Chapter 5
FIVE
TALLY
“Are you sure this is necessary?” I asked as we entered the high-end department store.
The space was bright and airy, designed in a minimalist style with white floors, white walls, and high above us, a white ceiling.
There were no smells, and while it wasn’t cold, it certainly wasn’t what I’d consider warm either.
A similar temperature to the inside of Coco Luxe.
“Yes,” he said simply.
“Surely, one of the suits you use for games would be fine for the wedding.” I didn’t want him spending heaps of money on a suit when he’d already dropped enough on a flight to join me in Hawaii.
“I need something with an X factor,” he said, leading me farther into the store. “Something that will make Thad look twice, so we can really rub it in that we’re there together. We want him to know that you’re not pining over him, that you’ve got someone better and he can just go to hell.”
I appreciated his willingness to put in the effort, but I really didn’t think the situation called for a brand-new suit.
Especially not a designer suit like the ones in the menswear section ahead of us.
It was strange that he’d insisted on shopping.
Alec was not the kind of guy who liked browsing the stores—especially if he could browse online instead.
Yet, for some reason, there we were.
An assistant approached us. She was dressed neatly but not so as to stand out, all smooth lines and dark colors with pale blond hair twisted into an elegant knot on the back of her head.
“How can I help you?” she asked, smiling first at me and then at Alec.
“I need a suit,” Alec said gruffly.
She folded her hands one over the top of the other in front of her. “What’s the occasion?”
“We’re going to a wedding.” He glanced at me, his dark eyes warm. “Tally’s ex is going to be there. We need him to know that she’s moved on to someone better.”
The sales assistant grinned. “Do you want simple and elegant or flashy and eye-catching?”
Alec considered this briefly. “Something simple but with an edge.”
“All right, let me find some options. You two can go and wait by the changerooms.” She scanned him up and down, obviously sizing him to the best of her ability, and then pivoted and marched to one of the nearby racks.
Alec nodded toward the changeroom and we made our way over there. I sat on the crisp white sofa beside the door, which definitely wasn’t designed for comfort. Still, it was better than standing.
When the sales assistant joined us, she held an assortment of suit jackets and trousers, along with shirts, ties—and was that a bowtie?
She selected a pair of trousers and a jacket and a shirt and passed them to him. “Try these first.”
He took them and disappeared into the small room.
The lock snicked into place. While we waited, the sales assistant organized her findings on a clothing rail nearby, presumably sorting them into the order in which she wanted him to try them on.
The lock clicked, the door opened, and Alec stepped out.
My jaw dropped. My best friend always looked good. He was a good-looking man. But in the navy pinstriped suit that clung to his muscular body, he didn’t just look good, he looked amazing.
“What do you think?” he asked, running his hands down the fabric of the jacket.
“Incredible,” I told him.
“Agreed,” the sales assistant said. “But I think we can do better.”
Better? I wasn’t sure I could survive “better.”
For the next fifteen minutes, Alec modeled suit after suit. Some were formal, some were playful, and some were downright sexy. In the end, we opted for a suit in a gorgeous shade of blue that reminded me of a tropical beach. I thought it was fitting for the occasion.
While Alec changed back into his original outfit, the sales assistant turned to me and smiled. “You’re a lucky woman. That is one delicious man.”
“Oh.” I blinked at her, surprised by her assumption that we were together, although perhaps I shouldn’t have been considering the way Alec had phrased his request at the start. “He’s not actually mine.”
Scoffing, she arched an eyebrow. “Uh-huh. I see how he looks at you.”
How?
How did he look at me?
We were just friends. Friends didn’t look at each other any particular way. She must be imagining it.
My stomach fluttered.
But what if she isn’t? What if he finds you as attractive as you find him?
Yeah, right. There was no point in wasting time or hope on silly fantasies.
Alec came out and I turned toward the counter, but before I could take a step, he said, “Do you have a dress for the wedding yet?”
I shrugged. “I’ve got plenty in my closet to choose from.”
He shifted from one foot to the other, glancing at the sales assistant and then back at me. “You should have something new to wear. Something beautiful. I don’t want you to have any reason to feel self-conscious. Let me buy it for you.”
Suddenly, understanding dawned. Now I knew why he’d insisted on this uncharacteristic shopping trip. It had never been to get him a suit, although that was a bonus; the real motivation had been to find a dress for me.
“Alec…” I drew out his name, holding his gaze with a warning in my eyes. “That’s sweet, but there really is no need for it.”
I couldn’t afford to buy a dress from here, and between the plane tickets and this suit, he was already out of pocket enough because of this wedding. I wasn’t going to add to his expenses.
“You should at least look.” He jerked his head toward the elevator that led up to the women's wear department. “There’s no harm in that, right?”
I narrowed my eyes at him. I knew how he worked. If I let on that I saw anything I liked, he’d purchase it within two seconds flat. “No, Alec.”
“Please, cocobug.” He moved closer and took my hand. “Let me do this for you. You know I have the money. I won’t even notice it’s been spent.”
I hesitated, knowing that was true. Not only had Alec’s father set up a healthy trust fund for him when he was young, but he himself earned several million dollars a year. A few thousand was nothing to him.
But it was something to me. I didn’t want to take advantage of my friend.
“Come on,” he cajoled, obviously sensing the fact I was weakening. “If you won’t do it for you then do it for me. I want to watch Thad swallow his tongue. I want him to see what a catch you are and know he’s lost you forever.”
The assistant’s eyes lit up, clearly spotting the potential for a big sale. “Aww, isn’t that so sweet?”
