Chapter 29
JUNO
Ichecked my reflection in the mirror and judged the sundress I’d chosen. It was cute enough for whatever Hollis had planned, but not so fancy that I’d look ridiculous if we ended up somewhere low key. The problem with surprise dates was never knowing if you’d dressed appropriately.
He told me to wear whatever. Easy for him to say considering he could show up in sweats, which honestly, please do, and he’d look gorgeous.
My phone buzzed with a text. I’m here.
I still got butterflies. Three weeks of officially dating Hollis Blackwell, and I still got all giddy when I knew I’d get to see him. It was embarrassing and wonderful at the same time.
I grabbed my purse and headed downstairs, spotting his car idling at the curb. He was leaning against the driver’s side door, looking unfairly good in jeans and a simple white T-shirt that showed off his tan and the muscles he’d earned through all that running and yoga.
Glad I kept it casual.
The moment I was close enough, he pulled me into his arms and kissed me. Not a quick peck, but a real kiss that made my toes curl in my sandals. His hands settled on my hips, holding me against him like he’d been starving for the contact. Judging by the hardness I felt poking me, he had been.
Me too.
“Hi,” he murmured against my lips.
I pulled back just enough to look at him. “You’ve been MIA for three days. I was starting to think you’d forgotten about me.”
“Never.” He kissed me again, softer this time. “I’ve just been drowning in orders and production planning. But I’m all yours today. No work, no phone calls, just us.”
“That sounds perfect.”
He opened the passenger door for me, and I slid into the seat. The car smelled like him, that citrus and sandalwood scent I’d come to associate with feeling safe and wanted. He rounded the car and climbed in beside me, his hand immediately finding mine on the center console.
“So where are we going?” I asked as he pulled away from the curb.
“It’s a surprise.”
“I hate surprises.”
“No, you don’t. You just like being in control.” He brought my hand to his lips and kissed my knuckles. “Trust me?”
I looked at him and couldn’t believe he was mine. For now at least. When I had first met Hollis Blackwell weeks ago, trusting him would have been laughable. Now it felt natural.
“Yeah,” I said. “I trust you.”
His smile widened, and he squeezed my hand. “Good.”
We drove through Santa Monica, heading south on the PCH. I watched the scenery pass, content just to be near him after three weeks of seeing each other off and on. We’d managed a few late-night phone calls and some flirty texts, but it wasn’t the same as being in the same room.
He pulled off the highway, heading into Beverly Hills. We wound through the streets until he pulled into a parking structure I recognized.
“Blackwell Couture?” I asked as he parked.
“Yep.” He turned off the engine and looked at me with that mischievous grin I’d learned meant he was up to something. “I want to buy you something pretty to wear tonight.”
“What’s tonight?”
“Another surprise.”
“Hollis, I have clothes. You could have just told me to wear something nice.”
“Come on. Trust me, remember?”
I let him pull me out of the car and toward the elevator. My mind was racing through possibilities. Something fancy enough that I needed a dress from Blackwell Couture? That narrowed it down to either a very expensive restaurant or some kind of event. Maybe both.
I would have done my hair better. And my makeup. I’d been thinking we were going to be eating from a food truck or walking on the beach. The Blackwell label meant glam.
We stepped into the store, and I was immediately struck by how different it felt from the last time I’d been in a high-end boutique.
A woman approached immediately with a bright smile. “Mr. Blackwell, wonderful to see you again.”
“Hi, Serena. This is Juno. We need something special for tonight.”
“Of course.” Serena’s eyes swept over me with a professional assessment that somehow didn’t feel judgmental. “I have some pieces that would be perfect. Right this way.”
She led us to a private section of the store where several dresses were already displayed. I shot Hollis a look.
“You called ahead?”
“I might have.” He was completely unrepentant.
Serena gestured toward the selection. “These are all from our latest collection. Feel free to try on as many as you’d like. I’ll be right outside if you need anything.”
She disappeared, leaving us alone in the dressing area.
I walked over to the dresses, running my fingers over the fabrics.
Silk, satin, delicate lace. All of it was gorgeous and probably more expensive than anything I’d ever purchased.
I liked to dabble with mid-level designers.
Gucci and Prada on clearance, but never anything like Blackwell Couture.
“Hollis, these are too much.”
“They’re perfect.” He came up behind me, his hands settling on my waist. “Pick whichever one you want. Hell, pick all of them if you want. I just want to see you in something that makes you feel as beautiful as you are.”
I turned in his arms, searching his face for any sign that this was some kind of power play or an attempt to buy me. But all I saw was the genuine desire to make me happy.
“Okay,” I said softly. “I’ll try them on.”
“That’s my girl.”
I grabbed the first dress, a gorgeous pistachio green that reminded me of the dress I’d worn to that first shoot with Hollis.
This one was more formal and maybe just a little more risqué than I would normally wear.
I disappeared into the dressing room and slipped it on, struggling with the zipper until I gave up and called for help.
“Hollis? Can you zip me?”
He appeared immediately. He slowly pulled the zipper up. His fingers lingered at the nape of my neck, and I shivered.
“Come out,” he said, his voice rougher than usual. “Let me see.”
I stepped out of the dressing room and onto the small platform in front of the three-way mirror. The dress fit perfectly, hugging my curves in all the right places without making me look like a busted can of biscuits. The color made my skin glow and brought out the blue in my eyes.
But I wasn’t looking at myself in the mirror. I was looking at Hollis’s reflection.
