She swallowed back her distaste. He was right. Who was she? No one. Without her father, she was a nobody. And she had nothing. Heck, last night she was almost on the streets. She had no right to be picky. Her father wanted her to suffer. She could show him she wasn’t a spoiled brat. She’d do this. “Okay,” she said, the word tasting a bit bitter on her tongue.
Austin laughed. “You look like you’re about to go on that television program that makes you eat baby ostrich eggs or something.”
She smoothed out her features and flashed him a smile. “Nope. I’m good. Let’s go see what they have. Maybe it’s not so bad.”
“I’m sure you’ll live through it.”
Dani nodded, although she wasn’t as confident as Austin. If anyone took a picture of her shopping at SaleMart, she’d have to die a thousand deaths. She’d be made fun of for the rest of her life.
Chapter 10
The cart squeaked as Austin pushed it down the aisle. Dani looked like she was praying the ceiling would fall on her and cover her so no one would see her shopping there. She kept putting her hand up to her face, like she was shielding the sun, but they were indoors. It made him smile. They passed by a large display of sunglasses and Dani grabbed a pair, sliding them on her face.
“You don’t need to hide.”
“I’m not hiding. I like these. They are…” She tapped the side, like she was trying to think of something nice to say about the cheap sunglasses. “A nice plastic,” she finished. She continued walking, and he didn’t press the issue.
“Do you want to check these out?” he asked as they walked by the shoe section. “You could probably use a pair of work shoes.”
Dani nodded and sat down on one of the stools. “That’s fine.”
He waited for her to stand and pull a pair from the shelves, but she continued to just sit there. “Do you see any you like?”
“I’ll just wait for the attendant.”
Austin hooked his thumbs into his belt loops and tried to hide his smile. “This store doesn’t have those.”
She jerked her head and stared at him. “What?”
“You just have to pick what you want from the shelf and try them on yourself.” He grabbed a pair that looked about her size and handed them to her. “Like this. But put this on first,” he said, tossing her a pair of temporary socks.
Her face flushed. “Oh.” She slipped off her sandals and put on the little socks before shoving a foot into the shoe.
“How does it fit?”
“It’s too tight.”
He held out his hand. “Then let me go up another size.”
He helped her try on shoes for another fifteen minutes before she found a pair she liked. Then they moved on to the clothes section. Dani wrinkled her nose at every shirt they passed by. He held up several, and she shook her head at them. He tried not to get exasperated with her. This was not what she was used to. He knew this. She just needed a little time to adjust.
Finally, after they had walked through the clothes section twice, he said, “You’re going to have to agree to something. You can’t keep wearing that same shirt every day. Someone’s going to notice.”
She cowered, dropping her gaze. “I know.” Her voice was low, almost hard to hear.
“Come on. It’s not so bad. This one is pretty normal.” He picked up a solid blue tee.
She considered it a moment, then finally nodded. “You’re right. It’s not that bad.” She took it from him.
Austin passed by a T-shirt that said, Dear Algebra, please stop asking us to find your X. She’s never coming back. He chuckled. He hadn’t noticed that one the two other times they’d walked down this aisle. It was cute, and made him laugh. He picked it up and shoved it at her. “Here, you need this.”
Dani read the shirt and made a face. “Uh, no. I’d never wear this.”
That sounded like a challenge to him. “Why not?”
“Are you kidding me? It’s a math joke. I don’t even like math. I’m not a nerd.”
“It’s funny.”
“No, not really.”
He nudged her. Now he really wanted to make her wear the math shirt. “Go on. Get it.”
She shook her head. “Never. It’s not me.”
She was not going to budge. Figures. But he kind of wanted to see if he could get her to give in. He got an idea. “Well, if you’re trying to hide your identity, then it’s the perfect shirt for you, isn’t it?”
She opened her mouth for a rebuttal, but stopped. She blinked and looked at the article of clothing. “You may have a point.”
