Chapter 10 #3
“Because I want to.” He nodded to my now-empty plate. “Did you get enough to eat?”
I patted my stomach that was protesting at all the food I’d forced into it in such quick succession. “I’m one bite away from needing a forklift.”
Fighting the urge to slap my forehead, I slammed my mouth closed. Better to sit in awkward silence than say anything else embarrassing.
The corner of his lips tilted up slightly. At least he was mildly amused.
Fortunately, we were finished. Unfortunately, he insisted on paying.
Despite putting up a fight because this felt too much like a date if he was paying, I was secretly grateful.
Every penny counted at the moment. And likely would until the kids finished college.
My future would be filled with ramen noodles.
Ever the gentleman, Vance held the door open for me to step through. “Where’s the best place to get clothes around here? I only brought suits with me.”
Who goes somewhere without packing normal clothes?
“There’s Adlers. They have outdoorsy kind of clothes, but the quality is great. Or you could go to Walmart. It’s about a thirty-minute drive.”
His hand was on my back as if I needed him to direct me back to the office. But since I was a needy idiot, I didn’t step away.
I had to get my thrills from somewhere these days.
“Adlers sounds great. Do you have time to come along?”
Since we didn’t have an allocated lunchtime and could take it whenever, and I worked for my friends, I could technically stay out a little longer. But was it smart?
“Sure.”
What the hell was wrong with me?
Bad mouth for answering before my brain had a chance to come up with good reasons why we should go back to the office.
I’d never been to Adlers since they only sold men’s clothes. But Cockalorum had shopped there, and the clothes he wore had always been nice. Choices in Butler were limited, so I couldn’t avoid every place my soon-to-be ex-husband frequented.
Vance indicated for me to step through the narrow doorway first, and I self-consciously walked up the three steps, knowing my butt would be right in his face.
A sales assistant greeted us as soon as the door shut behind us. “Welcome to Adlers. My name is Janet. Is there anything I can help you with?”
Vance’s hand found its way to my back again. “I need some jeans and T-shirts. And boots if you have them.”
She took him in from head to toe, and a pleased smile spread over her face. “Any particular color?”
“Surprise me.”
Her smile grew bigger before she disappeared behind a row of clothes, narrow hips swaying from side to side, her little black dress hugging her figure.
I snuck a glance at Vance, but he wasn’t looking at her, his attention on me.
“Let’s get this over with.” He looked like he was in pain.
“Wait. Hang on. Don’t tell me you don’t enjoy shopping.”
Groaning, he led me to the back of the shops where the changing rooms were. “It’s right up there with getting my nails pulled off.” He pointed to one of two chairs lined up along the wall. “Why don’t you take a seat.”
The shop assistant came bustling back, arms full of clothes. “I’ll put these into the changing room for you.”
After depositing her load in the dressing room, she stopped in front of Vance, standing close enough that her front was almost touching his. “Let me know if you need any help.”
Squeezing his upper arm, she sauntered off, and Vance disappeared inside the changing room.
The bell over the door rang out, and I looked up. And when I spotted Cockalorum with his plastic doll attached to his side, my body didn’t know what to do. Fight? Flight? Play dead?
I went with flight. Unfortunately, the best—and only—way to hide was in one of the changing rooms. And the closest door was right in front of me. So I dropped to my knees and crawled the short distance, pushing my way underneath the thankfully high door.
As I lay on my belly, my eyes landed on socked feet pointing my way.
Looking up, I locked eyes with Vance. Neither of us seemed to know quite what to say. He blinked at me. I blinked at him. He opened his mouth, then closed it again. I opened my mouth, then closed it again.
It was prudent to point out at this stage that he was only wearing pants that were unbuckled as if he was about to take them off. And no top. I repeat, his top half was unclothed.
Holy perfectly sculpted works of art on display.
I dropped my forehead to the scratchy carpet. It turned out that things could always get worse. I needed to stop hitting low points. And that included not thinking about what the stain was I had put my face in.
But if I was honest, if the choice was between my current situation or running into Cockalorum, I would choose to be right there on the smelly ground. Even if it meant I’d be scrubbing my face with disinfectant as soon as I was back home.
Clothes rustled above me, but I gave it a few more seconds to make sure Vance was wearing something before facing reality once again. When I carefully lifted my head, he was wearing a black T-shirt and buckled-up pants.
At least he didn’t look mad. If anything, I would have said he looked amused. But my judgment sucked at the moment, so I couldn’t be sure.
“Is there a reason you’re in my changing room? Not that I mind, but it is a little unorthodox.”
Pushing up to my feet, I bit my bottom lip, avoiding his gaze. He still wasn’t wearing shoes. And the carpet didn’t look much better from farther away.
“I thought I’d check on you.”
He totally didn’t believe a word of it and stepped past me. His arm brushed mine, and it suddenly became hard to swallow. He stuck his head out of the changing room, and I nearly pulled him back in.
It didn’t take him long to spot my reason for accosting him.
He pulled the door closed again and turned to face me. “All right. Let’s get comfortable, then.”
And he did exactly that, plopping down on the ground, his back against the wall, patting the spot beside him. “Come on. Who knows how long this will take.”
It took exactly ten minutes and forty-three seconds.
And they weren’t entirely unpleasant minutes.
And seconds. Because Vance’s low murmur was soothing.
And after the first three minutes of listening to him tell me about his nieces and nephews, I’d forgotten all about why we were hiding in a changing room.
“Hang on. So, if I counted correctly, you have four nieces and two nephews.”
