Chapter 15
CHAPTER 15
“ Y ou know what?” Jamie said, trying to pull away from Nick, but the big jerk wouldn’t let her go. “I’ve changed my mind. Having sex is overrated. I’m more than happy to remain a virgin. Very happy ,” she stressed as he ignored her and dragged her into the store.
As soon as the door closed behind them with a soft chime, he pushed her in front of him where she got her first look inside a lingerie store. There was lace and silk in every color and style imaginable and she had absolutely no idea what to buy, how to figure out her size, and in some cases, how to wear the tiny contraptions. This was all wrong. She might be passably pretty now, but she was in no way sexy enough to wear any of the pretty things in front of her. It was flannel pajamas for her, Jamie decided as she tried to make a run for the door, but the infuriating man wouldn’t let her go.
“Behave,” Nick whispered as a pretty redhead in a sexy silk camisole and short skirt walked over to them. She ran an assessing eye over Jamie, barely biting back a frown before her eyes shifted to Nick and widened with pleasure right along with a coy smile.
“May I help you?” she asked Jamie, but her eyes were on Nick.
“That would be great,” Nick said in that deep, sensual voice he used on everything female. Well, every female except for her, Jamie thought with a small sigh as she tried to make another run for it, but he wouldn’t let her go.
The woman’s smile became knowing as she sent Nick a welcoming look. Did the woman not see her? For all she knew, Jamie could be his girlfriend, his fiancée, or his wife. Okay, that was really pushing it, but still…
“My friend could use some help if you have a moment?” Nick said, placing his hands firmly on her shoulders to keep her in place. Why wouldn’t he just let her run away?
The woman reluctantly looked at her and did a wonderful job of pulling back her frown. With a slight nod, she gestured for Jamie to follow her. When she just stood there, Nick gave her a gentle shove in the woman’s direction and forced her to move her butt. She shot him a glare over her shoulder, but of course, he just ignored her and kept pushing her towards a whole new level of embarrassment.
They followed the redhead into a back-fitting room decorated in pastel colors that consisted of several oversized chairs, mirrors, and three changing rooms. She watched as Nick walked over to one of the chairs and sat down and thought that perhaps she should do the same thing when the saleswoman began manhandling her.
“Hey!” Jamie gasped when she wrapped a measuring tape around her chest. Before she could shove the woman’s hands away, she measured Jamie’s stomach, hips, and one thigh, leaving her blushing and irritated. Of course, she decided to take her irritation out on Nick by sending him a glare, but he was already busy reading a magazine, so she gave up glaring at him and tried to figure out how she was going to get out of this.
Apparently, she wasn’t.
“What are you interested in?” the saleswoman asked.
Jamie opened her mouth to tell her anything flannel when Nick answered for her. “Soft colors and nothing too bold,” he said in a bored tone.
“Virginal?” the woman asked, making Jamie groan.
“Yes,” Nick said in that same bored tone as he continued reading.
“I’ll see what I have,” the woman said, throwing Nick one last look of longing before she reluctantly left the room.
Jamie opened her mouth to tell Nick that if he was bored that he could darn well go wait in the car while she did this, but the saleswoman chose that moment to walk back into the room carrying a huge selection of silk and lace. Something about the woman’s flushed cheeks told her that she probably ran around the store and grabbed anything and everything she could get her hands on so that she could come back to ogle Nick. For his part, Nick just sat there, thumbing through a fashion magazine.
“Try these on and we’ll see what we have to work with,” the woman said, shoving several items in Jamie’s arms and absently gesturing for her to go change.
Knowing that there was probably no way to get out of this now, Jamie accepted her fate and walked to the first changing room. She wasn’t exactly surprised when she saw the saleswoman sit down on the chair next to Nick. Resigning herself to being ignored, Jamie walked into the changing room and decided to get this over with. The sooner she picked out what she liked, the faster she could put this nightmare behind her.
The first one was white silk with lace trimming. It seemed harmless enough, so she quickly undressed, leaving her underwear on and tried on the beautiful nightie. She turned to look in the mirror only to discover that there wasn’t a single mirror in the small room. Well, that was kind of dumb, Jamie thought as she wondered how she was supposed to know how it looked.
“Have you tried anything on yet?” Nick asked, sounding impatient, which was a little shocking since he was usually relaxed whenever a woman was around, again not when it was just her. She didn’t seem to count.
“Yes, but there’s no mirror in here,” Jamie explained, looking down at herself and twisted and turned as she tried to see if it looked okay.
There was a long-suffering sigh that she knew all too well. “Use the mirrors out here,” Nick said, well, more like ordered.
“With you out there?” Jamie asked, worrying her bottom lip between her teeth nervously.
