Romancing the Fashionista: The Flirty Fashionistas, Book 1

by K. M. Jackson

  Still, Mel picked up her cell and snapped a pic for Lexi. It would make for good conversation on the way home. What could Ramona have on the principal or the PTA to get them to okay such a horrible idea?

  She took her phone and zoomed in a bit on Nolan as Ramona said something in his ear, pulling his attention away from where he was looking in her direction. Mel caught his frown, the drawing in of his eyebrows and the slight tightening of his lips, and once again remembered how those lips felt against her own. His stubble was a little more shadowed today, and it made the tops of her fingers itch with need to run her hands through it. She wanted to snap the close-up picture of him, but it would be wrong and it would also feel like an admission of some sort. One she wasn’t ready to admit to, so instead she hit a button sending her phone back to its home screen. Just as she did, Mel looked up to see Nolan stand and hop down from the float, coming toward her with a determined smile.

  Mel looked back at the float and there was Ramona rolling her eyes and shaking her head before turning back forward with a forced smile and a queenly wave.

  Nolan stood in front of Mel and had his first genuine smile of the day.

  “What the hell was that about? Are you trying to make us the talk of the town?”

  He glanced back towards a stiff-backed Ramona as the float continued on without him. “Hey, you were the one who kissed me last night and started it. I thought I’d keep the fun going. Besides, she was working my last nerve. You should have heard—no better you didn’t hear—the propositions I was getting this morning. Just then, I had to ask her if she kissed her husband with that mouth.”

  Mel raised a brow. “Let me guess, her answer was yes.”

  Nolan laughed. “How did you know?”

  Mel shrugged. “He seemed the type to let a lot slide and go with the flow.”

  Nolan nodded in the affirmative, feeling pity for Ramona’s husband. He remembered when he was the type to go with the flow too. Ramona’s family was long standing in the town, owning lots of land and the leases on most of the buildings along Main Street, including the plant where his own father was manager for many years.

  Nolan shrugged off the old feeling of suffocation. “Since I’m no longer tethered to the float, you want to walk a bit? Catch up before hitting the pep rally and the game? Or we can skip it all together.”

  Mel looked at him from behind the shades a second longer than made him comfortable.

  “We can walk,” she finally said.

  Nolan gestured for her to lead, wanting to place his hand once again on her back but somehow hesitant to do so today. He let her lead as she headed south on Main, following along with the parade route but at a slower pace. She looked hot in a pair of well-fitting slim dark jeans tucked into what looked like riding boots that were expensive enough to take care of a moderate mortgage. She topped the ensemble with a body-skimming, thin black turtleneck that looked luxurious enough to be cashmere. Though it was October, the sun was bright and the day was surprisingly warm. She had no jacket, just a large light-grey scarf she’d looped around her neck. Her dark hair, which now blew in the wind, had lovely highlights of reddish brown that caught the sun just so and did the most intriguing things around her face.

  “Are you going to stare at me, or did you plan to talk on this walk?” Mel asked, getting right to the point.

  “Sorry. I was enjoying the view, Ms. Business Woman, but we can talk if you want. Tell me, what have you been up to these past fifteen years?”

  She smiled. A wry smile, and he knew she was probably rolling her eyes behind her dark glasses as she brought her coffee cup to her lips, took a sip, then gave her upper lip a lick. He felt an immediate pull in his groin and thought maybe hopping off the float was not the best idea if he was going to behave like an overeager teenager.

  “What, was that question not savvy enough for you? I know you hang with the big dogs now and I’m just a local townie but, come on, spill. I’m curious. Tell me how a girl from Nowhere, New York becomes the “it” woman of the fashion scene. You are hot. One word from you can make or break a person.”

  Mel pulled up short and this time he really knew she was frowning behind her glasses. He stopped walking and turned to her. “Wait, did I say something wrong?”