Vance shrugged. “I have three sisters. The youngest one doesn’t have any kids, but I’m sure there’ll be some in her future.
We’re all really close. It’s hard to live so far away from them, especially since they lived with me for a while after our dad passed away.
It took me a long time to get used to a quiet house again.
But my work kept me in New York until now. ”
I put my hand on his arm, trying—and failing—not to drool over his hard muscles under my palm. “I’m so sorry about your dad. I bet your sisters loved living with you as well, though. I have to admit, I’m envious of you. I was an only child and always wanted at least four kids.”
He shot me one of his rare smiles. “You still can.”
A bitter laugh escaped me. “I’m a broke single mom who can’t even face her soon-to-be ex-husband. I’m not exactly a catch. And I wouldn’t want to do it without a partner.”
I loved being in a relationship. I wasn’t a one-night-stand kind of girl.
“Everything okay in there?” a high-pitched voice asked, breaking through our little bubble. “Can I get you any other sizes?”
Saved by the shop assistant.
Vance stood up and held out his hand to help me. Despite knowing better by now, I took it. And was immediately reminded why it was a bad idea when my grip tightened automatically and tingles swept up and down my arm.
His breath skated across the side of my face when he leaned down, and I shivered. “For the record, you’re definitely a catch.”
He opened the door, leaving me standing in the middle of the changing room, breathless and floundering.
Vance’s voice pushed me into moving, and I stepped out at the same moment he said, “I’ll take it all.”
The shop assistant’s attention was drawn behind him, and her eyes bugged out of her head when she spotted me.
I awkwardly waved at her. “He needed help with his shirt.”
She looked at the T-shirt he was currently wearing, mouth now gaping open.
I collapsed back into the chair, my legs refusing to hold me up any longer. Vance closed the door again, and I studiously avoided looking at the shop assistant as she rushed past me.
I looked around the shop from under my hair that was draped over my face since I was still looking down. Thankfully, I didn’t spot Cockalorum, so at least there was that.
Vance came out a few minutes later, dressed back in his suit, clothes draped over his arm. “Is it safe to leave yet?”
Getting up, I nodded, clearing my throat. “I’m so sorry about barging into your dressing room. I panicked.”
He put his hand on my back again and led me to the register. “No need to apologize.”
I peeked up at him and found he looked like he actually meant it. It seemed I may have misjudged him.
It was hard to reconcile the gentle and attentive guy with the jerk I’d first met. And I didn’t hate him at all anymore. Not even a little bit.
And wasn’t that just the scariest realization of all?
He paid for his clothes, and we walked the short way back to the office. Malena was already there, talking to Rix, one of our regular clients.
They spotted us, and Rix smiled. He was a nice guy, but he didn’t understand the concept of personal space.
We all joked that we couldn’t be in a room with him because he always came closer and closer.
And there was never enough space to keep discreetly stepping back whenever he came within feel-his-breath distance.
He opened his arms, and since I didn’t want to be rude, I let him hug me, awkwardly patting his back. “There she is. I was worried when I didn’t see you at your desk.”
He spotted Vance behind me and thankfully turned his attention away from me. Holding out his hand, he stepped forward. “Rix Howler.”
“Vance Moore.”
Rix grimaced, and they released hands. He shook his out and then stepped back. I didn’t think I’d ever seen him willingly do that. “So, how do you know our Mae?”
I ignored his “our Mae” comment since it was pointless to explain to him yet again that I wasn’t his anything. But he was a client, and a good one, not counting his inability to respect private space.
“I’m her lawyer.”
“Her lawyer?” Rix’s voice boomed through the office. “Why does she need a lawyer?” He turned to where I was putting my handbag down behind my desk. “What happened?”
I didn’t want to talk to him about this. It was none of his business. But again, I didn’t want to be rude, so of course I answered. “Everything’s okay—”
Before I had a chance to say anything else, Vance stepped in front of me, blocking my view of Rix. “It’s confidential.”
“Oh, of course.” Rix cleared his throat. “If you need anything, call me.”
Vance crossed his arms over his chest, resembling my bodyguard rather than my lawyer. “She won’t need anything. That’s why she has me.”
Stepping around him, I put a hand on Rix’s arm, ignoring Vance’s growl. Rix’s offer was nice, and he meant well. “Thank you so much, but I’m fine.”
He nodded at me, his carefree smile back in place. “See you ladies next week.”
As soon as the door closed behind him, I turned to Vance, who looked perfectly at ease. Before I had a chance to yell nonsense at him because I seemed to have forgotten most of the English language again, he cleared his throat. “I have a meeting in five minutes.”
And with that, he turned and disappeared into his temporary office.
Malena leaned against my desk. “Well, that was odd.”
I logged into my computer and brought up my email program. Too many unread messages waited for me to get through in the two hours I had left.
I shrugged, not sure what had happened and not willing to overanalyze it. Unlike Malena, who leaned closer. “Vance is always in control. But he looked ready to punch Rix. And all because he offered his help.”
I shrugged again. Letting myself think that Vance might actually like me and felt protective was a road too dangerous to walk down. Because if it was only his sense of duty as my lawyer, I’d be crushed. And there would be absolutely no more crushing in my future of any variety.
Realizing she wouldn’t be getting anything else out of me, she huffed and straightened up. “Fine. Be like that. I’ll get it out of you on Saturday, when you’re coming over while you have your open house.”
That’s exactly what I was afraid of. But for now, all I could do was get through as much work as possible and not think about my lawyer. Or his odd behavior.