the hand, making her spin in a circle so we could get the full effect of the outfit.
It was just a basic black pencil skirt and red blouse, but instead of being two times too big, the material wrapped around Melany’s body like a goddamn glove.
My mouth had suddenly gone dry at the sight of her perfect hourglass figure. Who would have ever guessed that was what she was hiding under all those baggy clothes?
“Chance?” Melany had been talking once she finished turning in a circle, but I was too awestruck to reply. “Uh… Chance?”
“Huh?” I finally muttered, pulling my gaze from her round, perky tits. “Sorry, what was that?”
“I asked if it looks okay.”
I cleared my throat and ignored Pepper’s knowing grin as I worked to form an answer. “Um, y-yeah. You look… yeah. It looks okay. Totally. Yep.”
“Wow,” Pepper deadpanned. “Real eloquent, Chance. And to think you speak in a courtroom for a living.”
I shot her a look before returning my gaze to a visibly twitchy Melany. “You look amazing,” I finally managed. “You’re getting that skirt… and that top.” My eyes made their way down her legs and stopped dead on the sky-high heels that encased her feet. It was amazing what a pair of heels could do to a woman’s legs. I’d seen Melany’s legs in skirts plenty of times since meeting her, but the sight of them now that she was wearing four-inch black pumps that gave a peek of her dainty little toes… well, it took everything in me to fight against getting hard.
“And you’re definitely getting those shoes.”
She lowered her head and twisted her ankle from side to side in contemplation. “I don’t know,” she began to object. “I’m not sure I’d be able to walk in these without assistance. I’ve never really worn heels this high before.”
“Don’t care,” I grunted. “You’ll learn. You’re getting them. Actually, you’re getting a few pairs. And more clothes. From here on out, you’re only wearing things that fit.”
“Chance!” Melany snapped, stomping one heel-clad foot.
“He’s actually right, you know,” Pepper intervened. “You look super cute in this. You should really consider buying clothes that fit you better.
“You’re being ridiculous. I can’t afford a whole new wardrobe!”
“Don’t worry about that. I’m taking care of it.”
Her face did that adorable angry, scrunched-up thing, and once again, I found myself fight against getting hard. Damn, she was cute. “You’re not buying me new clothes.”
“Yes I am. I’m also burning all your old ones.”
“You are not,” she warned between clenched teeth.
“I am too.”
“I kind of want to punch you right now.”
A chuckle worked its way from my throat. “You’ll get over it.”
We were l
ocked in a silent standoff when Pepper spoke. “Man, who knew today was going to be so much fun.”
Neither of us broke from our stare down… that was, until Pepper’s shop assistant Tomas came sauntering in and let out a loud whistle.
“Damn, girl! Baby got back!”
Melany’s cheeks grew beet red, but she was wavering. I could see it written all over her face.
“An ass like that is almost enough to turn me straight,” Tomas continued. “And that’s saying something since I love the D almost as much as I love Beyoncé. And I love me some Beyoncé. Pepper can vouch for that.”
“He really does,” Pepper added. “It’s actually a little frightening how much.”
I could tell Melany really liked hearing that, but pride made admitting defeat a struggle for her.
She bit down on her plump lower lip to keep from smiling at Tomas’s compliment. I slowly lifted my eyebrow and crossed my arms over my chest, keeping my focus on Melany the whole time. “Well?”
Squaring her shoulders and tipping her chin up in defiance, she finally relented. “Fine. You can buy me new clothes. But let the record show I’m not happy about it.”
The corner of my mouth kicked up in a smirk. “So noted.”
She carefully spun around on her heels and slowly made her way back to the dressing room on unsteady feet. She really was going to have to practice walking in those things.
I watched her round ass sway with each step she took until the curtain finally shut behind her.
Maybe shopping wasn’t going to be so bad after all.
Chapter 5
Melany
AFTER SLIPPING OFF my shoes—which were surprisingly comfortable, not that I’d ever admit that to Chance—and quietly making my way into the house so as not to wake up my mother who’d been passed out on the couch when I got home, I’d closed myself in my bedroom and tucked all the bags from my earlier shopping excursion in the back of my closet.
It wasn’t until I was changed into my favorite ratty sweats that I was able to breathe a bit easier. The last thing I needed was for Mom to see me sneaking in while wearing one of the new outfits Chance had bought me. If she got off on saying I looked skanky in my regular clothes, I could only imagine what she’d think of my new stuff.
Chance Encounters Page 4
