18. Grace
EIGHTEEN
Grace
“Oh my goodness,” I breathed, craning my neck.
Dane’s driver had picked us up in a luxury SUV from the airport, and now we were driving into the heart of Manhattan. Downtown Denver had skyscrapers and an old warehouse district, but this was on another scale altogether.
“You like it?” Dane asked.
“I love it,” I breathed.
There was just so much . So many cars, so many people. Gorgeous Gothic architecture and tall, futuristic spires and bridges spanning the water. Trees wearing their vivid fall colors. Sensory overload.
“The shop you liked best on the list is in SoHo. So that’s where we’re heading.”
Dane kept pointing out landmarks along the way, explaining how Manhattan was laid out on a grid and which area was which, but I was too distracted to pay attention to which avenue we were on. I could worry about navigation later. I didn’t want to miss a single tiny detail outside my window.
SoHo was all charming brick buildings, narrow streets, and shoppers filling the sidewalks wearing far edgier outfits than me. I thought I looked good though. I’d worn my favorite jeans, leather boots that I reserved for special occasions, and an untucked white Oxford shirt. Classic and simple.
I’d blow-dried my hair and left it down, but now I was second-guessing my choice to wear my glasses. Of course, my contacts would’ve been killing me in the dry air of the plane. Dane didn’t seem to have a problem with how I looked, though. He kept touching me and giving me that pure-sex grin.
Dane’s driver Ben pulled into an alley, and someone popped out of nowhere to open the door for us. “Right this way, Ms. O’Neal.” A few people on the sidewalk stopped to watch us. One even lifted her phone to take a picture like we were famous.
My head was spinning already.
I realized I had left my purse in the back of the SUV, but then Dane was there, wrapping his arm around my waist and handing me my clutch. He steered me inside the boutique, and the noise of the street faded instantly.
The store was modern and beautiful, full of sunlight that made the white walls and pale wood floor glow. Upbeat music played. I saw lots of pastel colors, which had appealed to me in the online pictures.
Then a well-dressed woman appeared in front of us. “Mr. Knightly, Ms. O’Neal. Welcome. I’m Lisa. We’ve got everything set up for you. Come on back.”
“How did you ever get used to this?” I murmured to Dane as we followed her. “Everyone knowing your name.”
“Everyone knows your name in Silver Ridge.”
“That’s completely different.”
He squeezed my shoulder reassuringly. “Is it though? Anyone can figure out your name. But far fewer actually know the real you.” I glanced over at him, and a bittersweet expression had blanketed his features.
I wondered how many people Dane let in enough to truly know him.
That was when I realized there was nobody else here. We had the entire store to ourselves. “Did you rent this place out?”
“I assume so. Margot took care of it.”
Lisa took us to a cozy area near the back of the store, where a rack of clothes waited, along with two cushy chairs and a table with more champagne. If I kept drinking champagne every time it was offered to me, I’d get very drunk very soon. And I already felt semi-drunk just from how surreal this day was.
“I pulled some pieces in your size that I think you’ll love, Ms. O’Neal,” Lisa said. “But feel free to take a look around the store as well. Have fun. Please let me know when you need me.” She winked and smiled before disappearing.
Dane brought his lips to my ear. “Two rules. First, if you see anything that interests you, try it on. Even if you don’t think you’d want to buy it. Second, no looking at price tags.”
“I can’t not look.”
“But you’ll enjoy this more if you don’t. You trust me, right?” He pressed a soft kiss just behind my ear. I assumed a kiss there didn’t count under his “no kissing” prohibition. But given how kiss-starved I’d been this week, I still nearly melted into the floor. Good thing he had his arm around my waist.
“This is not the kind of thing that happens to me,” I said breathily.
“It does when you’re with me.”
* * *
I took a while picking through the items Lisa had put on the rack. I could admit to being skeptical at first. But there were a ton of cute things that fit my style and personality, except they happened to be made of the softest, most gorgeous fabrics ever invented. The designs leaned toward colder weather, since it was fall, and that was exactly what I needed for both New York and Colorado weather.
I was supposed to be shopping for this trip though, not for my future dream wardrobe back home. I needed something for tonight’s rehearsal dinner, which would be at an uber-upscale restaurant. Then the wedding tomorrow and a brunch on Sunday.
Luckily, I was a woman with a business mindset. I knew how to set productivity goals and accomplish them.
Pretty soon, I had a stack of nos and a stack of maybes . Dane hung back, arms crossed as he watched me and gave the occasional opinion, but mostly he let me do my thing. Lisa transferred my maybes to the dressing room. Then she disappeared again.
I started trying things on. There were even shoes here to pair with the outfits, all of them in my size.
But the only mirror was outside in the sitting area, where Dane was. Clearly a conspiracy. But I could work with it.
Before I stepped out, I gave into temptation and checked the price tag on the dress I was wearing.
Holy crap , I mouthed.
I really shouldn’t have looked. I couldn’t let Dane buy this for me.
“How’s it going?” Dane called out.
“Um, not bad.” I pushed aside the thick curtain and emerged in a pale pink shift dress and white ankle boots. Very brunchy. The dress hugged all my curves in the ideal spots, while also creating a subtly modern silhouette. I thought so, anyway. I was no fashion expert.
