I forced myself to smile.
“Well, they were both really nice.” I held the teal one out to Dean, and he took it quickly.
“Awesome.” He reached for the black one as well and snatched it from my hands before turning on his heel.
“Oh no, I don’t want that one.” I rushed after him.
“Why?” He spun to face me.
“Did you look at the price on it?” I whispered.
“No.” He shrugged. My eyes widened. “Well, is it under $5000?”
My jaw dropped. Was that actually his lingerie cap? Five grand? Before I could answer him, Dean looked down at the price tag. “Oh, you had me worried!”
He made his way over to the counter as I stood there staring at him. How was that a reasonable price for him to pay for lingerie? I shook my head trying to clear it and crossed to the counter. The girl was ringing up the total.
“It’s a good thing there aren’t any other girls in here.” Her eyes sparkled. “They’d be quite jealous. Their boyfriends would have a lot of work ahead of them.”
“Oh, I’m sure they would understand.” Dean smiled, touching the small of my back.
I turned to look at him and returned his smile, my heart racing. I was going to sleep in something that cost more than my rent each month. And as crazy as that sounded, it also made me feel really good. Once my new lingerie was bagged and the bag handed to us, we made our way out of the shop.
“I should be so mad at you for spending that much on me.” But I reached out and took his hand. I knew why he was doing it; I knew I wasn’t pressuring him into it, but I still felt bad.
“Are you?”
“No,” I admitted. “I think it’s actually kinda sweet. But not something that is going to happen often!”
“Alright, I can agree to those terms.” His smile widened as we came to a stop in front of another store. “You know, everyone says Italian leather is the best kind of leather out there.”
I stared at him blankly. “Didn’t I just say …?”
“Yes, yes, I heard you. You said it couldn’t happen all the time, so I’m going to take full advantage of it when I am allowed to spoil you. Now, come on; let’s get you a nice new purse or something.” And without another word, he dragged me into the store.
The scent of leather engulfed me as we made our way to the back of the store—towards the sale section. Well, at least, he’s going to let me buy something from the sales rack, I thought as I looked around. Not that it mattered much. They were still at least $300. Not that it was much more than what you would spend back home, but it still felt silly to let him do all this shopping and pay all this money on a purse and a couple pieces of clothing.
“Well, what one do you like?”
I reached hesitantly towards the one I’d been eyeing. A brown dome-shaped purse that looked just wide enough for me to slip my computer in at the bottom and tall enough for me to fit everything I needed to in there.
“That one looks nice.” He sounded a little unsure. “Um … yea, I know nothing about purses.”
I laughed softly. “It’s all personal preference.” With a shrug, I looked at the purse for a couple more seconds; it was really nice.
“So that’s the one you like, right?”
“Yea … I—”
I didn’t get a chance to say anything else before Dean took the purse from my hands and strode to the counter. I opened my mouth to protest, but nothing came out. Instead, I followed him to the counter and watched him pay.
As much as I hated admitting it, I kind of liked having this attention paid to me—having him provide me with lavish things and take me to Italy. I would never admit it to anyone but myself but totally wanted to keep living like this.
Except you can’t. No, I was right. I couldn’t take advantage of him. I have to be independent, no matter how much he says he wants to spoil me.
I’d always said I would never let a man take care of me. And now here I was more than happy with the idea of it. But then again, who didn’t like having everything taken care of for them?
I didn’t pay much attention as Dean paid and the girl handed me a bag with the purse in it. I bit my lip, wanting to be able to do this. I wanted to be able to walk into a store, pull out my debit card and spend however much I wanted on whatever stupid little thing I wanted. I guess I’d better get my ass in gear and get to college then. After college, I could work until I had enough saved to buy a place, and then I could open my hot chocolate business.
It sounded stupid and everyone laughed—well, everyone except Dean. He’d been interested in it and asked me about my plans. He’d also sorta promised that I’d have a job with him until I was ready to move on. But I was going to hold onto that—you never knew what could happen.
When I’d broken up with Brad, he’d made it his goal not only to fire but humiliate me. The other girls in the office had seemed to enjoy it just a little bit too much.
I mentally shook myself, trying not to let my past catch up with me now. I mean, I was in Italy with this amazing man. I shouldn’t be thinking about anything other than what we were going to do later tonight.
Dean held his arm out for me, and I took it as we headed to the door and back out onto the street.
“Crap,” he muttered, coming to a stop. It was right then that I heard his phone ringing. He pulled away from me and grabbed his phone from his pocket, unlocking the screen and lifting it to his ear.
“Hello?” There were a couple seconds of silence as he listened to the person on the other end. “Hang on.” He moved the phone away from his lips and looked at me. “Head back.” He fished the key out of his pocket and handed it to me. “I’ll be a little while—work. I’ll meet you back at the hotel.”
I nodded, taking the key from him. Placing a quick kiss on his cheeks, I headed back towards the hotel as I heard him start talking again. I didn’t pay much attention to it, being too busy looking around as I returned to the hotel, taking deep breaths as I passed cafés with their windows almost calling me inside. Maybe if I hadn’t been carrying my bags, I would be more tempted to go inside and grab something quickly, but as it was, I was just returning to the hotel.
