BOUGHT: A Standalone Romance (8 page)

There’s banging in my dream, loud banging. I squint out of one eye, and for a terrifying moment, I don’t know where I am. Sitting up quickly, I pull the blanket up around me tighter until the night before comes back to me. Another loud series of knocks hits the door, and I groan as I slip out of bed. Wrapping myself in the blanket, I pad to the door. I throw the lock and wrench the door open.

Connor stands in the doorway, his hair slightly disheveled. He’s leaning on the doorframe, dark circles under his eyes. I recognize the pants he’s wearing as the one’s he had on the night before, but now he’s shirtless and barefoot. I raise an eyebrow at him.

“You look like hell.”

“Yeah, I know.” He runs a hand down his face, over a light sprinkling of stubble on his jaw. “I want to get moving though. The wedding is in two days.”

“Two days!” I exclaim. “I thought we still had a week left.”

“We did, but my sister is a crazy person and she wants the wedding now. The only reason it’s not today is I convinced my mom I at least needed to take some time off of work and get packed. We need to go shopping and try to cram as much information in you as possible.”

“I have to go visit Mary and my son today.”

“Why?”

I scoff. “Why? Well, let’s see, maybe it’s because he’s my son. I’m supposed to help them get around. Mary can’t drive too far.”

“You have a son?” he asks with a raised brow.

I roll my eyes. “You were there with me yesterday when he asked if I was his mom? How do you not remember that?”

I watch him rub his hand over the back of his neck, a sheepish expression on his face. He shifts his weight back and forth before he shrugs. “It was a long night.”

Shaking my head, I start back inside of the room. “I have to get ready, and then I have to go and see them.”

“If it’s just errands, I’ll have one of my guys take them and give them one of my credit cards. That way, they’ll have everything they need. I won’t even take it out of how much I pay you.”

I pause. Why is he attempting to be nice again? Searching his face, I nod slowly. “It might be good to kind of take things slow with Kyle. I’m not sure he’s up to seeing me again so soon. I’ll call Mary and tell her.”

“Good. Get dressed. We need to get you some new clothes.”

“What’s wrong with my clothes?” I ask through gritted teeth.

“I don’t have time to even begin this conversation. Go get dressed.”

I retreat back inside of my room, slamming the door for good measure. Already I’m in a bad mood, but there’s something else there too. Relief. I’m not ready to face them again, not yet. I know I can’t avoid the situation forever, but for a moment I can breathe.

I toss the blanket onto the bed before walking into the bathroom. The floors are heated, warm and inviting beneath my feet. Once again, I’m impressed by Connor’s place. I’ve always done pretty well for myself, but he’s done amazingly well. It takes me a moment to figure out the shower before I step into the spray.

A tingle of pleasure runs up my spine. For a while, I just stand there, letting the water wash my troubles away. Only after I hear persistent knocking again do I grab the shampoo and begin to lather up my hair. Twenty minutes later, I’m pink all over from the heat of the shower and wrapped in a towel that feels like a fluffy cloud against my skin.

I take my time searching through my clothes, drying my hair, and applying my makeup. Secretly, I get a kind of vengeful pleasure out of the fact that I can hear Connor growing increasingly frustrated outside of the door. Serves him right for talking about the way I dress.

When I’m finished, I give myself one last glance in the mirror. My hair is curling down around my shoulders, my makeup light and pink. The blue sundress I’m wearing just brushes my knees and has darker blue flowers decorating it. I’ve even slipped into a pair of blue heels to complete the look. Grabbing my wallet, I open the door.

Connor’s glaring. I grin. He looks me over, and I begin to feel self-conscious, almost falling into my old habit of crossing my arms over myself when someone looks at me. I haven’t done that in a long time, and I wonder briefly why I feel that way now. Instead, I lift my head up a little higher.

“What?” I ask, hearing the defensiveness in my tone.

