Chapter Eighteen
“Hurry up, Dee,” Anna calls out as I stay locked in a passionate kiss with Colt.
I hear her giggling as she takes my hand and literally pulls me away from him.
After realizing he loves me, I’m feeling a little less panicked about the possible pregnancy, but nevertheless, I’m still buying a test today to find out for sure.
“Have fun. And Anna… make sure Dee buys whatever she likes. I want her to have fun.”
“Oh, don’t worry. I intend to make sure Dee buys practically the whole of Melbourne with your credit card and some new stuff for me,” she teases.
He smirks and raises his eyebrows. “Madam A, if you buy sex toys for you and Johnny, you’d better make sure Dee gets some for us as well.”
I gasp and flush bright red, to which Anna and Colt laugh.
“Don’t worry. I’ll be sure to buy something you’ll love.”
“It’s not fair. You girls have all the fun while we’re busy making the music to pay for your shopping spree.”
I roll my eyes, and he laughs.
The next minute, Anna’s dragging me toward the elevator.
Daniel is our driver and security for the day. He is a giant of a man—Australian and drop-dead gorgeous—with his longer-than-normal blond hair highlighting his chiseled features. I told Colt we didn’t need a driver or a security guard, but he insisted, and so did Johnny.
He escorts Anna and me to the waiting car. Instead of the stretch Hummer, which is too conspicuous, we both opted for a normal car to have a hassle-free shopping experience. Nothing screams, ‘Who’s in that car?’ more than a blacked-out stretch Hummer.
On our way to Chapel Street, I’m excited to spend quality girl time with my bestie. There’s never a time when we don’t have other people around us everywhere we go, so it’ll be nice to hang out and shop like normal people.
“So, how ya holding up?” Anna asks.
I inhale, then exhale slowly, giving me time to think about my feelings. Yesterday, I was terrified that Colt would leave me if it turned out I’m pregnant, but after last night, I hope that if I am, his love for me will bring us closer rather than tear us apart.
“That good, hey?”
“No, I’m fine. I think I want to shop, have some fun, and then do the test after. I don’t want this to cloud the whole day if I am—”
I stop, but Ana finishes for me, “Pregnant?”
I open my eyes widely. “Shh,” I say, looking toward the front of the car at Daniel.
She shrugs and mouths, Sorry.
“Anyways, Daniel won’t say anything, will you, Danny boy?” Anna states with a smirk.
I smack her on the arm while Daniel chuckles. “Righto, won’t say a word, ma’am,” he replies in his all-Aussie accent.
I try to keep from smiling as she raises her eyebrows in that, ‘See, I told you so way.’
Daniel pulls the car to a stop at the end of Chapel Street and opens the door for us.
It’s chilly here with it being winter, but it’s nice compared to the bitter London winters.
Even though Daniel keeps a few feet back as we walk, having a security guard tracking my every move is weird.
I don’t know if I’ll ever get used to it.
But if it means I get more girl time, I’ll have to suck it up.
Because Colt—with all his overprotective ways—won’t tolerate me being without security. Not ever.
“Oh my God, I so need this. I knew the boys would make it big and that being with Johnny meant touring, but it’s nice to have some normality in my life. Even if it’s just for a day,” Anna says, wrapping her arm around mine.
“Amen, sister,” I exclaim as we walk along the sidewalk.
We arrive at the first boutique store and head inside.
I notice that Daniel stays outside when we enter, giving us some privacy.
This shop is a cute store with designer gowns and amazing cocktail dresses.
Colt made sure I knew I could buy anything I wanted.
So I check around, pulling out a few dresses and tops.
Anna and I are having a ball, laughing and chatting about girl stuff, when I see a shop assistant taking a picture of us with her cell phone.
I look at her curiously and think, What the fuck!
But then shrug and go about finding that something special just for Colt.
Nothing stands out in the wow factor so far, so I continue my search and pick out a few more items. I want to buy something to parade around in and make him happy.
Taking the selected items, I try them on in the fitting room while Anna waits impatiently for me to give her a fashion show. We pick two, which is a pretty good start, and I move over to the register, place the clothing on the counter, and then pull out Colt’s credit card.
The shop assistant’s eyes light up so much they sparkle when she takes the card from my hand and says, “I will put these items through for you now.” After processing the payment, she places the items in a gorgeous little bag and hands me a receipt.
“Thanks,” I say, looking at Anna, who’s watching the strange shop assistant out of the corner of her eye.