Dane stood up from his chair. “Very nice.”
“You don’t think it’s…too much?” I twisted back and forth in front of the mirror.
His reflection gave me a wry look. “You looked at the price tag, didn’t you?”
“I couldn’t help it!”
Dane laughed. “Just for that, I’m definitely buying this dress for you. It looks great, and I promise it’s in my budget. But from now on, no more looking.”
“Fine. You should be trying on clothes too. Then I wouldn’t feel so on display.”
“Since when is you being on display a bad thing? But also, there’s the issue that this boutique has only women’s clothing. I don’t need a dress for the wedding.”
“How about a cream-colored sweater, with or without a giant coffee stain on it?”
His smile dazzled me. “I’ll consider it. What about this dress? Tell me the truth. Do you like it?”
Something about the sexy beat of the music, the flattering lighting, and the New York of it all made me daring. I did a little spin. “I guess I look good.”
“That’s an understatement.”
I glanced around for Lisa, but she was still nowhere to be seen. “Just to let you know, I taste even better.”
He made a growly sound, his hands going to my waist. “I know you do. I can’t wait to find out all the different ways you taste.” Dane dipped his head and nipped at my earlobe. “Now try on something else and show me.”
The gentle yet commanding tone of his voice danced up and down my spine.
I tried on more outfits. Some I liked, some I didn’t. Dane leaned casually against the mirror in his dark jeans and black button-down, his gaze locked on me every time I emerged from the dressing room.
Having his attention was like a drug. Like I’d already had way too much champagne. I could squint and almost pretend Dane was my boyfriend instead of my hookup-date for the weekend. And let’s face it, him watching me try on clothes was very boyfriendy.
Good thing I wasn’t in the market for one of those, because this man was ruining me for all future dates.
“How’s it going in there?” he asked.
I hadn’t come out of the dressing room in a while. But I needed something special for the wedding itself, and the other dresses Lisa had chosen just weren’t me . “I need to look for a dress for the wedding. I don’t love any of these.”
“Hold on a sec,” Dane said. “There’s one more.”
I peeked out from behind the curtain. He grabbed a dress hanging on the rack. I hadn’t seen this one before. It was pastel blue. I adored the color, but the shape was a statement .
“It’s pretty. Did Lisa bring that over?”
He shrugged. “Try it. See what you think.”
The dress had a slinky inner lining that was cool against my skin as I pulled it up. The zipper was impossible for me to close the last few inches, so I slipped my feet into a pair of stilettos, came out, and turned around. “Zip me the rest of the way?”
Dane’s long fingers ghosted over my skin.
I looked up, and my lips closed on a gasp when I saw my reflection. Holy cow.
The dress was strapless, pushing my breasts way higher than I’d imagined possible. The bodice exaggerated my hourglass shape, and the skirt flared out in ruffles, ending just below my knee. The designer stiletto heels were icing on the ruffled cake.
I had never in my life felt so beautiful.
Dane’s eyes darkened as he stood behind me in the mirror. He fitted his hands to either side of my waist. “Thoughts? Is this a yes?”
My chest felt funny and tight, but it wasn’t the dress’s fault. “Did you pick this for me?”
“Yeah. I don’t think I did half bad.”
I had no words.
So I spun around, wrapped my arms around his neck, and pulled him down to kiss me.
Dane rumbled out a moan as he held my waist, walking me backward until I was against a wall. I felt the smile on his lips. Dane’s fingers slid into my hair, and he cradled the back of my head as he took over, his tongue gliding into my mouth. Finally . I had been aching to have his lips on mine again.
When he broke the kiss, we were both panting. “I guess that means you like the dress.”
“It’s the best dress ever.”
“Best dress for the best girl.” His thumb stroked my chin. “Except you broke my rule about no kissing.”
“I’m more of a rebel than either of us thought.”
Dane’s grin widened, turning wicked. He lifted his hand and ran his thumb along my lower lip. “I told you what would happen the next time we kissed. You would end up naked. You’ve put me in a difficult position, because you look too pretty in this dress to take it off just yet.”
“I’ll make it up to you later.”
“Oh, you will. I’m going to punish you for this.”
I sucked in a breath, liking that idea far more than I’d expected. “Promise?”
He reached down to lift the hem of my dress. His warm hand caressed my thigh. My lungs stopped working altogether as his fingers traced upward until they brushed the crotch of my panties, and a desperate sound snuck out of my throat.
“ Dane ,” I gasped.
“Or I could take you into the dressing room right now,” he whispered.
Heat raced along my skin. “We really shouldn’t.”
“But do you want to?”
Did I?
My body said yes. But the more sensible parts of me won out. I just hoped Dane wouldn’t be mad. He wouldn’t, right?
I shook my head. “Not here.”
“Then we won’t.” He kissed my nose, stroking my thigh once more before his hand withdrew.
“I’m sorry.”
“Hey, do not be sorry.” He touched my chin again. “I don’t mind hearing no. Besides, Lisa would probably blacklist us from this store, and I’d like to bring you back here on your next trip to New York.”