“Nothing,” he says before turning. “I like the dress. You look good.”

Did he just compliment me? And it was completely nice? No backhanded comments, no criticisms? I’m half tempted to touch his forehead to see if he’s feeling all right, but I don’t want to push my luck. I mumble a thank you before I walk after him, taking longer strides to match his.

For once, he isn’t wearing a suit. He’s gone for a pair of dark blue jeans, a black button-down shirt, and a pair of sneakers. It’s probably the most casual I’ve ever seen him, besides him being naked, and I don’t want to admit that I like it. He looks sexy, sophisticated.

I wake myself up from that line of thought as I slip into his car beside him. As we pull out of the driveway, I wonder where he’s taking me to shop. Where do rich people get their clothes?

“Are you nervous?” he asks.

I jump a little, realizing that my thoughts have taken me very far away. I shrug. “More for you than for me. I mean, when this is over I go back to the same gig. Are you nervous?”

Connor grins. “Like hell. My mother is a piranha, and her friends are worse. If we can pull this off, though, it’ll be worth it. I could use some peace.”

“Aw, come on,” I say with a smile. “What’s so bad about your mom setting you up?”

“A lot of things, most of them being that she doesn’t seem to hear when you say you’re happy alone. I don’t plan on going down the aisle. All I want to do is watch my sister have her day and go back to my solitary lifestyle.”

“Last night wasn’t so solitary,” I point out. “Who were all of those people anyway?”

“Just a few friends over for a drink.”

“It’s humanly impossible to have that many friends.”

“Not for me.”

I shake my head. “Whatever you say. I just think people like that are probably more interested in using you. It’s your life, though. I can’t tell you what to do.”

After several moments of silence, I glance over at Connor. Something I’ve said seems to have bothered him, because there’s a deep frown on his face. His hands seem to be gripping the wheel tighter too. I don’t want to upset him any more than I obviously already have, so I decide to leave him alone for the rest of the trip.

I don’t know what I was expecting, but when we pull up to a small shop I raise an eyebrow. In my mind, I was waiting for something spectacular, something dripping in elegance and extravagance. Stepping outside, I glanced around us.

“Is this the place?”

Connor laughs. “Don’t look so disappointed. The bigger the shop, the more crap is in it. My friend Nadia owns this place. Trust me, she’ll have exactly what you need.”

Nodding, I follow behind him, still not convinced. When we step through the door, I smell the slight aroma of flowers. The place is carpeted with several racks of clothes, mostly dresses and shoes. Large chairs dot the store near mirrors and small dressing rooms.

As I’m looking at everything, a woman walks out of the back room and behind the counter. Her long, red hair is tied up into a bun, making her look elegant. Her black dress is simple, but she’s beautiful, with immaculately manicured nails and black pumps. She throws a dazzling smile our way.

“Connor, you’re looking well,” she says, her voice a bit deeper than I was expecting. She kisses both of his cheeks. “You must be Angela,” she says as she turns to me and extends a delicate hand.

I shake her hand, nodding. “That’s me.”

“Excellent. Connor’s told me all about you. I’ve already picked out a few options for you. Come with me. Connor, would you like something to drink?”

“Do you still have that wine I tried last time?”

“Oh, I know exactly the one you mean. That was the 1976 Cabernet. I’ll send someone over to Darla’s to get it. Would you like a glass?” she asks me.

I hold up a hand. “No, thank you. It’s a little too early for me.” That and the thought of another drop of wine makes me want to throw up, I want to say, but I refrain.

I follow behind her to the counter, where she has a rack set up with options just for me. There is short dress and some long ones, some with sparkly sequins and others made of soft silk. Slowly, I run my fingers over them. One catches my attention, a lavender number that would show off my back. I hold it against me before I fish out the price tag and almost gag.

“It’s fine,” Nadia assures me quickly. “Connor told me to pick out the best in the shop. Some of these are out before they’ve even been released to other stores. You have great taste, That one is actually by Jolene Miller. She’s very popular right now.”

