Chapter 15 #2
“Drat. This is why you shouldn’t listen to me.”
“Good advice. So I’m going to pass on tonight—”
“No, no! You can’t do that. Surely there’s a clothing store there where you can buy a tux.”
“Oh yeah, I’ll just head to the tux shop next door.”
“They have one of those?”
“No, Caroline. They don’t.”
“Oh, we’re being funny now, are we? All right, I’m looking at the map and there’s a shop called Spring in Your Stitch that looks like a clothing store. Are you anywhere near that?”
I looked across the street to the shop my assistant just named. “No.”
“Okay, great. So just go there, get a tux, and drive to Boston for the event. I’ve booked you a hotel room downtown since the date will take place tomorrow.”
“What fucking date?”
Caroline let out a long-suffering sigh. “I love it when I talk and no one listens. The gala is an auction of eligible bachelors, and the winner gets to spend tomorrow with you. Nothing weird or sexual, of course. Just be your normal charming self and everything will go great.”
“What the fuck?” I hissed, my hold on the phone tightening. “You want me to spend the day with a stranger?”
“They’re going to be so appreciative. And there’s no backing out now because I already told them you would attend. All the details are in your email. Okaythanksbye!”
King
You are fired
Caroline
Better hurry up and get that tux! Traffic might be bad getting into the city
King
When you hire your replacement, make sure to get one who’s scared of me
Caroline
I hate to break it to you, but you are one of the least scary people I know.
I’m calling Spring in Your Stitch to let them know you’re coming
The text contained a link. I clicked it against my better judgment, opening a website filled with faces of children with cancer and large graphics displaying statistics about the lack of pediatric cancer funding.
King
This is emotional blackmail
I angrily sipped my latte as I crossed the street.
My frustration only grew when I stepped into the shop, or, rather, disaster zone.
The large room was filled to the brim with cardboard boxes, bolts of fabric, and those headless mannequin things with dresses on them.
The walls were pink and covered with what looked like kids’ drawings of a cat, and a large checkout counter sat at the back of the room, but it was empty.
How could someone run a business like this? I was ready to leave when I breathed in, filling my lungs with an intoxicating mix of flowers and strawberries that instantly calmed me. I took another sip of coffee, but the strawberry flavor paled compared to what I was scenting.
Just then, a woman popped her head out of the back room. She was wearing a flowing pink dress, and her blond hair was held back by a matching pink headband, but a few gold strands still fell in her face.
“Hey! How can I help you?”
I froze. She was the prettiest woman I’d ever seen. As she got closer, the mouthwatering sweet scent that filled the shop intensified. My heart raced. She was an omega.
She stopped in front of me and I realized how tiny she was—barely coming up to my shoulder.
“I need a tux.” My head spun and I felt completely disoriented, something that hadn’t happened in…
Ever?
I took a small step back, trying to clear my head. I was used to being in complete control.
“Oh!” Her blue eyes lit up. “Are you King? I’m Lucy.
I literally just got off the phone with”—she glanced down at a ripped scrap of notebook paper—“Caroline. She said you’d be in soon, I just didn’t realize she meant ten seconds later.
” She laughed, and the sound was so perfect it made my chest ache.
“Like I told her, I mostly do tailoring. There’s a shop in Briar’s Landing that sells formal clothes, but it sounds like you won’t have time to get there and then to your event.
You’re in luck, though, because I actually have an old tux that someone donated that should fit you.
I can do some speedy tailoring to get it to fit in time for you to leave for your event. ”
I held back my grimace. The chaotic shop and the promise of speedy tailoring didn’t inspire much confidence.
While I didn’t want to go to this event, there would be cameras and I didn’t want any humiliating photos to end up online.
But I didn’t have a choice but to follow Lucy as she led me into the back room, which was somehow messier than the front of her shop.
There was a long clothing rack filled with rows of garment bags, but it was half blocked by a stack of cardboard boxes.