  She shook her head. “No, it’s just, I’m kind of surprised you know about me. Most people who do are in the industry and want to work with me in some way. And I’m sorry I was so short. I, um, tend to do that. I’m not used to having free time to just talk or even take a leisurely walk for that matter.” She took another sip of her coffee, shook the cup, and found it came up empty. She tossed it in a nearby trashcan before continuing their walk. This time her pace was brisker and he rushed to keep up.

  “Well, I can tell. You definitely have that New York, fast-paced thing down. A guy’s gotta be in shape to keep up with you.” The corner of her lip quirked a bit at that and he got an instant pull of desire, wondering if her mind went where his did. He forced himself to keep it light though. At least for now. “Come on, of course I know about you. This town is only so big, and you had to have noticed the murmurs as you walked into the mixer last night. You’re all the talk. Not to mention even here. Don’t you see how some of these housewives are checking you out? Wondering who you are? You can’t go partying with Bey and J on yachts and still keep your anonymity.”

  Mel looked around and he could tell she now caught the furtive glances from some of the residents who indeed had questions in their eyes before she turned back to him. “Okay, I hear you. I just didn’t expect it from here or from you. I get a little of it in Manhattan, very little. When you’re not a celeb you only get it from those you can give a handout to. But here, I’m a nobody. Here, folks like you and Ramona are the stars.”

  Nolan took a deep breath. “One, you were never a nobody. And two, trust me, those days are long past despite what glory days people like Ramona are hoping to live again.”

  Mel touched his arm, and it sent a gentle crackle up to his spine that made him feel alive. “I’m sorry. Now I feel like I made you go to places you may not have wanted to go.”

  For some reason it seemed like his hands were working without the benefit of his brain as they reached out and took the dark shades off her eyes. Thankfully she didn’t pull back; instead she blinked and looked at him. Those beautiful dark eyes, so very like the ones he remembered looking up at him all those years ago. The ones that held all the promise, all the hope for a future the way he dreamt it could be. Mel winced a bit as the sun shifted. Nolan slipped the glasses back on her. “No, you’ve brought me right where I need to be, and for the first time in a long time, I’m exactly where I want to be.”

  Mel tilted her head as if she were about to say something but reconsidered. She was about to step off once again, the parade looking like it was coming to an end as they were now nearing the high school fields, when suddenly Nolan knew he didn’t want to be with her along with the rest of the crowd. He looked up and saw they were in front of The Clover Diner. “Are you hungry, or can you do with another cup of coffee? Because I’m starved, and I really don’t want whatever they are peddling over at the field.”

  Mel smiled and Nolan realized that during his question he had reached for her hand. She pulled him towards the diner. “Sure. I can eat. I thought I’d be meeting up with Lex, but she’s proving to be useless this trip. Still sleeping in after last night.”

  They made their way into the diner and Nolan was bereft when Mel let go of his hand. Like a child, he instantly wanted to reach out and grab hers again but knew he couldn’t. The diner was crowded due to so many townspeople being out on the parade route, but the hostess thankfully had one available booth where she seated them. After the waitress served them both two cups of coffee and took their orders, they stared at each other for a moment.

  Nolan reached out once again with a question. “Do you mind?”

&
nbsp; “What?” Her voice was soft, low and hesitant. It was a tone he’d not yet heard her use, and he liked it. It made him wonder what her voice would be like close to his ear when they were making love.

  “Your glasses. You still have them on though it’s plenty dark in here.” He gently pulled them off, folded them and placed them by her side as she tucked her hair behind her ears.

  Mel looked at him now hesitantly, a sweet shyness coming to her features. “I’m sorry. It’s a habit, me wearing them. They’re prescription. So, necessary.” She shrugged. “Also, a sort of shield. Lets me observe people unaware. Helps in the city.” She reached into her bag and pulled out an eyeglass case and switched the shades for a pair of dramatic horn-rimmed clear lenses. “But since I don’t have contacts on, I have to wear these.”

  “I think those look great on you. Mad sexy if you ask me.”

  She frowned, her brows drawing tightly together. “Really, Nolan. You can save the player act for when you’re out with Ian. It’s wasted on me.” She then took out her phone and flipped through a few screens, frowning.