Everything she says to me, I have a hard time following. I’ve been known to be a bit extravagant at times, but this? As I glance at it, I almost put it back, but don’t. Connor said to get anything I wanted, and to impress his mother, it would need to be the very best. I take the dress with me into the dressing room.

When I step back out, Connor stops with the wine glass touching his lips. His eyes widen a bit as they travel the length of me. I wait for him to say something, but for the first time in a long time he doesn’t seem to know how to speak. Normally, it would be a welcome change, but not at the moment.

“You look stunning!” Nadia proclaims. “If you wear your hair up, it will be even better. I even know where you can find the perfect jewelry to go with this. Doesn’t she look amazing?”

Connor nods slowly, still not saying a word. I step over to the mirror to examine my reflection, and even I’m lost for words. The dress fits me perfectly and goes well with my tanned skin. I can almost imagine my hair up, makeup done to fit the dress. I love it.

Connor finally clears his throat before he takes a sip of the wine. “You look good,” he mumbles against the glass.

A grin spreads on my face. I try on several more options for the rest of the time that I’ll be spending with him and his family before we head to the jewelry store. I try not to look at the prices as I pick out the pieces I want. By the time we’re done, both of our arms are laden with bags and boxes. Connor loads everything into the car.

“Are you hungry?”

My belly answers for me. “I guess I am. I haven’t even noticed.”

It’s a nice, warm day out, so we decide to walk the short distance to the restaurant instead of drive. Isabella’s is a nice little restaurant tucked between a café and another jewelry store. The smell of something delicious pours out of the door before we’re even inside.

Once we’re seated, a tall man with dark hair hands us our menus. It doesn’t take us long to order a London broil with linguine and salad. Once the waiter is gone, I turn to Connor.

“Thanks for taking me shopping.”

“Don’t mention it. You looked nice.”

I can feel a blush spreading on my cheeks. “What’s wrong with my other clothes?”

“Oh, nothing,” he says with a grin. “Sometimes I just can’t help ruffling your feathers.”

I narrow my eyes. “You’re such a jerk.”

Connor laughs. “I know. I try not to be, but it’s who I am.”

I roll my eyes. “Bullshit. Sometimes, very rarely, you can be a completely decent human being.”

Connor shrugs. “What can I say? I’m a complicated man.”

I can’t help but laugh. Once again, I feel a tug of attraction to him. When he’s like this, laid back and normal, I can’t help it. There’s no façade, just Connor. When our food arrives, we take our time eating as we chat. First, it’s just about his work, his clients. Before I know it, we’re talking about the past, family, friends, school.

“Why’d you stop playing baseball?” I ask as I cut into my dessert, a big piece of chocolate cake that melts in my mouth. “You sound like you were pretty good.”

“My mom wouldn’t have it. She said there were much better things to be doing. She’s more concerned about academics.”

“What about your dad?”

“My dad’s…my dad,” he says, shaking his head as he steals a piece of my cake. “We’re not under any impression that my dad runs anything in that house. He goes along with whatever my mom wants.”

“She’s kind of terrifying, is she?”

“Oh, you have no idea,” Connor says with a chuckle.

My phone starts to buzz, and I glance at the screen. Mary. I hold up a finger to Connor before I answer.

“Hey, Mary. Is everything okay?”

“Oh, everything’s fine. Your boyfriend sent us over a car and everything. We’re just getting back in.”

I laugh. “He’s not my boyfriend, but I’m glad that you guys got what you needed. How’s Kyle?”

“A little better today. We slept in, and he’s a little less cranky. I know you’re supposed to be leaving for a few days, so why don’t you come over today and spend some time with him? He’s asking about you.”

I can feel my heart speed up a bit. “I-I’ll be there. Give me time to get my car, and I’ll let you know when I’m on my way.”

“See you soon.”