“Of course. How else am I supposed to help you if I don’t see what you’re wearing?” Nick pointed out and she just barely stopped herself from reminding him that she didn’t want his help with this.
In fact, she told him that she didn’t want his help with this. As soon as they finished the interview with the local paper, she’d told him that she was going to Wal-Mart to pick out some lingerie. For a moment, he’d only been able to stare down at her in that intense way that made her self-conscious and left her struggling with the urge to apologize to him. When the urge to apologize to him became too much, he’d grumbled something, grabbed her arm, and practically dragged her to their rental car.
“I’m waiting, Jamie,” Nick reminded her and she was about to refuse when it occurred to her that having a man like Nick help her pick out sexy lingerie would probably make this easier. She wouldn’t have to worry if it made her look fat or frumpy because Nick would tell her. He would never hold anything back because he was afraid that he’d hurt her feelings because he simply didn’t care. How that was a good thing, she wasn’t sure, but it was an advantage, one she’d be foolish to ignore.
Taking a deep breath and praying that she didn’t do something embarrassing like pass out, Jamie opened the door and forced herself to walk out of the room. She looked at Nick to find him taking his time looking up from the magazine. When he did, he placed the magazine on his lap as he ran an assessing eye over her. He gestured for her to turn around and with a grumble, she did just that only to come to a sudden halt when she saw herself in the mirror.
Wow...
The nightie looked so beautiful and delicate. It put her breasts and figure on display without being obscene. It was really rather pretty, sweet, and sexy all at once.
Nick cleared his throat. “It looks nice. Why don’t you try on another one?” he suggested as she looked back to find him grabbing another magazine and ignoring the one on his lap. Apparently, he’d lost his interest in fashion and the saleswoman wanted to kill her if that glare was any indication. Frowning, Jamie returned to the dressing room.
Ten nighties later, they were walking out the door and the stubborn man was holding her bags firmly in front of him so that she couldn’t carry any of them. Every time she went to grab her bags, Nick stepped away, glaring down at her as though she’d slapped him. Finally, she gave up and was content to ride in silence as he drove them back to the hotel.
“What’s on the agenda tonight?” Nick asked as he pulled onto the highway.
“I thought I’d have a drink in the hotel bar and get my first kiss tonight,” Jamie said casually, shooting him a sideways glance and noting the way the back of his knuckles were turning white as he clenched the steering wheel tightly. She was just about to ask him what was wrong when her cell phone rang.
She pulled her phone out of her pocket and sighed when she saw that it was her mother calling. Her mother didn’t call often, but when she did, it was usually to brag about Caitlyn or whine about some injustice done to Caitlyn. As much as she would love to send the call to voicemail, she couldn’t. Her mother would have a fit and it would end up being ten times worse later when Jamie finally called her back. Resigning herself to a half-hour rant about the perfection that was her sister, Jamie answered the phone.
“ Where do you get off humiliating us like this, young lady ?” her mother demanded before Jamie could say hello, taking her by surprise.
“What are you talking about?” Jamie asked, sure that her mother was mistaken since she didn’t do anything that should have made her mother this mad.
“ You know damn well what I’m talking about! I’m talking about that smut that you publish! I have never been more humiliated than I was today when Macy Powers showed me the magazine article that talked about your erotic novels ,” she said with open disgust while Jamie tried not to wince, but she couldn’t help it.
Well aware of the man sitting beside her, Jamie turned as far as her seat would allow from him, practically huddling against the door as she quickly explained, “They’re not erotic novels, Mom.”
“ Don’t you dare lie to me! I flipped through one of those horrible books that you wrote and I found inappropriate material in it! Do you have any idea how embarrassed I was? Do you even care that you’ve humiliated your poor sister, hmm ?”
“I-” Jamie started to explain, but of course, her mother cut her off.
“ I cannot believe this is how you wasted the college education we provided for you! Do you have any idea how hard your father worked to send you to college and this is how you repay him ?” her mother demanded and it took everything Jamie had not to remind her mother that they hadn’t paid a single cent for her college education. That was Caitlyn, and she hadn’t bothered to graduate or go to class for that matter.
By the time that it was Jamie’s turn to go to college, her parents told her that there was no money for her because they’d used everything they’d set aside for her college education on Caitlyn so that she could “find herself.” When she’d flunked out of three private colleges, her parents decided that Caitlyn had worked too hard and simply needed a break. Jamie, on the other hand, had worked her butt off to put herself through college. She’d graduated at the top of her class and never regretted one second of it because that experience showed her that she could do anything even if no one else believed that she could.
“ I cannot believe you pulled this petty juvenile stunt. Was it for attention or just to embarrass your sister? Are you really that petty that you can’t be happy for your sister? You really felt it was necessary to humiliate her like this ?”
