by Dawson, Zoe
It’s hard to believe that I ended up being friends with two of the most gorgeous guys on campus. Deke was a good guy, but he was most definitely friend material. Travis, on the other hand…well, I didn’t want to think about him that way. Where I came from, taking care of myself was paramount to survival.
What I was—correction, had been—was still too recent, and the scars I had hardened into my own personal armor. If Columbia ever got a whiff of what I had done just to get here, I would lose everything. I wiped my sweaty palms on my baggy jeans and said, “Took you long enough.”
He frowned. “That wasn’t long…oh,” he said, when he saw my raised brow. “You’re being your sarcastic self.”
That’s right. Tiffany had called me a harpy. It was far from the first time I’d heard that nickname. It was my street name. It’s what everyone had known me by back in the day. I needed a layer of body armor to protect me, and acting unaffected was a good way to keep people I didn’t quite trust at bay—even my friends—especially my friends, because, other than your enemies, those are the people who can really hurt you. I learned the hard way that if you’re always on guard, then no one can sneak in under your force field.
I entered the room and settled on Deke’s bed. “Where’s Deke?” I asked.
His mouth tightened, and he said, “He’s at some Fashion Week thing. The guy he was working for in Suttontowne, his wife is a designer. They’re showing at Lincoln Center.”
“Oh.” I wasn’t sure I wanted to be alone with Travis. I liked having Deke as a buffer between us. Not that Travis had any ideas. I was sure he didn’t, even though deep down I had a kernel of sad, pathetic hope. Travis was majorly focused on why he was here, and he wasn’t about to squander the opportunity. His father was shelling out some serious money. I was on scholarship, and so was Deke, but Travis was here to usher in a new generation of ranching. To learn better practices and modernize the process. He’d been raised under a lot of pressure. His father was counting on him to take their 1870 ranch into the 22nd century.
“He probably won’t be back until late. He said there were two showings and some kind of party tonight.”
He sounded mad, and I wondered why. Maybe he was busy and he was too polite to tell me to get lost. “That’s fine. I was just thinking we could study, but if you’re busy…”
Travis reminded me of that classic old-movie cowboy, quiet, reserved, stoic, but just damn sexy as hell. He had the longest eyelashes fringing amazing cobalt blue eyes with heavy black brows that gave him this stirring desperado look. But it was his mouth that grabbed most of my attention. His lower lip was full, but his upper lip—damn, it was a perfect, provocative, cupid’s bow. It gave a girl ideas.
He shuffled his feet, which were in his usual worn cowboy boots that weren’t for show. “I reckon I am busy.”
I sat there for a second. There was a new tension in him, something that made the tension in me build. We had been friends since classes began. I met him and Deke at orientation when I crashed into their line. The way he was acting made me nervous, and I stood up. “Okay, no biggie,” I said. “I don’t need you to hold my hand to study.”
“Yeah, well, I’ll see you later,” he said, and I headed for the door. As it closed behind me, I had to wonder what was going on with him.
It was better if I just minded my own business. Travis and I were worlds apart. The wild West was about as far away from my world as I was from the fashion world.
Misfits didn’t really fit in anywhere, and that suited me fine.
#
Deke
I headed back out into the chaos of a second show, only this time instead of a room full of dicks, there was a room full of boobs and smooth, tiny butts. I had to say, I preferred Minnie’s full curves to these tall, skinny girls. Didn’t mean I wouldn’t look. I was a guy, after all. I walked through and into the viewing room to join Boone and Braxton. When they saw me, both of them stood and shook my hand, chest-bumping.
“Hey, there’s the big man on campus,” Brax said, grinning. “You making good use of my gift?”
“Shut up, Brax,” Boone said. “What he’s doing is his own business.”
Brax snickered.
They indicated a chair, and since we were real close to the runway, I settled between them. The show went off without a hitch, and River Pearl looked amazing. Verity and Minnie were really talented, their clothes both pretty and functional. I liked the short skirts best. Big surprise, right?