Boxes the omega was currently climbing on.
I let out a strangled noise and lunged toward her, my arm automatically banding around her waist and pulling her off the precariously stacked boxes.
“What are you doing?” Her voice was high-pitched and breathless, and her sweet scent thickened in the air. I quickly released her and stepped back before I did something ridiculous, like press my face into the graceful curve of her neck and lick her skin.
That would be inappropriate.
“Those aren’t safe to stand on,” I grunted. “You need to clean this place up and get a step stool.”
Her smile stayed in place, but her shoulders slumped. “Yeah.” She swallowed hard. “I can never seem to keep it organized for more than a few hours.”
Shit. I didn’t mean to embarrass her. “Just tell me what you need and I’ll grab it for you.”
With a bit of maneuvering, I snagged a black garment bag from the back of the rack and handed it to her. She partially unzipped it. “This is the one.” Her eyes ran down my body, and I felt her gaze like a tangible thing. My cock twitched. Did she like what she saw?
“I think this will fit pretty well, actually. Put it on in the dressing room, and we can see what we’re working with.”
The dressing room ended up being a tiny corner of the shop, blocked off by a floral curtain. I gritted my jaw as I adjusted my half-hard cock to conceal it before getting dressed.
The tux was a bit old-fashioned, but I had to admit that Lucy had a good eye. It was baggy in spots, but at least I didn’t have to worry about my thigh and arm muscles popping the seams, something that had unfortunately happened before.
Lucy clapped excitedly when I pushed the changing room curtain aside.
“Oh, it looks so good already. This is going to be a breeze.” As she walked over to a side table, I noticed a flash of white on her ankle. It was wrapped with a bandage, and she was slightly favoring one leg as she walked.
“Did you hurt your ankle?”
She shoved a pile of fabric off the side table and let out a soft “Aha” as she found a weird pillow thing and strapped it to her wrist.
“It’s just a slight sprain. I’ve been icing it.”
“You shouldn’t keep weight on it.” Just because I ignored the variety of running-related injuries I’d obtained over the years, didn’t mean this omega should.
She plopped down on the stool with a roll of her eyes. “Happy now?”
Oh, what a little brat. My alpha rumbled with the urge to dominate her…and take care of her.
“Ecstatic,” I deadpanned.
She grinned. “If I had more time, I would adjust the jacket shoulders, but that’s a much more in-depth process. I think hemming the pants and jacket sleeves will be enough to make you look passable for your event.”
She scooted closer.
And closer.
Her scent was so thick I was seconds away from popping a boner, made even worse when I realized that, from my vantage point, I had a straight shot down the front of her dress.
Sweat prickled my forehead as I forced myself to think through every line of the Blackthorne Ventures boilerplate to distract myself.
Terms of inspection. Earnest money requirements. Historical city and county survey data.
Fuck. It wasn’t working.
I couldn’t stop myself from stealing another glance. She pulled a pin out of the cushion on her wrist and held another between her lips.
Those fucking plush, pink lips.
“That should do it for the pants.” She pushed to standing and my hands automatically grasped her arms to steady her.
She beamed. “I just need to pin the sleeves. Then I’ll hem everything and you’ll be ready.” She tugged on the jacket and arranged my arm how she wanted it. Her touch sent a shiver down my spine even through the layers of fabric.
“What’s the event you’re going to?” she asked.
“It’s a charity gala. They’re fundraising with an auction.”
“Oohhh, a gala. I wonder what designers people will be wearing. Are you going to bid on anything at the auction?”
I shifted uncomfortably. “Apparently I’m going to be the one auctioned off.”
Her expression transformed into an adorable little frown. “What does that mean?”
“They’re auctioning off dates…or something.” Fuck. I really needed Caroline to explain it again while I was actually paying attention. Did I have to give some sort of speech? Or get up on a stage?
Lucy laughed. “I can tell you’re super excited.”