“Mom, this has nothing to do with- hey !” Jamie began only to gasp when her phone was suddenly yanked out of her hand. She turned around in time to see Nick end the call and shut her phone off before he tossed it onto the backseat.
“You just hung up on my mother,” Jamie said, shocked more than anything.
“I know.”
“She’s going to be mad,” Jamie said, worrying her bottom lip between her teeth even as her stomach coiled tightly in guilt.
It didn’t matter that she wasn’t the one to hang up on her mother or that she didn’t do anything wrong, she still felt guilty. Her mother always made her feel bad about everything. When she was a kid, it was so much worse because she truly believed everything her mother said. She became so racked with guilt that she ended up making herself sick. When she moved out at eighteen, things slowly got better and she realized that her mother blamed her for everything, including things that had nothing to do with her.
Unfortunately, knowing that her mother overreacted didn’t help her stomach. She couldn’t ignore the sense of dread that took over as she sat there, wondering what her mother would do next. Would she leave messages of her crying? Give Jamie the silent treatment? She wasn’t sure what passive-aggressive nonsense her mother had in store for her and really shouldn’t care, but she did. She couldn’t help it.
“Do you want to rent a bike and hit the road for a few hours?” Nick asked when she didn’t say anything after a few minutes.
She gave him a forced smile as she shook her head with a murmured, “No, thank you.” Even though she’d rather do that than sit in her room feeling guilty, she couldn’t. She hated when her mother was mad at her, probably because it felt like another rejection. She knew that her mother had too much power over her, but she couldn’t help it. Maybe by the end of this tour, she’d figure out a way to deal with her, but it hadn’t happened yet.
A few minutes later, they were in the hotel lobby waiting for the elevator when Nick reached over and took her hand in his and gave it a small squeeze before letting go, startling her. She looked up to find him scowling down at her. Great, another person she’d pissed off today. This day was just getting better and better, Jamie thought, biting back a sigh.
“There’s nothing wrong with your books, Jamie. They’re great. They’re not trash and they’re certainly nothing to be embarrassed about. I don’t know what’s going on with your family, but I can guarantee you that you didn’t embarrass your family. If anything, your mother and sister are probably jealous,” Nick said with a shrug as though what he’d just suggested wasn’t ludicrous. Her mother and sister would never be jealous of her.
Still...
“Why do you think they’re jealous?” Jamie found herself asking.
Nick simply shrugged as he gestured for her to step into the elevator before him. “I know women,” he simply said and she found that she really couldn’t argue that point, but sadly, it didn’t really clear the matter up for her.
“Meaning?” Jamie prompted when he didn’t say anything else.
“Meaning,” Nick said as he pressed the button for the fifth floor, “that she wouldn’t be making a huge deal out of this if she wasn’t jealous. For whatever reason, your mother and sister are too petty to be happy for you. They’re upset about the amount of attention that you’re getting, so they’re trying to tear you down to make themselves feel better,” he said, stepping out of the elevator next to her as she thought that over.
Was it possible? Jamie wondered as she walked past Nick’s door and pulled out her keycard. It did seem that they acted this way every time something good happened to her. They also went out of their way to make her feel bad for it and did whatever they could to shine the light back on themselves. Not that she cared. She really didn’t like attention, especially all the attention that she was receiving on this tour. The only reason she was sticking it out and not running for the hills was her contract and, of course, the list.
Well, both lists.
Thanks to this tour, she was trying new things and learning a lot about herself. She’d worked really hard to get to this point and maybe, just maybe, it was time to stop allowing her family to make her feel like garbage. Maybe she should...should...
Her thoughts kind of drifted off as her brain registered the feel of Nick’s mouth on hers. As she tried to figure out what was happening, he reached up and gently cupped her face in his hands. His lips moved tenderly against hers and she couldn’t help but relax against him. The kiss was tender, sweet, and did funny things to her stomach and it was absolutely perfect. She honestly couldn’t have hoped for a better first kiss.
He brushed his lips against hers one last time before pulling back. She opened her mouth to say something only to find her mouth covered with his again, this time with a groan that had her toes curling.
“Don’t let them bring you down, Jamie,” Nick whispered against her lips before pulling back.
“What was that for?” she asked in a daze as she fought against the urge to throw herself at him for another kiss.
“Now, you don’t have to worry about going out tonight for a kiss. Go relax, take a hot bath, and get some work done,” Nick said, taking the keycard out of her hand and opening the door for her. He gave her a gentle shove inside the room before closing the door and leaving her standing there, confused.
It didn’t take long to figure out that he’d kissed her to get her mind off of her family drama. It was kind of sweet, but the fact that it had been done out of pity and probably to get her to focus back on work kind of spoiled it, but not enough to stop her from smiling.