  He shook his head and folded his arms. “You really take me back, woman. You wouldn’t give me the time of day then, and you won’t now. For all your glasses you don’t see much. You have to know how crazy I’ve always been about you.”

  His words had the desired effect as her head popped up and her pretty mouth flew open. Too bad it was just in time for the waitress to bring their breakfast specials, breaking the moment.

  Mel set her phone beside her and looked at her plate of egg whites, turkey sausage and rye toast. It was a sharp contrast to his ham and cheese omelet with a side of pancakes and bacon, but he wanted to live a little after being away from American breakfasts for so long.

  She looked over at his breakfast as he did a generous pour of the syrup.

  “You want a bite?” he asked, waving the fork her way as she shook her head before taking the fluffy pancake into his own mouth.

  He knew she wanted some of his breakfast and maybe more, but she was being stubborn, which was so Mellie. He shrugged. “Fine. More for me.”

  “I have a daughter,” Mel finally said as she calmly spread strawberry jam on her toast, trying hard to disguise the tension in her voice.

  It pulled him up short but he was quick to recover, at least, he hoped he was. “That’s wonderful. Do you have a husband to go with the daughter, because I don’t see you wearing a ring?”

  She took a delicate bite of the toast but he didn’t miss the tightness in her jaw that she tried unsuccessfully to conceal. “Nope. No husband and no ex. It’s just me and Bailey.”

  Nolan smiled. Relieved he didn’t have an ex to deal with. “That’s even better. Tell me about her.”

  It was then he saw a bit of her guard come up before thankfully she visibly relaxed and talked about her daughter. “Though some like to say my work is everything. They’re wrong. Bailey really is my life.”

  Nolan nodded. “I can tell. I have to say, I’m really happy for you and maybe a little jealous too. You have something—no, someone—who gives you so much happiness and unconditional love. Not to mention a career that’s fulfilling. You are living your dream. It’s good and right.”

  Mel shook her head, but couldn’t hide her blush. “If you say so. But the preteen years are here, so I’m just holding on. My mother has warned me that so far I’ve been lucky.”

  They both laughed at that. It felt good to be sitting across from her sharing a laugh and some food. Felt like something he could be happy doing more of.

  “Okay, enough about me,” she said. “Are you living your dream? I thought you’d be on the back cover of my newspaper as some star hitter. I’m really sorry it didn’t work out that way for you.” She sounded so sincere that he almost gave her the usual answer of “not in the cards”, but he was happy doing what he was doing.

  Instead, he shook his head. “Don’t feel sorry for me. Things honestly could not have worked out better. None of that was my dream, it was the dream put on me by my parents, the school, society.” He took a sip of his coffee. “You know how this town is. It has a way of pushing you to go along to get along.”

  Mel nodded as Nolan continued. “Yeah, but you got out. Now you live life on your own terms. You are the one in charge.”

  She let out a low breath at that and rubbed her forehead as her phone buzzed with a message. She glanced at the screen. “But it’s exhausting. You don’t know who’s sincere and who’s not. My life is Bailey and my mom, the magazine and at times wrangling Lexi. They are the only constants. At least with what you do, you know where people stand and folks are not trying to friend you for what they can get out of you.”

  Something in her expression gave him pause, and it stopped him from sharing more. “Yeah, I can understand how that can get to be a bit much.”

  He watched as Mel finished her eggs, now more relaxed, she reached over to snag a bite of his pancake. “So tell me what you have been up to, doctor? I have to say, impressive, calling you that, if not a little surprising.”

  Nolan pretended to choke on his coffee. “Is that your way of saying I was stupid in school, Ms. Mitchell?”

  She blushed but in true form shrugged it off.

  He grinned, happy to be on better footing. “Okay, it is odd given my history, but not so much as you and what you do. If anything I’d have thought you’d turn out to be the doctor. You were so good in science. But honestly, I didn’t need as much help as I was letting on. Half the time, me asking you for help was an excuse to be close to you.”

