by Noelle Adams
“Hold on. I’ll be right back.”
Sarah returned to the dressing cubicle, took off the unflattering dress, and waited until Karen flopped another dress over the door.
“Navy blue is just as good as black,” Karen explained, sounding like she was really getting excited about the challenge of finding Sarah something to wear.
Sarah was glad one of them was having fun.
“The blue will bring out your eyes,” Karen added. “Try it on.”
“It’s too short,” Sarah squeaked, holding up the simple sheathe dress. “And my arms aren’t thin enough to pull off the sleeveless look.”
“Try it on,” Karen said. “How do you know what will look good on you if you haven’t tried.”
Sarah grumbled to herself as she pulled on the dress, and she cringed as she contorted to zip it up in the back. It was far more fitted than anything she ever wore. Not to mention short. And sleeveless. If she was a size four, she would have liked this dress.
She wasn’t a size four.
When she looked in the mirror, it wasn’t as bad as she expected, though.
“Let me see,” Karen demanded.
Sarah self-consciously came out to the large mirror in the dressing area, hoping no other shoppers were around to see her.
“It’s great,” Karen said, clapping her hands. “You just need some heels. What size do you wear?”
Sarah told her and peered in the mirror dubiously. The soft fabric skimmed her body, emphasizing the curves of her breasts and waist in a flattering way. Her arms weren’t as bad as she’d thought—she actually liked the graceful curve of her shoulders and neck. And, when Karen arrived with a pair of stylish heels, Sarah’s legs actually looked pretty good.
“See,” Karen said, grinning. “I told you.”
Sarah almost laughed, feeling a slowly rising giddiness at the thought of almost looking pretty. “My skin is too white, though, don’t you think. My legs look strange. Do you think I should wear tights or…do women still wear pantyhose?”
Karen frowned, thinking. “Some do, but…Oh, I know. Hold on.”
Sarah waited, admiring herself from every angle and pleased that even her ass didn’t look too huge, although the curve of it was definitely visible.
Karen came back with a smile that was almost naughty. “Here—try these.”
Sarah gaped at the package the other woman handed her. They were expensive, delicate, lace-topped stockings.
“You’ve got to be kidding me,” she said at last.
“I’m not kidding. They’re very sexy.”
“Do people still wear these?”
“They’re back in style. They’d look great on you.”
“Do I need a garter belt or whatever it’s called to hold them up?”
“No, no. You’d be able to see the outline of it through that dress. These stay up on their own.”
“But…I’ll feel silly.”
“You’re going to a Damon house party, aren’t you? I’m telling you, these won’t be out of place, and they’ll be better than trying to wear tights all the time. I’d go with these or just bare legged.”
Sarah wasn’t about to go bare legged. Her skin was just too white. Girls at school used to tease her about wearing white hose all the time when it had simply been her bare legs.
So she grabbed the package with a frown. Maybe she’d like them more than she thought.
***
It was almost three in the afternoon when Sarah finally got back to the hotel. She’d needed a bellboy to help her with all her purchases. She’d spent a small fortune at the department store, but she was very pleased with the results.
Karen had talked her into trying things on she never would have done on her own, like the brown pencil skirt she wore now with a moss green cashmere twin set, two-tone heels, and a string of pearls.
Cyrus Damon expected people to make an effort, Karen had explained. Evidently, everyone knew that. He wouldn’t want someone arriving at his estate in jeans, even if they’d been traveling all day.
Jonathan wore tan trousers and a dress shirt that was only slightly wrinkled, so he’d obviously made an effort too. He was still working on his laptop, and he just glanced over with a “hello” when she arrived.
“Looks like you found a lot,” he said, taking a gulp of his coffee. His mug was obviously almost empty, since he had to turn it almost upside-down to get the last sip out.
Sarah tipped the bellboy and then fussed around with her bags. She’d had to buy new luggage too, since she’d never be able to fit all this in the bag she’d brought with her from Iceland.
She waited for Jonathan to notice how nice she looked.
A couple of minutes later, she realized she was waiting in vain. He was obviously caught up in whatever he was working on.
So she started lugging bags to her room with a sigh.
She was about to turn around to get another load of bags, but Jonathan had gotten up and was hauling the rest of them for her. At least he wasn’t so oblivious he’d forgotten to be nice.
He dropped the bags on the floor of her room as he stared at her.
He’d obviously just realized her appearance had changed.
She glanced down at herself self-consciously. Her pretty clothes were all still in place. She got a happy shiver when she saw them.
“What did you do?” he asked at last.
“What did I do?” she repeated, a wave of disappointment washing over her. His face reflected no pleasure or admiration at all. Just surprise. “What do you think I did? I got new clothes. And a haircut.”
She’d gone up to the salon on the top floor of the department store. They’d cut off several inches of her hair and given it some long layers. Since it was lighter than normal, it waved rather than bushed out. The stylist had suggested some lowlights to deepen the red color, and she’d agreed. She’d also agreed to an eyebrow wax, a manicure and a pedicure. She felt absolutely gorgeous when she’d left the department store at last, and she’d never felt that way before.