Oh, yes. He was so going to get her to wear an algebra shirt. “See? We should be looking for things that hide you. This would totally do that.”
She frowned and examined the shirt again, lifting her sunglasses to peer at it closer. “I guess you’re right.”
Score. He grabbed it from her hand and tossed it into the cart. “Two down. Let’s keep going.”
The next shirt he found was orange with black stripes. It looked like a prisoner had escaped and tried to disguise their prison outfit by dying it orange. “This one will be good.”
“Ew. I don’t look good in orange.”
He suspected that wasn’t true. Dani looked good no matter what. She just had one of those faces. “Perfect. No one will recognize you then.” He winked, and she slapped his shoulder.
“You’re picking horrible clothes on purpose.”
Okay. She had him. He couldn’t deny it. But it had been fun to tease her. “All right, forget the orange one. How about this one?” He picked up a cream-colored blouse with short sleeves.
Dani studied it for a second. “That’s not bad.” She put it in the cart.
They continued to add things to their cart as Dani approved them. It was kind of fun spending time with her. She was being a good sport about having to buy stuff from SaleMart. He wondered what other celebrities would do in her situation.
Feeling in a flirty mood, he picked up a hat that said, Sorry, I’m taken, and plopped it on her head. “Here. This is a good one for you.”
She pulled it off and read it. He expected her to laugh, or to deny what it said. Instead, she nodded and put it back on. “You’re right.” She took the cart from him and pushed it around the corner and down the aisle.
Austin was left standing there, unsure of what had just happened. Did that mean Dani had a boyfriend? He hadn’t even considered it. She seemed like she was stranded without anyone to help. If she had a boyfriend, where was he? Why wasn’t he coming to her rescue?
He hurried to catch up to her. She was in the jeans section now, looking at the sizes. He inched up to her, pretending to study the wall of sizes like she was. He folded his arms across his chest and nonchalantly said, “Are you?”
“What?” She glanced up at him, then went back to the jeans.
“Are you taken?” A tight feeling entered his chest as he waited for her to answer him. Why did it matter so much to him? He wasn’t that interested in her, was he? Sure, she was pretty. But he had already decided she wasn’t his type. Plus, she thought he was the maintenance man. She would be really mad at him if she found out the truth. Still, he held his breath, waiting for her reply.
“Yep,” she said, lowering the hat on her head. She took a step toward the jeans and he swallowed the lump in his throat.
So, she was dating someone. Who?
He shook his head. What was he doing? Why was he wondering that? It was none of his business. Dani could date anyone she wanted. He wasn’t interested like that, so what did it matter?
She pulled a pair of jeans off the shelf and shook them to unfold them. Then she put them against her legs. “Do these look terrible?”
“No, ma’am.”
“Are you sure they’re okay? They won’t make me look fat?” She looked down at the pair of jeans she had been holding against her.
Austin didn’t have any sisters, but he knew better than to tell a woman she looked fat. Besides, Dani was
far from overweight. If anything, she could stand to gain a little. “Not at all. I don’t think anything you could wear would make you look fat. You’re super thin.”
She frowned. “Are you saying I’m too skinny?”
Oh, no. He hadn’t wanted to say anything of the sort. Why was he putting his foot in his mouth? He reached out and took her arm, pulling her to him. “Hey, I didn’t mean that. You’re perfect.”
She stared up at him, and he realized that he’d pulled her quite close to him. He hadn’t meant to do that. His fingers grew warm where he touched her skin, and he dropped his hand.
She blinked, then took a step back. “It’s okay.” She tossed the jeans into the cart. “I think these will work.”
They didn’t speak for a few minutes while Dani found several other things to put in the cart. For some odd reason, Austin had a difficult time concentrating on shopping. All he could think about was how it felt to have Dani pressed up against him in the clothing section of SaleMart, which was completely stupid. She’d just told him she was taken. If that wasn’t a massive red stop sign, he didn’t know what was.