  With that the rosy hue in her cheeks went deeper and he felt himself harden. God she was beautiful. Beautiful when she wasn’t even trying to be. Thank goodness for the table. Nolan fought for focus and control. “But seriously, I love what I do and plastic surgery, especially my work with those who are disadvantaged, has been really rewarding.”

  “So what brings you back here now?” she asked.

  Nolan paused. He really should tell her everything. That he’d be moving to New York and joining a private practice, but he wanted to have this time. He didn’t want to see that easy light fade from her eyes. He’d heard her earlier. She wasn’t looking for any possible attachments and he didn’t want this perfect day to end. “I came home for my parents. Bills are due and you can’t work for free forever. I have to help out.”

  Mel nodded as the waitress came back with the check and she reached for it. Nolan snatched it away quicker than Mel could get it though, tilting his head to the side. “You really like to have the upper hand at everything, don’t you?”

  “Sorry, it’s a habit.”

  He stared at her, so self-assured and confident in her sexy glasses. She was a woman who took control and command in every situation she was in.

  “Tell me, do you ever let a man take over and take care of you?”

  She looked at him and it seemed like everything around them grew still and went to a quiet hush as the smile and the easiness left her eyes to be suddenly replaced by a deep sadness that cut straight into his soul. Her voice was slow and steady without a hint of mockery. “I’ve never had one make a sincere try at it.”

  Chapter Eight

  Brunch somehow turned into lunch and when they left the diner it was much later in the afternoon. Mel and Nolan walked the town a bit, chatting as old friends with the tingling possibility of becoming something more. Mel took a moment and let the feeling of that wash over her while, at the same time, she let the conscience on her shoulder war with it by telling her she was wasting her time by even having slightly meaningful conversation with the likes of Nolan Parker. If anything, she should only be checking out the way his nicely muscled ass filled out his well-worn jeans and admiring how his broad shoulders took up space in his sweater.

  “So, we’ll check out the game for a few minutes?”

  “What?” Great. H
e’s talking, and I totally miss it by imagining how my ankles would look up by his neck.

  “Since we’re so close, why don’t we check out the game for a few before heading back to the hotel for dinner and the formal?”

  Mel’s eyes went skyward in a dramatic roll.

  “Is that for me, the game, or the formal?”

  Mel smiled. “It’s definitely not for you. It’s just, I wasn’t into football then, and I’m definitely not into it now. And the thought of another night with our old crew honestly fills me with dread. Present company excluded.”

  Nolan took her hand and she could tell he was being tentative but she went with it. Not pulling back, as they started toward the high school fields as he spoke. “I totally understand. I don’t know why I agreed to come to this thing either. If it weren’t for Ian, who I’ve hardly seen, I wouldn’t be here. I suspect it’s the same with you and Lexi. But now that I’ve reconnected with you, I can’t be mad.”

  His words gave her a thrill she’d long ago forgotten as they stopped behind the blue bleachers. The bright lights of the field were now shaded by slats and sneakered feet. Nolan took both her hands in his and pulled her close to his body stepping forward. “We are probably both about fifteen years too old for this, but here goes.”

  Mel swallowed then let out a much-needed breath, as she looked up into his dark eyes, in that moment, turning into every bit the emotional teen she used to be. “I’m sure you’re right.”

  As if in slow motion, Nolan reached up and touched her hair, sweeping it out of her face and tucking it behind her ear, his fingers trailing down her neck. Mel felt so wound up, with one more crank she thought she could blow. “But I’m going to do it anyway, okay?” Damn him, why was he asking a question he good and well knew the answer to?

  All she could do was nod her reply.

  And in one wondrously electric-charged connection Nolan took away her ability to think, breathe, do, be anything other than a twisted bundle of energy powered by the touch of his lips. When he pulled her body in close to his hardness, pressing against her center as he eased the pressure to sweep his tongue across her lips to gain entry into her mouth, it was as if all the bundled nerves unwound and burst into a brilliant ray of light. Mel couldn’t help the laugh that bubbled up from deep inside her that came up and out at the image of it.