As the room cleared out, Verity came out from the back with a garment bag and hugged me. “Thanks again for filling in. You can ride over to Minnie’s apartment with us.”
Outside Verity walked toward a black limo, and I glanced at Boone, who smirked. “We’re traveling in style. Minnie is a class act all the way.”
I settled in with the the brothers and Verity. It was plush and comfortable, but I didn’t want to look like a newbie, so I held back when I saw the bar. The trip was short, and we got out in front of a high rise and Verity again led the way. “Verity,” I said, touching her shoulder. “I’m not exactly dressed for this kinda thing.”
She turned to look at me and nodded. “Don’t worry. We’ve got it covered.”
“He’s taller than me, sugar,” Boone said.
She patted the garment bag. “I planned ahead.”
I followed her to the elevator and up to the…penthouse. “Minnie lives on the top floor?” I asked.
“Yes, we’re staying with her until we fly home day after tomorrow. We’re going sightseeing, if you want to come with us. Statue of Liberty, Ground Zero, the Guggenheim and the Empire State Building. When I was here last year, I never did any of those things.”
“You were a bit preoccupied,” Boone said.
She turned and cupped his face, giving him a soft kiss on the mouth. “Yes, I was.”
“Seems like you’re distracted again, too,” Brax groused.
I was still assimilating that Minnie was a successful-enough businesswoman to live in a penthouse suite, which impressed the hell out of me. Okay, the girl was rich, but I was going to continue operating on the message from the Wild Things book. Don’t judge. Minnie might have a lot of money, and I was as poor as a church mouse, but I wasn’t going to let that stop me from wooing her. From going as far as I could with her.
I didn’t notice the elevator had opened until Brax nudged me and we stepped out. Verity was already heading away from us, into the interior. She slipped past white sofas and colorful area rugs scattered over a black hardwood floor. Big domed windows gave a panoramic view of the city full of lights and activity. Verity climbed a set of stairs and leaned over the railing. I could see there was activity in the kitchen, and whatever she was having catered smelled really good. My stomach rumbled.
“Come on, Deke. The guests are going to be here any minute. We need to get changed.”
“Monkey suit time,” Brax said as he brushed past me and took the stairs two at a time. The elevator opened and River Pearl stepped out. “Oh, hello, Deke,” she said, giving me a quick hug and looking up the staircase. Brax had paused at the top and was smiling down at her.
She forgot all about me and hurried up the stairs. When she reached Brax, he slipped his arm around her waist and they disappeared down a hall.
I climbed up to Verity, and she led me down the hall into a bedroom with modern furniture that mirrored the décor downstairs.
“It’s a tux,” she said, nodding at the garment bag. “One Minnie designed, and it’s gorgeous. You will look amazing in it. We have a good line for the campaign. Want to hear it?”
“A tux,” I said, trying not to panic. I knew nothing about tuxes. She didn’t say anything, and I didn’t want to look like an idiot, so I didn’t say anything either. “Um, yeah, the line. Hit me,” I said to fill the awkward silence.
“‘Everyone is whispering about Bespoke, because you can only be you.’”
“That’s great,” I said.
She disappeare
d out the door and closed it behind her. I stared at the garment bag like it was full of snakes before finally realizing that if I didn’t open it and get dressed, Verity would be back here to check on me, and what I was trying to avoid—looking like an uneducated moron—would be abundantly clear.
I unzipped the bag and pulled out the black and white garments inside. There was a tie, white shirt, jacket and pants. This couldn’t be that hard. I pulled off my clothes and stepped into the pants. They fit me perfectly. I zipped them up partway, but got distracted by the shirt. It was the softest material I had ever felt. This must be silk.
I slipped into it, looked at the tie, and panicked all over again. There was a knock on the door, and before I could say anything it whipped open and Minnie stood there. She took one look at my face, came inside and closed the door behind her.
If she was surprised to see me, her scowl didn’t show it.