Still, his heart didn’t get the message because it continued to thump in his chest so loud, he was afraid she could hear it.
“I’m going to be over that way,” he said, pointing.
She nodded. “Sure.”
He wandered off so he could look down another aisle. He needed to get his head on straight. Plus, he knew he needed to grab something, he just couldn’t remember what it was. If he wandered around a bit, maybe he would remember. And that would give him time to get his heart under control.
Chapter 11
Dani tugged the hat lower on her head, her stomach doing that stupid fluttering thing again. Why did Austin have to be so sexy in his white T-shirt and jeans? He looked like a cowboy, or a linebacker or something. He definitely had the muscles for either one. And they were making her a bit crazy.
She wasn’t sure why she’d told him she was taken other than it seemed like a good idea at the time. She was starting to get that kind of vibe from him, the one that told her he was starting to like her. And that wasn’t a good idea.
Not that she wouldn’t date a maintenance man. It had nothing to do with him not being famous. In fact, if she ever did decide to have a relationship again, it would be with someone unknown. She was done with all the rich players who just used her for her fame.
No, it was more about her emotional state right now. She wasn’t ready to put her heart out on the line again. She’d been hurt too much, and Rafael Scavo had ripped whatever shreds of her heart she had left to pieces. It was going to take more than a couple of weeks to get over it. Besides, Austin was being way too nice to her, and she had no idea why. He had to want something. She just hadn’t figured it out yet.
But still, she felt bad for lying to Austin. He seemed like a nice guy. He looked like he was trying to put out a feeler, and she shot him down. As soon as she told him she was taken, the guilt had risen in her throat. She wasn’t great at lying. She always felt guilty and ended up spilling the truth later anyway.
She pushed the cart toward the makeup section. It was cheap stuff, but at least she could get a bit of eye shadow and mascara. She’d order more of her usual stuff after her father came around. She pulled out her phone, to see if he’d messaged her, and bit back the disappointment when nothing had come through.
Maybe he hadn’t gotten her last message. She’d try again tonight, after Austin helped get her situated into her new room. He’d found one, right? She’d forgotten to ask. Hopefully not all of the resorts were as booked up as the Billionaire Club.
Austin joined her as she walked toward the checkout lines. He took the cart from her. “I can meet you outside if you don’t want to stand in line.”
He seemed to be acting funny. She took the cart back. “No, I don’t mind staying with you.”
He motioned toward the door. “It’s fine. You’ll like the fresh air outside. Let me check out.”
She peered at him, her suspicion growing. Why was he being like that? He awkwardly pushed the cart forward with one hand as the line moved. She stepped to the side. “What do you have behind your back?”
“Nothing.”
He was lying. She could see something in his hand. What was he hiding? She gave him a flat look. “Why are you lying?”
His cheeks colored and he tossed the box into the cart. “It’s nothing,” he said again, avoiding eye contact.
She looked at the box and almost snorted, but managed to keep it inside. “Nose hair trimmers?”
His blush moved to his ears. It was actually really cute. She stepped toward him and he turned his head so she couldn’t see his nose. She giggled and grabbed his chin so she could make him turn toward her. “Yeah, I can see why you want one of those.”
He playfully swatted at her. “Stop it.”
She laughed and shoved his shoulder. “You’re adorable. It’s not a big deal. I wouldn’t even have noticed had you not tried to hide it from me.”
“It’s just an embarrassing problem to have.”
“I was totally kidding. I can’t see a single…” She peered closer. “Oh. Never mind.”
His mouth dropped open. “You’re t-terrible.”
“Did you just stutter?”
“No.”
He totally had, but she didn’t want to embarrass him any further, as his face was now a deep shade of burgundy. Dani shoved him forward, as the line had now moved and there was a large gap. “Go. We’re holding up the line.”