My heart dropped as soon as I stepped into the building, suddenly wishing I had stopped to grab a coffee.
Chapter Four
Kirra stared at me with narrowed eyes as she stepped closer to Brad, her arm wrapping around his. She placed a soft kiss on his cheek.
She’d always been the worst to me and had made it her personal goal every day to make me feel like shit. I took a deep breath, getting ready for whatever kind of showdown there was about to be and strode towards the elevator where they were waiting.
“Becky!” Brad sounded thrilled to see me. “Where is your boyfriend?”
“Oh, Dean had to take a business call. I just figured I’d give him some alone time to sort everything out while I went upstairs.” Kirra stared at me, not a hint of a smile on her face. “Hi.” I plastered on a fake smile.
“Always dating the boss, I see.” I was pretty sure her comment was supposed to be snarky, but not really sure how, considering she was dating her boss too.
“Well, I tried not to.” I shrugged. And I had. I’d thought it would be a dreadful idea to get together with Dean. “But he … has a way of not giving up. I mean, when you own a string of successful casinos, you need to have a bit of drive. But he ended out convincing me to go on one date with him; he took me to Quebec … and then … well, some stuff happened and it was just so clear to me that I shouldn’t let my past control my future.” It probably sounded a little bit more snarky than I meant it to, but I didn’t really care. The fact was that everything that happened with Brad had left me scarred for a long time.
The elevator stopped in front of us, and the doors opened. I was the first to step in.
“So that’s what he does.” Brad sounded like he was actually interested. “You know, I’ve been thinking about branching out into the casino busin
ess … Maybe we should talk sometime.”
I’m pretty sure Kirra and I had the same look on our faces when he said that. But I didn’t say anything. I just kinda grunted and stared straight ahead.
“We should get together for dinner tonight!”
My eyes widened as I heard his words. This had to be a joke. Right?
“Oh, I um … I’m not sure that will work.”
“Of course. I’m sure you two have some romantic night out planned; I mean, it is Italy. How about lunch tomorrow? I’ve missed you so much.” He reached out and touched my arm.
It took everything I had not to pull away, and I did take some satisfaction in the fact that Kirra would probably kill him later for so much as touching me, let alone saying that he missed me.
“I’ll talk to Dean about that. He’s done all the planning for the trip, so I’m not sure what he has in mind for tomorrow, but if we’re free, I’ll let you know.”
I felt a wave of relief wash over me as the door opened, and I quickly stepped out onto my floor.
“We’re in room 223,” Brad piped up as the doors started to close.
“Oh, okay. Well, I’ll be sure to let you know,” I lied as I turned on my heel and headed for our room as fast as I could. Still, I heard Kirra start on him for missing me—I won’t lie; I smiled.
Unlocking our door, I crossed to the bed, dropping my bags on it before strolling to the bathroom and looking around. After such a long flight and being out, even though it wasn’t that long, I was in need of a little bit of freshening up.
*
After half an hour in a jetted tub, I was beginning to feel like a whole new person. I grinned upon hearing the door open.
“Hey, babe!” I called from the bathroom. Dean appeared in the doorway within seconds, his eyes fleetingly roaming over my body.
“You know, I think we should get one of those for my place. I think we could spend a lot of time in there having fun.”
I scuffed at his sexual hint. “Screw that; if we get one of these, all I’m doing in there is relaxing.”
“Oh, I can make you relax lots.” His eyes sparkled.
I didn’t say anything, mostly because I was thinking about what he had said. We. If we get one. When did it become we?
Wasn’t it too soon for we?
I wanted to ask but didn’t dare bring it to his attention. Sure, we’d said the I love you’s, but that was nothing compared to “we.”
I sank back into the tub watching as Dean ambled over to the rim and sat down.
“Who called?”
“Melina.”
“Is everything okay?”
“Yea, she just had a couple questions about some stuff. Things like where I want the TVs to go.” He grinned. “I think she was just calling to check in on us, honestly.”
“She worries about you.”
“I know; she was the only one that was really there for me when everything with Jessica and Keith was going on … when no one believed me, she did.”
“She’s a good friend.” I watched him closely as I lathered my hands with soap. I’d always wanted to know what kind of relationship they had. “Is that why you brought her here? Because she was such a good friend in your time of need?”
“That and because she knows what she’s doing.” Dean paused. “She’s a good worker, and she has a way with people; I’m sure you’ve noticed.”
“She reads people very well.”
She’d figured out about us the second she saw us together. I smiled thinking about it. When I’d first met Melina, I wasn’t sure if she and Dean had something going on, but as it turned out, she had a boyfriend—one who wasn’t Dean. And more than anything, it just seemed like she was a protective older sister to him.
Dean grinned as he leaned over and gave me a quick kiss. “So I was thinking we have an early night, get up early tomorrow and do some real sightseeing; how’s that sound?”
“Sounds perfect to me. Oh and um …” I paused. “Brad wants to have lunch with us tomorrow. I think he has something in mind he wants to talk to you about businesswise.”
“I thought you said he was a dick?”
