Chapter 12
. . .
Drew
“Tell me that you’re wearing the long navy gown. Your hourglass figure looks insane in that dress.”
“Of course I’m wearing that dress,” I say to my sister, fastening the buckle on my left stiletto—which is way too high to walk in comfortably—before moving to the right one. “It’s the only gown in my wardrobe that I actually like.”
Marley groans happily down the phone as I stand from the bed and move to my open closet, inspecting the collection of purses I’ve built up since I was sixteen.
“I wish I could make it tonight. I haven’t seen you or Mom and Dad in way too long.”
Still examining my accessory options, I share in Marley’s frustration. It has been too long since we last saw each other, especially for a closely knit family like us.
“You’ll be home for Thanksgiving though, right?”
Marley falls quiet, and my heart sinks.
“I think Christmas is more likely. Work and college are insane, and I promised Greg that I’d spend this Thanksgiving with his family. So, we’re traveling to Virginia.”
Suddenly, my choice of bag doesn’t feel all that important.
“You have to promise me that you’ll come home for Christmas. Otherwise, I’m jumping on a plane to Vancouver.”
She snorts a laugh, and it fills my chest. I’ve been nervous about tonight and especially since we found out that Repeet and a couple of other important sponsors will be attending the gala this year, but the melody to my sister’s giggle will always soothe me.
“I promise,” she confirms. “Anyway, what accessories are you going for? And, ooh, will you be dancing with any hot hockey players?”
“I’m attending this year in a business capacity, not just the coach’s family,” I grumble down the phone. “We both know I plan to fade into the background and observe how Will interacts with potential sponsors.”
“Borrrring,” Marley declares, and I roll my eyes even though she can’t see me.
“I was thinking about taking the silver purse to match the sandals I’m wearing. Keep it sophisticated and simple.”
Marley clicks her tongue. While we used to fight over clothes and makeup when we were younger, I definitely miss having her around to help style an outfit for me. She for sure has the better eye for detail when it comes to fashion.
“I say go for something bold and alluring.”
However, on this occasion, I think better of her advice and reach into the closet, plucking the matching silver bag with diamanté detail from the second shelf.
“Silver purse it is then.”
I’m waiting on Marley’s objection when the beep on an incoming call stops me in my tracks.
Will.
My heart sinks again. This had better not be him canceling at the last minute—or even worse, he’s forgotten about tonight altogether.
I’ve only sent him three reminder emails in the past week, and none of them have returned Read receipts.
Not that I’m overly surprised. His first week as an official NHL player has been incredible—he scored four goals already and made two assists.
My best guess is, he’s been celebrating with a new woman in his bed each night.
“It’s Will.” I cut off Marley’s ramble, which I wasn’t listening to anyway. “I have to take the call. Call you back tomorrow?”
With a quick goodbye, I end the call with my sister and rush out a, “Hello?” to Will, although my greeting sounds more like a grumpy accusation.
“Well, good evening to you too,” he sarcastically responds.
For the second time today, I roll my eyes to no one.
“Please tell me that you remembered about tonight,” I drawl, walking toward my bedroom door and pulling it open.
My place is a wreck today, as I opted to slump on the couch with back-to-back mugs of hot chocolate and a chick flick instead of cleaning.
Will sounds mortally wounded when he replies, “Of course I remembered.”
Pulling the phone away from my ear, I check the time. My Uber ride will be outside in five minutes.
“And you aren’t canceling either?” I ask, cringing at the thought of him doing just that and Colton’s reaction when my client is a no-show. I know these types of events aren’t Will’s thing. A bunch of speeches and a charity auction will probably bore the shit out of him.
“If standing outside your door, waiting to give you a ride to the venue, constitutes canceling, then, yeah, I’m totally bailing on you at the eleventh hour.”
Apparently, walking in these heels isn’t as hard as I remembered as I stride across my living area and into the entryway, swinging my front door open to reveal a cocky-faced Will on the other side.
He’s dressed in a sleek black tux, black bow tie, and black loafers with exactly the right amount of ankle on show, and he styled his hair back in a way that accentuates his handsome face.
And by the way he braces his free hand on my doorjamb and smirks at me with his phone still to one ear, I just know he’s aware of how devastatingly good-looking he is.
I close my mouth and fold my arms over my chest, tapping my left foot impatiently.
It’s all for show, of course, but there’s no way I’m revealing how his presence alone makes my body react in an entirely inappropriate way.
Will Jones is not your type. He might be easy on the eyes, but he’s the complete opposite of the men you like. As are you for him.
So, why can I feel his eyes all over me as I continue to stand frozen in my doorway?