After they’d checked out, Austin loaded up the bags onto the golf cart. Dani climbed in and they were off. The sun had set, but the glow of twilight still lit the sky with a beautiful cobalt blue. The breeze blew her hair as Austin drove back to the resort. She closed her eyes and enjoyed the smells of the local restaurants, mixed with the salty air of the seaside.
“You look happy.”
She smiled at him. “Yeah. I am.”
“Even though you had to endure a shopping spree from SaleMart?”
Dani glanced back at the bags of cheap clothes and makeup they’d purchased. She never thought she’d ever be caught dead wearing that kind of trash, but somehow, it didn’t matter right now. She was genuinely happy, which made no sense at all. She was cut off. Her life was in the crapper. She had to clean other people’s bathrooms for tiny paychecks, and she was mooching off the maintenance man. By all rights, she should be miserable.
But she wasn’t. If she were being honest, she felt happier at this moment than she had in months. How strange. That was sure unexpected. She turned to Austin. “It wasn’t as bad as I thought it would be.”
“I’m glad.”
“Not that I’ll be going back after my father gives me back my credit cards.” She shot him a grin.
He glanced at her, one hand on the wheel. “Would it be horrible if he never did?”
Dani gasped and clutched the golf cart seat. “Don’t say such things.”
He chuckled, but then sobered again. “I’m serious. You could learn to live on your own. You’re an adult.”
Dani thought about what living on her own might entail. “I don’t want to clean toilets for the rest of my life.”
“Why is that the only thing you can do?” He slowed the cart to take the turn into the resort parking lot. “You’re young and bright. You can go to college. Your entire future is ahead of you. You can be anything you want to be.”
A jolt of emotion swept through Dani, and she wasn’t prepared for it. No one had ever called her bright. She was usually the girl everyone made fun of for the stupid things she did or said. She’d never even thought about college. She wasn’t good at school. Skated by, really. Her tutors had treated her like she couldn’t do the work, so they’d gone easy on her. If she were truthful, she’d taken advantage of that.
Tears stung her eyelids, and she blinked to cover up her reaction to his words. What could she even say to that? She had no idea w
hat she would even study to be. She wasn’t good at anything. To cover up the embarrassment, she just laughed and waved off his suggestion. “I’m feeling like getting in the hot tub. Want to join me?”
He stared at her a moment, but then shut off the golf cart and nodded. “Sure. Let’s order take-out first. I’m starving.”
“Sounds good.” Dani didn’t want to dwell on the fact that she wasn’t ever going to amount to anything in her life. She knew she was a failure in her father’s eyes. She didn’t need to see that same disappointment in Austin’s gaze as well.
Chapter 12
The loud sound of metal scraping on cement filled the pool area, and Austin cringed. He picked up the deck chair, moving it over by the hot tub. His physical therapist had said he should avoid heat on his knee, so getting in was not an option. But he would sit beside the pool and chat with Dani.
She came out of his room, a towel wrapped around her neck. The swimsuit she’d picked out at SaleMart was blue with white stripes down the sides. It fit her well. Maybe too well. He turned his head so he wouldn’t get caught staring at her figure as she walked toward the tub.
She tossed her towel and phone on the chair next to him. “You’re not getting in?”
“I can’t. The heat isn’t good for my injury.” He motioned. “But you get in. I’m fine.”
She pouted, but slipped into the water. “It stinks that you can’t enjoy the hot tub.”
“It’s no big deal.” He said the words, but that didn’t mean he wasn’t highly disappointed he couldn’t get into the warm water. It looked quite inviting.
The bubbles surrounded her, and he was reminded of the Jacuzzi incident. He couldn’t help but smile. She’d been so distraught, so he couldn’t laugh at her, but she’d looked hilarious with all the foam on her head. He didn’t have a photo, but he doubted he’d ever forget it. That image was seared into his brain.
She leaned her head back and relaxed into the water. “This feels wonderful.” She jerked around to look at him and cringed. “Oh, sorry.”
A Case of Extreme Mistaken Identity Page 6