“Oh he is, but he’s a good businessman.”
Dean shrugged. “No thanks, I don’t like partnering with dicks. You can’t trust them. You never know when they are going to stab you in the back.”
A smile touched my lips. I wasn’t willing to admit just how happy it made me that he wanted nothing to do with Brad.
“Oh, and I found out he’s banging another one of his employees. She hated me so much when I was dating him. She looked down at me like I was this filthy scum for dating him, for being in love with him.” I laughed dryly. “Now she’s in the same boat as me, I hope.”
I knew it was wrong to hope that everyone hated her as much as they hated me, but I did—and I didn’t even feel bad for it. She’d made my life hell. She’d started rumors about me, trying to break me and Brad up; she’d turned everyone against me. She was one of the reasons I woke up dreading going to work, but I’d put on a tough face, and I’d gone to work every day just to show her that it wasn’t going to work.
Dean raised an eyebrow.
*
I’d never seen her sound that mad, well, except at me. But that was during a time in which she really should have been mad. “Do you want me to beat her up for you?” I offered jokingly.
I had no clue what happened to her at her old work, but I knew it still weighed on her. I’d known all along that she’d been hesitant to date me because of something that happened with another boss. I cleared my throat and headed for the main room. “Hurry up, and we can grab some room service.”
Chapter Five
I slipped out of bed without her realizing it the next morning, dressed quickly and headed downstairs to grab us some coffee and breakfast.
Standing in line, I thought about everything I had planned for the day. The whole point of going on this trip was to take her away from everything stressful going on at home, and now here we were in the same hotel as her ex-boyfriend and his new fling.
“Dean, right?”
I closed my eyes. Dammit. Speak of the Devil. I turned to see him standing behind me in line with a girl hanging on his arm. She had bright blonde hair and brown eyes. Despite the fact that she was busty with a nice body, there was a sour look on her face that made me want to cringe.
“Yes. Brad, right?”
“Yea! Did Becky tell me about you?”
I bit the inside of my cheek as I heard him call her Becky. It made me want to punch him right then and there.
“Oh, she’s told me all about you two.” I gave them a soft smile. For a fraction of a second, I could have sworn the girl looked worried.
“Great!” I looked at Brad. Is he a total moron? Did he not get the hint in there? “So, are you two going to join us for lunch?”
“No. We’ve got plans for the day to do some sightseeing.”
“Oh, that’s so romantic,” the girl piped up, moving closer to Brad. “I keep telling Brad we need to take a little time to enjoy the view, but he’s so busy with work.” I could hear the hostility in her voice, and for a second, a smile flashed across my face. I’ll have to make sure to tell Becca that I annoyed her. For some reason, I was pretty sure she’d be happy to hear it.
I turned my attention back to the line we were standing in and moved up. Thankfully, there was only one person in front of me before I could place my order.
“What about dinner? I’m not sure if Becky mentioned, but I had something to talk to you about; I think we could make really good partners.” He paused to take a deep breath before going into his sepal, and I took advantage of it.
“I’m not really looking for any new partners at the moment, and quite frankly, I’m not sure that we would work well together, but if that ever changes, I’ll be sure to get a hold of you.”
I knew I was burning a bridge that should have kept up but couldn’t help it. The way he called he
r “Becky” and the way he jumped at trying to sell me something right off the bat. Hell, even the fact that he wasn’t taking his girlfriend out to do anything while they were in Italy. Everything about him pissed me off, and I was totally okay with burning this bridge. I gave him a polite smile before turning my attention back to the line and stepped forward the first chance I got.
I placed my order, and neither Brad nor his girlfriend tried to talk to me again. They muttered in low voices, but I did hear Rebecca mentioned once. Something made my body stiffen as I tried to hear what they were saying. I couldn’t make it out, so forcing myself to shake it off, I grabbed my order and hurried up to the hotel room to wake her up.
*
I rolled over as I heard the door open.
“Hey,” I mumbled, pushing the hair out of my face as I sat up and took a deep breath. Yup. Coffee. I grinned, reaching out for the coffee as he came towards me.
“I ran into your ex-boyfriend.”
I groaned as my heart dropped into my stomach. “How bad was it?” Was I going to have to complain about him harassing us?
“I think I shut him down pretty well by telling him I wasn’t interested.” He shrugged but didn’t say anything else as he handed me my coffee.
“Oh, thank God.” I took a careful sip to test the temperature before taking a gulp.
“His girlfriend doesn’t seem very happy. Seems like he’s not spending enough time with her.”
“Yea, I can see that. He never made much time for a relationship.” Dean raised an eyebrow. After a couple seconds, it occurred to me that he was waiting for me to explain. I just shrugged. “He just … always put more time into work than into the relationship. He didn’t like admitting if there was an issue or confronting it. He also didn’t like going on special dates or meeting parents.” Which reminded me … “Oh, and my mom is going to be insistent that we meet her after blowing her off this weekend.”
We’d been planning to go to dinner, but after the shooting, I just wasn’t in the mood to leave my house. Honestly, I’d kinda been freaked out leaving the house, so my mom was understanding when I called to tell her that we wouldn’t be able to make it.
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