“You’re welcome,” she replies and scurries off.
We walk out of the store, and I glance at Anna, who’s trying to hide a laugh.
“Okay! She was weird, right?” I ask, and Anna bursts out laughing.
“Yes! So much, yes! The way she was staring at us was… strange. I have an inkling she knows who we are, so we’d better get a move on.”
We stroll down the chic little street to the next boutique, a unique mix of lingerie and dresses, which are two things I know Colt will love.
Anna is like a kid in a candy store, darting from rack to rack, grabbing every sexy outfit she can fit in her arms. Some are cute, some are completely see-through, and others… well, they’re barely even there. I smirk, silently questioning the point of those wisps of fabric.
My fingers brush over a delicate white lace corset with a matching panty set. It’s sweet, elegant, and just daring enough. I lift it off the rack, already imagining how it’ll look on me—and more importantly, how Colt will react when he sees it.
“Anna,” I call out, gaining her attention.
She peers out from behind a rack. “Yeah?”
“Do you think he’ll like this?” I hold it up for her opinion.
She raises one eyebrow. “Seriously, Dee, are you trying to look like a virgin?” I glare at her, and she walks over with her hands full of lingerie. “Here… this is what he’ll like.” She shoves everything she has in her hands at me.
“Wait, isn’t this for you?”
“No, babe, this is all for you.” Anna picks out a purple see-through lace bra and adds it to the pile already in my hands.
There is so much, and there’s no way I have the confidence to pull off this stuff. My body is most certainly not in the same league as Anna’s. “I can’t wear this,” I argue, pulling out a tiny leather G-string and letting it dangle on my pinky finger.
Anna laughs. “Okay. No, wait… yeah, that one is definitely mine,” she replies.
The sales assistant at this shop is way more helpful than the last one. She places all the lingerie on the counter so we can sort through it, and I head off to look at the dresses. I’m flicking through the designer racks when my eyes spot the most exquisite dress I’ve ever seen.
“Oh my God, Dee, you’ll look smoking hot in that,” Anna says.
I take it over to the fitting room to try it on. It’s short—like just under the butt cheeks short—body-hugging, black one-shoulder dress covered in dark sparkles. I’m in awe of this dress, and it’s perfect, and I am pretty sure Colt will love it.
After the incident with the boob tube top being too revealing, I know showing off this much leg will give him a coronary, so it’s probably going to be something I will wear for him in private. And that’s okay with me.
When I open the door to show Anna, she wolf whistles.
“So, it’s okay?”
She opens her eyes wide and nods emphatically. Laughing at her, I close the door to get changed.
The sales lady rings up our purchases, wraps them in tissue, and places them in a bag. Something about that dress makes me feel more confident and ready for what the next shop might bring.
As the day wears on, we buy all sorts of things—jewelry, handbags, shoes, and more clothes, of course. I even found some rock-style shirts and pants for Colt. I know he wanted me to buy what I wanted, but I couldn’t get through the day without getting him something.
Shopping for this many hours, I think I’m about shopped out. My feet hurt, and I want to relax. For the last half of the day, the pregnancy test I need to purchase has been playing on my mind, and I know I have to rip that Band-Aid off at some stage.
And now that we are done, no longer having the distraction, dread seeps in.
“Anna, do you think there’s a pharmacy around here, somewhere?”
“So distraction only worked for a little while?” she asks.
“Yeah!” I sigh. “I had completely forgotten about it this morning, but it’s been bugging me for the last half hour, and I now need to know.”
She smiles. “C’mon, let’s get you a test.”
I nod, and we return to the car to put the bags in the trunk.
“Daniel, is there a pharmacy nearby?” Anna asks while he shuts the trunk.
“Sure, there’s one in the next street. Would you like me to drive you there?”
Anna looks at me for guidance.
“We can walk if it’s only a street away,” I reply.
Anna and Daniel nod before we walk toward the pharmacy, and the answer I am dreading.
Standing, looking at all the pregnancy tests before me, I have no idea which one to choose. “Anna, help.”
“Okay, so how late are we talking?” She laughs.
I do the math in my head. “About two and a half weeks,” I reply, and she bites her bottom lip. I don’t like that gesture one bit.
“What was that?”
“What was what?”
“Why did you bite your lip?” I ask, placing my hand on my hip.
“I thought you were only a few days late, not two and a half weeks,” she replies, resting her hand supportively on my arm.
Goddammit! A wave of nausea washes over me.
Panic rips through me, my breathing escalating.