I scowled, but her smile just widened. “I’m sure it won’t be that bad. It’s fun to meet new people, and I’m sure you’ll be very popular.”
My brain stuttered. Did that mean she thought I was attractive?
She moved on to the second sleeve. Shit. She was almost done. I usually didn’t like being around people, but being around Lucy wasn’t…terrible. A plan formed in my mind.
“Are you doing anything tonight?” I blurted out.
“Umm, I’m not sure. Missy said tonight’s movie, That One Time I Died and Reincarnated as an Alpha in a Medieval Princess Castle, is a must-see, so maybe I’ll go to the theater.”
“I…” What the fuck did I even say to that?
“Apparently it’s a scathing commentary on wealth inequality.”
“Right…Well, if you decide to skip it, would you want to come with me to the event?”
She blinked up at me. “What?”
I let out a long groan, ruffling my hand through my hair that desperately needed to be styled after spending an hour on the windswept beach.
“I need you to come and bid on me so I don’t have to spend tomorrow with a stranger.
You’ll use my credit card, of course, not your own money,” I quickly clarified.
“You want to buy yourself at an auction just to avoid spending time with someone you don’t know?” Her tone was teasing.
“Yes.”
She moved my arm from side to side as she inspected her handiwork. “But I’m a stranger.”
“Yes, but if you bid on me, I can drive back after the event and move on with my life like this nightmare never happened.”
Her eyebrows shot up and she burst out laughing. “Wow, you really know how to woo a girl.”
“I’ll pay you for your time.”
She shook her head, a smile still playing on her lips. “You don’t have to pay me. But I actually do have some errands to run in Boston…”
I waited with bated breath as she placed another pin in the jacket. When she didn’t say anything, I added, “Caroline already booked a hotel room for me, but I was planning on driving back tonight. You could stay in the room and run your errands tomorrow.”
She chewed her lip. “Are you sure? I won’t be taking the room from you?”
I shook my head. “I have a commercial real estate sale I need to wrap up before I go back home.”
“You’re not here permanently?”
For the briefest moment, I was tempted to tell Lucy everything—how I wasn’t sure what I even wanted out of life anymore. How deeply unfulfilling my work was, but how I didn’t know what I would do without it. “No. I live in New York.”
“Oh, that’s a bummer. We have some fun festivals coming up—the Easter Eggstravaganza and my friend Summer is opening her bakery. You should come to the grand opening if you’re still here.”
I had only been in town for a few weeks, and I was pretty sure there had been a festival every other day, all of which I’d successfully avoided. Although…the image of walking around town with Lucy, my arm wrapped around her, feeding her cake at the bakery opening, flashed unbidden in my mind.
I bent my knees to make it easier for her to slide the jacket off my shoulders. Do not think about her undressing you.
I turned around to face her. “So, what do you say?”
She grinned and my heart skipped a beat. “Hmm.” She dragged out the sound like she was intentionally torturing me. “It does sound like a fun adventure, and my horoscope did tell me to say yes to new opportunities…”
Horoscope?
“So yes, I’ll go with you.”
“Great. That’s great. Thanks.” I let out a slow breath. “Are you sure you want to drive separately?” For some reason, the thought of this omega driving to Boston alone made my skin crawl.
“Oh, I don’t have a car. Could I ride down with you? And then I’ll take the train back tomorrow.”
A fucking train? Nope. Not happening.
“I’ll arrange a ride back for you.” I was sure Caroline could find a reputable car service.
Her scent intensified and she fidgeted with the edge of her skirt, her cheeks bright pink. “If you insist. Go take the pants off, and I’ll hem everything and be ready in a few hours.”
A gust of air hit my face when I left her shop twenty minutes later, but it did nothing to cool my overheated skin. As I made the short walk back to my rental, I was struck by the sensation that my attempt to make tonight’s event simpler and more straightforward may have backfired spectacularly.