Bitch.
Alana stiffened. Memories of the other women she had watched come and go from London’s apartment came to mind.
Rebecca would fit right in with them.
This was the kind of woman he preferred.
Trying to step away from London, he tightened his hold on her.
“Yes, Rebecca. I’m looking for a nice dress shirt and tie for a meeting,” London shared with the store associate. He offered a small smile, but it didn’t quite reach his eyes.
“Why yes, I can help you with that.” Her smile grew even brighter as she motioned for them to walk with her. “You can call me Becky. I didn’t catch your name.”
Wow. Becky was laying it on pretty thick with her megawatt smile, and she hadn’t once looked at Alana.
“Because I didn’t give it,” he replied dryly. “It’s London, and this is my dear friend, Alana.”
“Nice to meet you both.”
Alana blew out a deep breath and offered a fake smile of her own. If he needed to shop for a few things, she could go browse around so he wouldn’t be distracted by her. It sounded as if this meeting was pretty important.
She tried to pull away, but this time, he entwined their fingers together. He frowned when she tried to pull away again.
“I can go look at some things while you’re doing—”
“Nonsense. I want your opinion.”
Tightening his hold on her hand, he tugged her to him, dropping a kiss on her forehead. “Stay with me. Please.”
Alana met his gaze and felt herself falter.
That damn accent of his.
He knew what he was doing by laying it on thick.
Alana gave a jerk of her head. She would stay with him if it was what he wanted. She glanced at Becky, who still had her fake smile in place, but Alana saw the hint of disappointment at not being alone with London in her eyes.
“Lead the way,” she said, holding back a smirk.
Score one for Alana.
Becky was an attentive sales associate, presenting him with different colors and styles.
Finally, he settled on a black button-down.
Alana’s mouth watered. She couldn’t wait to see him in it.
“I think that was an excellent choice,” Becky assured, motioning for them to follow her. “Let’s go back over to the ties. I have the perfect color for you.”
Following behind her, they stopped at one of the tables. Leaving them to it, Alana moved over to where the ties were presented on a velvet case, each lined up single file. She found one that reminded her of London’s eyes. It was dark gray, and she instantly fell in love with it. The color would pair well with his shirt.
She fingered the material, finding it one of the softest she had ever touched. Turning over the tag, she paused. The tie was worth more than all of her utilities combined for one month.
Her arm jerked back, as if she’d been shocked.
“Find anything?” London’s deep voice rumbled.
“Maybe. You?” she asked, seeing Becky at his side. A few other women lingered near the register, not hiding the fact that they were ogling London. Alana’s gut churned at how bold they were, just staring and giggling like schoolgirls.
Her gaze moved back to London and found him waiting for her response.
“I think he should pick this one. It would contrast nicely with the shirt.” Becky held up a navy-blue tie. It was nice, but it wasn’t the one that would highlight his unique eyes.
“What do you think, Alana?”
“This might be a little expensive, but I really like this one.”
She held up her choice, trying not to cringe at the thought of how much the small piece of material was. Moving close, he laid it across the shirt.
“I think this is the one.”
“It matches your eyes,” Alana said softly. London’s eyes crinkled in the corners with his smile.
Turning, he handed the items to Becky. “We’ll take these.”
“Yes, of course.” Becky scooped up the shirt and tie. “Would you like to look at suits? We have a fantastic sale going on today—”
“Just the shirt and tie,” London interjected.
Before long, Becky had him rung up and ready to go. Alana was in shock at the amount he’d paid for the two items.
“What did you want to look at?” he asked her.
She blinked.
Oh, yeah. She was going to browse while he dealt with Becky.
“Well, I wanted to go to the perfume counter.” Her favorite perfume was getting low, and she needed more.
Becky escorted them to the perfume and cologne counter, where one of the women who had been gawking at London was waiting. This one, Jennifer, was a little nicer than Becky, and very attentive to her.
When she’d asked if they had her favorite perfume, Jennifer immediately produced it for her.
“Can I smell it?” London asked.
“Of course.”
Smiling, Jennifer sprayed a small amount on a white card and waved it in the air before handing it to London. Bringing it to his nose, he inhaled and closed his eyes.
“Is this what you wear?” he asked.
“It is. I discovered it in college and fell in love with it. I’m so glad we found it here. I’m a little low, and would hate it if I ran out.”
London turned to Jennifer. “We’ll take it.”
“Yes, sir.”
Reaching into her shoulder bag, she took out her wallet.
“That’ll be ninety-eight dollars even,” Jennifer announced, placing the perfume into a fancy little bag with a cloth handle.
Alana went to hand over her credit card, but London beat her to it.
“I got this.”
“No way,” Alana exclaimed. He had already spent a small fortune on his shirt and tie, their breakfast, and her books.
“I insist. Please, Jennifer, put her purchase on my card.”
“London—”
“It’s final.” Pulling her close, he wrapped his arm around her waist while Jennifer turned to the register and finished the transition. “It’s not much, and I want to buy it.”
“London—”
He placed a finger over her lips to silence her.
“Let me do this for you,” he murmured.
Everything else ceased to exist in that moment. All Alana could think about was London. He wasn’t playing fair. The deepening of his voice, the feel of his hard muscles against her… it was scrambling her brain, and he knew it.
“Think of it as a neighborly gesture.”
Neighborly gesture, my ass.
An hour ago, he had practically devoured her with only a kiss.
There was nothing friendly about what was happening between them.
She was in a world of trouble.
Just like that, he had her eating out of the palm of his hand.
8
“This was nice,” Alana said, leaning against the door to her apartment.
She couldn’t remember the last time she had spent a day with a member of the opposite sex. Danny didn’t believe in shopping. Any new clothes he needed were ordered online from the same store. Presents for her consisted of tickets to Comic-Cons. Sure, he would purchase the flights and hotels, but that wasn’t really what she considered a gift.
Once in a while, she wanted little trinkets or thoughtful presents. Just because she was nerdy, didn’t mean she wasn’t a woman.