“Are you going to let me in?” he asks after a few beats of nothing, his voice low and gravelly.
I stand to the side so he can enter my apartment.
Hands in the pockets of his dress pants, Will clears his throat and turns to look at me. Perhaps the way his gaze ascended my body earlier was my imagination. He appears more than composed now.
“I thought that we were meeting at the event?” I say, going to check my left wrist for a watch that doesn’t exist.
He steps toward me, and I take a couple back, keen to maintain distance between us.
“I figured it was pointless, you paying for an Uber, when your place is on the way to the venue. Plus”—he chuckles and pulls a set of keys from his pocket—“I wanted to show you my new car.”
A Ferrari key chain flashes as he turns the keys around on his fingers.
I balk at him. “But didn’t you just buy a new car with your signing bonus?”
Lifting a single shoulder, he steps toward me again. I have nowhere to go this time, my back now flat against the door.
“I did. However, I also have three allotted spaces in the parking lot, and it seemed a shame to let two go to waste.” He takes my hand and opens my palm, dropping the keys into it.
I look up at him and shake my head. “You’re a flashy bastard, William.”
His smirk should irritate me. Instead, it pulls a bubble of laughter from my chest.
“Can you drive in those heels?” he asks, bottom lip pinned between his teeth.
I continue shaking my head. “Oh, no, absolutely not. No way.”
He nods at me. “Rule one: The publicist must drive her client to events whenever he asks her to.”
Emboldened by his cocksure attitude, I take a step toward him. “It’s me who makes the rules around here. And I’m not your chauffeur, so don’t start crossing those boundaries. My responsibility extends to your public image and no further.”
I swear I see his eyes dart down the length of my body, but again, I could be imagining things.
“There’s nothing wrong with bending the rules from time to time. Live a little, Drew.”
He’s switched his cologne up tonight. It’s something woodsier, but just as nice.
My eyes drop to the keys. “Does it have a stick shift?”
His chuckle is more of a rumble. “It does, but you can use the paddles attached to the steering wheel.”
“I’ll need to cancel my Uber, and I’ll probably be charged if the driver’s already sitting outside, waiting for me.”
Will shrugs, like wasting money is no big deal to him. I guess it isn’t. I’m willing to bet that there’s well over seven figures sitting in his checking account right now, and that’s after buying whatever four-wheeled monstrosity is waiting for me downstairs.
“Why are you like this?” I ask, our eyes meeting again.
“Like what?”
I look off to the side and release a slow, calming breath. “Impulsive, testing, annoying, reckless—”
“Fun.” He cuts me off with his own description.
“If that’s what you call it,” I choke out.
“Tonight was supposed to be about you arriving in an understated way and maybe making a couple of donations to this year’s nominated charity before exchanging a few words with the sponsors and making your leave quietly.
Not in a supercar, driven by the publicist whose job it is to enforce all of the above. ”
I know my protest is falling on deaf ears. Being honest, I’m not sure how much I ever believed that Will would follow my guidelines for tonight.
“You don’t just bend the rules, Will. You play by none of them at all.”
What I just said was supposed to be a warning, but Will only takes it as a compliment. Sometimes, I envy the confidence he has in himself.
“You know what I’ve come to realize about you, Drew?”
I raise a challenging brow. “What’s that, Hotshot?”
Reaching around me, he depresses the handle on my front door, and we both step out into the hallway.
Looks like we’re really going to arrive together then.
“I always thought we were opposites, but I didn’t quite comprehend just how different we were until we started working together.”
Pulling my keys from my purse, I lock up and spin around to face him.
“You like to ask for permission rather than forgiveness, whereas I’ll go ahead and take what I want anyway. To hell with the consequences.”
As we both walk toward the elevator, I press the Call button when we reach the end of my hallway.
“Something tells me that Candice Hale would not appreciate your approach to life.”
He shifts from one foot to the other, scrubbing a hand across a clean-shaven jaw. “Yeah, well, that was a mistake that I won’t be repeating. Hooking up with people you work with is a bad idea.”
The elevator doors open, and we both step inside, an unexplainable silence settling between us as we ride to the underground parking garage.
Will pulls out his phone and clicks a couple of buttons, and when the elevator doors open again, his scarlet-red Ferrari Roma roars to life in the space directly opposite the elevator.
The smug smile he’s wearing is so typically Will when he steps out of the elevator and walks backward so he can face me.
I want to frown at him—I really do.
“Come on, Baby.” He thumbs over his shoulder, and despite myself, I giggle. “Let’s take my new girl for a ride.”