He was staring at me like I was the only thing in the world that mattered. His eyes traveled slowly from my face down to my toes and back up again, not hiding his attraction for even a second. The heat in his gaze made my breath catch.
“Fuck,” he breathed. “You look incredible.”
“Yeah?”
“Yeah.” He walked toward me, stopping just close enough that I could feel his body heat. “Although if you wear that tonight, I’m not going to be able to concentrate on anything except getting you out of it.”
I laughed, feeling powerful and desired and beautiful in a way I hadn’t in years. “Maybe that’s the point.”
“Dangerous woman.” He kissed my shoulder, then stepped back. “Try on the others. I want to see everything.”
I tried on four more dresses, each one more stunning than the last. A black number with a plunging neckline that made Hollis actually groan. A soft pink that made me look and feel like a princess. A navy blue with delicate beading that caught the light with every movement.
But it was the last one that stopped me in my tracks.
The dress was a deep purple. It looked like something royalty would wear. It was elegant and sexy. When I looked at myself in the mirror, I felt pretty enough to be on Hollis’s arm.
The off-the-shoulder top exposed my shoulders and cleavage without being too much. It was ruched at my right hip and then dropped into a skirt with a thigh-high slit.
I couldn’t. It was so much. But damn, it highlighted my hourglass figure. I loved it. I loved the fabric and the way it clung to my body.
“Last one,” I called out.
“Let’s see.”
I took a deep breath and stepped out.
“Fuck. Me.”
“Is that a good or bad fuck me?” I asked.
“I’m going to send my cousin or whoever designed that dress a fucking Ferrari.”
I smiled. “So you like it?”
“I want you out of it and in it at the same time. You’re stunning, Juno. Gorgeous.”
I met his eyes in the mirror. “You think so?”
“I know so.” He came closer, his hands settling on my waist.
I leaned back against him, letting myself enjoy the moment. “I’ll take this one,” I told him.
“Good choice.” He kissed my temple. “Now I need to go change.”
“Change? Into what?”
“Can’t have you looking that good while I’m in jeans.” He grinned. “They have a tailored suit waiting for me.”
“Oh, okay.”
He disappeared. Serena brought in a garment bag for my new dress and several shoe options that would pair perfectly with it. I chose a pair of heels that would make me tall enough to kiss Hollis without him having to bend down quite so far.
I was examining myself in the mirror, trying to imagine what tonight would bring, when I heard footsteps behind me. I turned and nearly swallowed my tongue.
Hollis stood in the doorway wearing a charcoal gray suit that looked like it had been painted onto his body.
The fit was perfect. Tailored to show off his broad shoulders and trim waist. The white shirt underneath was crisp and unbuttoned at the collar, and he’d skipped the tie entirely.
He looked like sex in an expensive suit.
“Oh my God,” I breathed.
“Good?” He adjusted his cuffs, looking pleased with my reaction.
“You look…” I couldn’t find words. My brain had short-circuited somewhere between his shoulders and the way those pants fit his ass. “Scrumptious.”
He threw his head back and laughed. “Scrumptious?”
We walked out of the store with our old clothes in the garment bags. I felt just a little ridiculous strolling around in the gown, but Hollis insisted we go next door for some accessories.
He led me next door into a jewelry boutique. The lighting was soft and golden, the cases gleaming with pieces that each had their own security guard. Hollis didn’t hesitate, scanning the displays until he found what he wanted.
“That one,” he said, pointing to a delicate teardrop diamond necklace on a platinum chain. The matching earrings caught the light beside them, sparkling like something a movie star would wear to the Oscars. “We’ll take it. And the earrings.”
“Hollis, no.” I shook my head, already backing up a step. “Absolutely not. I can’t accept that.”
“Why not?” He was already pulling out his card, completely unbothered.
“Because it’s too much. Way too much. I have jewelry. I don’t need you to drop that kind of money.”
“That bare neck demands diamonds.” He looked at me with that infuriating half-smile in place. “And I want to.”
The teardrop shape was elegant. It would sit perfectly against my collarbone and catch the light when I moved. But that didn’t mean he got to buy it for me like I was some kept woman.
“It’s too expensive,” I said firmly.
“Juno.” He turned to face me fully, his expression softening. “Let me do this. I want to. Let me spoil you a little.”
I opened my mouth to argue again, but the sales associate was already boxing the pieces like she was afraid I would talk him out of it and she’d lose a huge commission.
Hollis signed the slip without even glancing at the total.
I felt my resolve crumble. Arguing with him when he got like this was pointless.
“Thank you,” I said.
He grinned and fastened the necklace around my neck right there in the store, his fingers brushing the back of my neck and sending a shiver down my spine.
The earrings went in next, and when I caught my reflection in the display case, I barely recognized myself.
The woman staring back looked expensive. Happy.
The sun was dipping lower when we stepped back onto the sidewalk. The shopping area was filled with the kind of high-end stores that attracted the rich and famous. Hollis checked his watch and gestured toward the car.
“Time for the next stop.”
We drove through the city as the light faded, eventually pulling up to a hotel I recognized from magazine spreads.
All old Hollywood glamour with modern luxury.
The valet took the car, and Hollis tucked my hand into his elbow as we walked inside.
Crystal chandeliers hung from the ceiling.
A massive fountain in the center actually cooled the room as the AC blew across it.
I kept my shoulders back and ignored the many, many looks that were directed at us. We looked good. Like a Hollywood power couple.