She didn’t say anything, just walked up to me and started buttoning my shirt. Her hands brushed against my skin and I shivered. Shivered.
I could only attribute it to the fact that I had never been with a woman. I’d kissed and petted, but had never gone all the way. Holding out when I didn’t have a clue as to who it would be for the first time wasn’t easy, but it was manageable with my hand as a stand-in.
But now I knew who I wanted to be my first. And, God, I wanted her. Had been wanting her since before she left Suttontowne. The heat of it scorched my nerve endings. There was no way she couldn’t feel it.
Her fingers brushed against my stomach, and I shivered again, not sure if she lingered or it was my stupid hope that she had.
I watched her face while she worked. So beautiful, delicate, an innocent-looking sprite. I wanted to touch her hair so badly it was almost unbearable.
She lifted her gaze to mine, and I wondered just what I was putting at risk here. I had an inescapable feeling that, now I had everything straight in my head, I had been waiting for her, for this moment, all along. Which, considering how she was hemming and hawing, wasn’t a given. She kept me riveted, as if I was the one holding her in place with such a light touch.
“Tuck,” she said, her voice breathless.
Grateful for something to do with my hands, I pushed the soft fabric into my waistband and hooked the clasp.
“Tie?” she asked.
“You’re on a roll, and I’m just a poor country boy that don’t know nothin’ ’bout fancy duds.”
I loved the way she met my eyes without so much as a quiver. I had to work to keep from adjusting myself. She leaned away from me, snagged the tie off the bed, and reached up, encircling my neck, displacing my hair and sending more shivers down my spine.
“I don’t believe you’re being honest with me.”
My brows rose and I smiled, unable to help it. “Oh, how so?”
She looped the tie and said, “You’re no boy. We both know that. Much too big for your britches, if you ask me.”
“Is that something you’d like to explore?”
“What?” She tilted her head, and I couldn’t help but notice the way it made all those rusty curls of hers tumble about her pale, delicately defined shoulders.
“How big I might be for my britches?”
She held my gaze easily, her smile growing. She cinched the tie too tight and I made a face and choking sound. She loosened it. “I’ll have to think about that, but I’m sure of one thing.”
“Just one thing?” I asked as she wrapped the silk tie around one end to form a bow.
Her eyes flicked up to mine, so green and sparkling, completing the bow and snugging the silk tight. “You’re very cocky.”
“I’m sure you mean confident.” It was taking all my willpower to stand here and chat, as if the explosive chemistry between us wasn’t setting every particle and atom in the room abuzz.
“Of course. That’s exactly what I mean.”
That was when I got the second meaning out of that children’s book Booker had given me. There’s a Wild Thing in all of us—and I wanted to see how bold hers would be.
The door opened and Verity hissed. “Minnie, come on. The guests are arriving and everyone is asking about Deke. It wouldn’t hurt to have him photographed in that tux. Sorry, Deke,” she said as she left, leaving the door ajar.
“You want me to do a photo op?” I asked.
#
Minnie
What I wanted was to shove my hands into that mass of wheat-colored hair and pull his mouth against mine. Hard. I suspected he got that wit from what I was sure was a close-to-genius IQ, the git.
“It’s all about selling my designs and, at the risk of blowing your big head up even further, you look smart in that tux.”
“Smart?”
“Dashing. Smashing.”
“Oh, go ahead,” he said, his heartbreaking blue eyes dancing. “Blow up my head.”
I shoved a hand against his chest instead of giving into temptation. “Aw, go on with you,” I said, and turned away.
Breathing a sigh of relief that I had put his clothes on instead of taking them off, I went through the door and down the stairs. Deke came down, and the room went nuts. Conversation exploded and cameras clicked constantly. I turned to look up, and even though I had just caught my breath, I lost it again. He stood at the top of the stairs, his light hair shining against the black of the tux jacket that fit superbly across those broad shoulders of his.
The murmur died down as he walked down the stairs and was immediately accosted by several women. I felt an ugly twinge.