Alec turned to her. “Would you be able to find some dresses for me please? Or steer me to someone who can? I think something in a shade of blue, green, pink, or purple would be best. Perhaps blue, because that would go well with her eyes?”
“Absolutely!” The saleswoman patted the suit that was laid out over her arm.
“Usually, there would be someone else in that department better suited to helping you, but since we’ve already got your friend’s suit sorted, I’d like to stick with you and see it through.
I’ll just put this on the counter and then I’ll take you up and we can look at some dresses. ”
She hurried away, perhaps worried that I’d protest if she gave me the opportunity.
“Just try them on.” Alec bumped my shoulder affectionately. “It won’t hurt.”
I sighed. “Fine.”
The sales assistant returned and led us up the elevator and into a department occupied by a dazzling array of dresses in different colors, made from different fabrics, some of them long and elegant, others short and flirty.
“Do you want a similar style to the suit?” she asked. “Stylish, but not 100% formal?”
“Anything that will pair well with my suit and show off just how gorgeous Tally is,” Alec replied before I was able.
My breath caught. How was I supposed to remind myself that all of this was fake when he kept calling me beautiful?
The sales assistant collected several dresses for me to try and sent me in first with a long, rich purple dress. It fit well but was cut a little lower than I’d like. Alec nodded, but she shook her head.
I tried on another, and then another, and on and on until I felt like a girl in one of those makeover montage scenes from a romantic comedy film.
I couldn’t deny that they made me feel good.
Particularly, a pale blue one the color of shallow ocean in the tropics and a pink gown that complemented my complexion well.
I was wearing the blue dress when Alec announced, “I think you need accessories too.”
The sales assistant snapped her fingers. “You’re right. What do you think? A purse? Shoes? Sunglasses?”
“Everything.”
She breezed away.
“No.” I put my hands on my hips. “I haven’t even said I’ll buy one of the dresses yet.”
“Because you won’t.” Alec smirked. “I will.”
I threw my hands up in the air. “You can’t just throw away your money on me.”
His expression grew serious. “I don’t consider this to be throwing it away. Any money spent on you is worth it.”
My heart skipped. I tried to tell myself he didn’t mean anything by it, but my subconscious began weaving more daydreams in which my best friend suddenly fell madly in love with me.
When the assistant returned, she was accompanied by a young, pretty Asian man who was carrying a small bench upon which sat a number of pairs of shoes. The woman held a box and from where I stood, I could see several purses within.
“That dress is perfect for you,” the man said, placing the bench on the ground and doing an exaggerated chef’s kiss. “May I suggest these shoes to go with it?”
I took the pair of white strappy sandals from him and turned to the woman. “What else am I matching with this?”
She offered me a white leather purse and a sunglasses case.
Half an hour later, I had two full outfits to choose from, accessorized not only with shoes, purses, and sunglasses, but also with a simple silver pendant necklace.
We’d also gathered quite an audience. Apparently, word had spread about my predicament with the wedding and my ex, and now the sales staff were personally invested in making sure I looked my absolute best.
“You know, I really don’t need all this,” I said to Alec, trying to keep my voice low so the observers wouldn’t all hear.
“Maybe not,” he murmured back. “But you deserve it. You’ve been my best friend for years. You’ve been there for every one of my important milestones. Let me do this. Nothing is too good for you.”
I melted right then. Who wouldn’t?
“Which dress is your favorite?” he asked.
I dithered, not really sure. Personally, I like the pink best, but I had a feeling the blue looked better, and wasn’t that the point of all this?
“The blue one,” I replied firmly.
“Okay then.” He slung his arm around me and gave me a hug. “That wasn’t so hard, was it?”
I just looked at him.
He laughed. “Think of it this way: If you were my girl, it would be my job to spoil you. For all intents and purposes, you are my girl right now, and there’s no woman I’d rather spoil than you.”
“Why are you single?” I asked, baffled as always by the state of his social life.
He had so much to offer. One day, someone was going to be smart enough to lock him down, and then there would be no more of these wonderful days spent together, just me and him.
No girlfriend would tolerate our closeness. At least, I doubted they would.
My boyfriends had never loved our relationship, but I’d always made it clear that if they made me choose, they wouldn’t win.
The sales assistants clapped as Alec announced the winning outfit.
Most of them cleared away. The man from the shoes department winked over his shoulder as he left.
Alec didn’t let me come to the counter as the sale was put through.
I guessed he didn’t want me to hear exactly what the cost was, even though I had a reasonable idea anyway.
He lingered over there for longer than necessary. As I watched him, my gaze trailed to the familiar outline of his strong arms and narrow waist and I wondered what his parents would make of all of this.
I loved Mr. and Mrs. Wright. They were so kind and fun to be around. Would they take it in stride when they learned about our act, or would they be upset by us misleading people?
Not to mention my own parents. How would they react?
Alec looked over at me and whatever he saw in my expression made him frown.
“What’s wrong?” he asked as he approached, carrying our purchases.
“I hope neither of our parents will be mad at us.”
“Why would they be mad?”
I walked slowly as I gathered my thoughts. “It’s not exactly honest, is it?”
He studied me, taking my misgivings seriously. “If you’re really worried, then come over for dinner after our next game. We can talk to my parents then, and once yours realize that Thad is at the wedding, I can’t see them having any issue with us pretending a little.”
“Okay.” I let out a shaky breath. That wasn’t a bad idea.
It was tradition to share dinner with his parents after his home games.
We used to go to their place, but Alec often got tired early on evenings after he played so they’d taken to coming to his house instead so he didn’t have to drive while tired.
Please let him be right.