It would have been nice if Jonathan noticed.
“Oh,” he said, blinking and eyeing her from top to bottom like she was a bizarre creature in a museum. “You look…”
She waited for him to finish. “Gorgeous” would make her happy. “Pretty” would be satisfying. “Nice,” would be all right and probably more characteristic of him.
“Different.”
Sarah froze for a moment, registering what he’d said. Then she turned away, hiding her hurt feelings.
It didn’t matter what he thought. He didn’t have to like how she looked. She’d always known that Jonathan Damon would never fall for her.
She just didn’t want to embarrass herself or him at the fancy house party.
Maybe someone else would think she was pretty.
***
Sarah looked like a gorgeous stranger, and Jonathan didn’t like it at all.
She looked elegant, like she might belong in his uncle’s social circle—something Jonathan had never felt himself. That idea made him uncomfortable.
She also looked incredibly lush and sexy, despite the demure, ladylike outfit. The skirt emphasized her ass in a way he’d never noticed before, and the soft cashmere clung to her breasts. She made him think about sex, and that was even more uncomfortable.
Sarah was incredibly important to his work—he couldn’t at the moment imagine doing his job without her—so he couldn’t allow himself to ever think about her in any other way.
Hopefully, she wouldn’t look so irresistible for the entire coming week.
His uncle had sent a car and driver to pick them up, and he’d brought a scientific journal to pass the time on the drive to the estate. That normally would have been enough to distract him from any uncomfortable thoughts, but he kept noticing Sarah shifting beside him on the seat. He kept smelling a light, fresh fragrance that was obviously her.
She was never one to make small talk, only speaking if she had som
ething to say. He’d always liked that about her, but now the silence was strangely oppressive.
Something seemed to be the matter with her, but he had no idea what it was.
Finally, he put down the journal with a sigh, wishing he’d thought to bring his coffee with him.
He glanced over at Sarah. Her shoulders were stiff and her face pointed away from him. “Is this going to be okay?” he asked, wondering why he’d been so idiotic as to think this ridiculous scheme would ever work.
She looked at him in surprise. “Of course. Why wouldn’t it be?”
He lowered his brows. “Are you all right?” Her eyes looked bluer than they ever had before, maybe because of the sunlight rather than the artificial light of the lab. But her eyes also looked like she was close to tears.
He didn’t like that at all. She’d always been happy and agreeable. He didn’t like that she was upset. He needed to fix it.
“What’s wrong?” he asked, when she didn’t respond.
She gave a huff, almost poignant amusement. “Nothing.”
He frowned. She was obviously lying. “Tell me.”
She cleared her throat and slid her eyes away from him. “It’s nothing really,” she admitted, almost self-consciously. “I just spent a lot of time and effort today, trying to look nice.”
“You do look nice,” he said in surprise. “Who said you didn’t?” He felt a sudden flash of defensive resentment at the thought of someone putting her down. He had no idea where the feeling came from, but Sarah was his—his assistant, his help and companion—and he was irrationally angry at the thought of anyone not appreciating her appropriately.
After a long moment, to his absolute astonishment, Sarah started to laugh. Freely. Uninhibitedly. Her amusement was so infectious and so pretty he couldn’t look away, even though he had no idea what was causing it.
“What’s so funny?” he asked at last.
“Nothing,” she gasped, wiping away a couple of stray tears. “Sorry. It’s really nothing.”
She was acting confusing, something she’d never been before. He wasn’t quite sure why this was happening.
He was relieved when she changed the subject.
“What are your cousins like?”
“They’re okay. I’m not very close to them.”
“You grew up with them?”
He gave a half-shrug. “Not really. My parents died in the same plane crash as Andrew and Harrison’s parents, so my uncle became the guardian of all of us at the same time. But I was at school most of the time, and they had each other.”
“Were they nice to you?”
“They made an effort, but we didn’t have a lot of in common. I don’t mind them. We’re just not close.”
“Did you fight a lot?”
He shrugged again. “Not that much. One year at Christmas, we went skiing, and they were so mad because I could ski better than them. They were used to being better at sports than me.”
“You’re a good skier?” She looked surprised.
He wondered if she thought he wasn’t good at anything active. She’d been surprised he was running on the treadmill earlier that week. He didn’t like that idea either. Surely she realized he was a man capable of physical activity outside of a research lab. “I went to school in Switzerland. We skied a lot.”
“What about Benjamin? That’s your other cousin, right?”
“Yeah. He lived in the States with his mother, so I never spent much time with him.”
“Is he coming to the wedding?”
“I don’t know. He was asked, but I doubt he’ll come. He hasn’t said a word to my uncle in years.”
“That’s too bad. So you didn’t get closer to your cousins after you grew up?”
“We have different lives. It’s not like they were my brothers.”
The truth was, there had been a time when he would have liked to be close to them, but nothing he’d ever done had impressed them. He figured they’d always just written him off as a science nerd.
For some reason, the thought made him remember something. Reluctantly, he reached into his pocket and pulled out a little velvet pouch.