I tried to let it go. He wasn’t for me. He smiled, and I turned away, grabbing a flute of champagne. Hopefully this would all blow over by the end of Fashion Week, and then Deke would be back at Columbia and I would be hard at work on my fall collection.
“Minnie,” Verity said. “Are you all right?”
“I’m smashing.”
When I started on my second flute, she said, “You’re getting smashed, you mean.”
“So? It’s our party and, luv, we were a hit.”
I lifted my glass and clinked it with Verity’s. “Thank you for taking a chance on me,” she said, blinking hard, her voice clogged. “I don’t know what I would have done without you last year.”
“You would have survived, my sweet. Because you are a fighter.”
She dashed at the tear sliding down her cheek, looking over at Boone. “I didn’t know I could be this happy. He’s so wonderful, sweet and…”
“Swoonworthy?”
“Yes,” she laughed. “The Boone Swoon is alive and well.”
“And you have your son Duel back. You deserve your happy ending.”
She touched my arm and squeezed. I loved this little Southern beauty, and I was so glad for her. She had gone through the ringer last year. It had been easy to first think she needed a shoulder to lean on, but I soon realized what a trooper she was. She deserved Boone. She had fought her father, the town, and a psycho to make it real. She was a talented, wonderful young woman, and I was proud to call her both my friend and my partner. This business was cutthroat at best, and it felt good to know Verity would always have my back.
Her hand tightened, and she shook me slightly. “I would love to see you happy.”
There wasn’t a man in this world I would trust to do that. “I need to make myself happy. Men like Boone don’t come along often. Most of them want one thing and then bolt after they get it.”
Her eyes softened at Boone’s name. “Aw, Minnie. There are a lot of guys who care, who stick around.”
“Sure.” I wrapped my arm around her shoulders for a brief hug. “Not been my experience, though.”
“You seemed pretty cozy up there with Deke.” She gave me a nudge.
I laughed and nudged her back. “Bloody hell. Deke is a baby, and I have four…now five years on him since I just celebrated my birthday. He’s a freshman, for God’s sake, and I have a business to run. But,” I said before I could curb the impulse, “he is a very beauti
ful boy.”
“I remember the first time I saw him. Taller than Boone, all those golden good looks, and still I could only see Boone.”
“Looks like he’s having the same problem,” I said as Boone came across the room and snuggled up to his wife, nuzzling her neck.
“Congratulations,” he said in that deep, dreamy Southern accent that had to be the sexiest sound on the planet. “Looks like you and Minnie made it, darlin’.” He kissed her, and that was my cue to leave, but I grabbed another flute as the waiter went by.
The night wore on, and I did the chit-chat and the banter and had a very nice time. Although four glasses of champagne on an empty stomach hadn’t been such a grand idea. I headed for the balcony with several pieces of cheese, but I was tipsy. Time for a bit of fresh air. The breeze was on the nippy side, but I didn’t care. It helped wake me up.
A jacket slipped around my shoulders, warm and smelling like Deke. I turned to find him standing there in his evening wear looking like he’d just stepped out of a glossy men’s magazine.
When he turned his head to look out over the city, golden stubble caught the lamplight. Something inside me caved in, ached, and I felt my loneliness as keenly as a knife’s edge. I wanted to go to bed, and I should, before I said or did something completely foolish.
He was just not on the same page with me. His age was an insurmountable barrier between us. It wouldn’t be fair for me to take that step and then regret it. He was just beginning his life, and I was thoroughly ensconced in mine. And I would look pathetic to anyone in my circle if I got involved with him. I’d never succumbed to one of my models, even when I was much younger. It was the kind of thing Angela did. Not me. My eye had always been on the ball, and it would stay there. Didn’t mean I couldn’t enjoy looking at him.
“It’s not anything like the bayou, with its rosy glow and the soft sounds of bullfrogs and crickets, but in its way it’s beautiful.” Oh, damn, he sounded even sexier than he looked, his voice low and smooth.