“Before I forget, you better wear this, since we’re supposed to be engaged.” He dumped a ring out onto his palm and handed it to her.
He’d spent a ludicrous amount of time that morning picking out an engagement ring. He’d gone to a smallish jewelry store, which he thought might expedite the process. He’d assumed it would be a simple decision, but the salesperson kept asking him questions about Sarah, trying to get a ring that fit her personality.
So the ring-shopping trip had taken much longer than he’d expected, and he’d had to think about Sarah and her personality much more deeply than he was normally inclined to do.
So he was strangely hesitant about offering her the final choice.
It had a delicately filigreed band of white and yellow gold with one square-shaped diamond.
Sarah stared down at the ring with wide eyes.
“Is it okay?” he asked at last.
“It’s gorgeous. You didn’t have to—”
“You had to have a ring.”
“Oh. Right. But it looks too expensive.”
He shrugged. It had been very expensive, but he’d never cared much about money one way or the other, except when it interfered with his work.
“It’s beautiful.”
He frowned, feeling like an idiot still holding out his hand with the untaken ring. At least she seemed to like it.
When she still made no move to take it, he demanded, “Would you just take the stupid thing?”
“Oh. Yeah. Sorry.” She was flushed, her hair hanging down over her face. “Thank you.”
Feeling awkward and ridiculous, he watched her slide the ring onto her ring finger. They both stared down at how it looked.
“It’s beautiful,” she murmured again.
He glanced away, feeling more uncomfortable than ever. He wished she wouldn’t make a big deal about it.
Then Sarah said, “We should probably decide on a backstory, in case people ask us how we got together and how we got engaged and everything. If we keep it simple, it shouldn’t be too hard.”
Jonathan was relieved to have a task to work on, and the rest of the trip wasn’t so unsettling.
***
Gordon, Cyrus Damon’s long-standing butler, answered the door, smiling at Jonathan with a placid face and kind blue eyes.
Jonathan had always liked Gordon. In fact, he was the only member of the household Jonathan was really looking forward to seeing. But he felt weirdly guilty as he introduced him to Sarah, calling her his fiancée.
It seemed wrong to lie to a man like Gordon.
Gordon greeted Sarah with kind professionalism, said Mr. Damon was on a conference call but would be out to greet them as soon as possible, and then he showed them up to a room on the second floor of the west wing of the mansion.
It was a large, ornate room with a huge old-fashioned bed and lush fabrics. Gordon gestured both of them in, however, and then the footman trailing them brought their luggage—both of their luggage—into the one room.
“Will this be all right?” Gordon asked, obviously reading something in Jonathan’s stunned face.
“I didn’t think he would want us to share a room.”
Gordon’s mouth twitched just slightly with what looked like amusement. “Of course, his preference would be to offer separate rooms. But we’re tight on space because of the number of guests expected, and, since you are engaged to Dr. Stratford, he decided this would be appropriate.”
Jonathan shot a glance to Sarah.
She was slightly flushed, but she smiled at Gordon. “This is lovely. Thanks so much.”
Gordon looked faintly relieved and told them that dinner was at seven.
That was obviously a reminder that they shouldn’t be late.
When they were alone, Jonathan looked at Sarah. “I’m sorry about this. I can’t believe he
’s okay with putting us in the same room. I can sleep on the floor.” He glanced around and noticed a chaise near the window. “Or on that.”
“Don’t be silly,” Sarah said, far more casually than he felt. “We’re both adults and the bed is big. It won’t be any trouble to share it.”
Jonathan agreed, since there was no reason not to. But he couldn’t help but think things were becoming far more intimate than he’d expected, far more intimate than was appropriate for two people who worked together the way they did.
Sarah leaned down to get something out of a bag. “You’ll put something else on for dinner, won’t you? I mean, they dress up for dinner more than we’re dressed up now?”
“Yeah. Usually.”
“We should say hello to your uncle first, though, right? Before we start to get dressed. Will you take a shower?”
Her quick-fire questions sounded a little nervous, and he wondered if sharing a room had upset her more than she’d let on. Jonathan watched as she rooted around for something, instinctively taking note of the lush curve of her ass. Then he noticed, as her skirt hiked up some, the lace top of one of her stockings.
His body reacted to the sultry look of the old-fashioned stockings on lovely legs he’d never even noticed before.
She always just been Sarah—smart, competent, thoughtful, eminently comfortable. Exactly the kind of person he wanted to work with. Exactly the kind of woman he wanted to spend his days with. How she’d turned into this curvy, sexy creature, he had no idea.
But his body was responding very inappropriately, and they were going to have to share a bed.
He was definitely taking a shower before dinner. Maybe right now.
And he’d probably be taking another one before bed.
Chapter Three
Sarah woke up early, since she’d gone to bed early the night before. After dinner, Jonathan had said he was going to work out in the gym in the basement. Thinking it would be less awkward to go to bed when he wasn’t around, Sarah had taken a quick shower and gotten in bed.
He must have done something other than work out, since he hadn’t come to bed until almost three in the morning. Sarah had half-awoken when he’d climbed under the covers beside her but had been too groggy to feel nervous about it.
