“It means if your mom wanted diamond earrings for her birthday, she’d be disappointed. Kurt didn’t even own a watch.” He caught a flash of bling in his mind’s eye. “I take that back.” Recently, he’d opened a drawer in his office and found a pile of them. “He had them because of endorsements and gifts, but it wouldn’t occur to him to buy one. Not when he was either playing hockey or rounding up the herd.”
“Well, there you go. No wonder my mum couldn’t stand him. Her love language is gifts.” She said it with a laugh in her voice, but she looked more thoughtful than amused. “I remember once Andrew rang to say he was going to pop home because he had something for her. She’d been having trouble with her car—it’d been in and out of the shop for months—and she was bouncing off the walls with excitement because she’d somehow got it in her head that he’d bought her a new one. You should’ve seen her face when he walked in the door and handed over some documents she needed to sign.”
As they passed through the lingerie section, she grabbed a pack of lacy underpants and pajama shorts with a matching tank top. “And honestly, if she doesn’t get invited to a dinner party, she thinks she’s been snubbed and worries endlessly about what she might’ve done. And then, she’ll throw a revenge one, making sure it’s bigger and better.” Her hand covered her mouth. “Listen to me going on like that. I’m making her sound awful.” She set her hand on his arm and gazed up at him. “She might be all those things, but she’s always been very devoted to me. I’m her only child, and we did everything together. Well, until I didn’t marry Cameron.”
It was just a light touch. Only meant to get his attention, but her hand was just so…feminine, so delicate…so damn gentle. He wanted her to slide it under his shirt, so he could feel the warmth on his skin.
He got an image of it wrapped around his cock, and his body jerked.
She whipped her hand away. Shit. She’d obviously thought he was shrugging her off. He wasn’t, but what could he say? No, don’t worry. I just had a filthy thought about you? “You ready to check out?”
“Yes, definitely.” But a pink cowboy hat in the Accessories section caught her attention, and she plopped it on her head. “How do I look?”
Fucking hot. “Fine.”
“It’s cute, but I don’t need it.”
“Out here, you wear hats to keep the sun off your face. Get it.”
She grabbed a black one and jammed it on his head. “Only if you get this one.”
“I don’t wear cowboy hats.”
“You just said you need them to keep the sun off your face.”
“Not much sun in Kurt’s office.”
“Oh, come on. We’re in Calamity. We need cowboy hats.” She was so pretty, and she gazed up at him with so much joy, he didn’t think his heart could stand it.
He snatched the hat out of her hands. “Fine. Can we go now?”
“Not until I get matching cowboy boots.” She pulled on the cart. “Come on. Let’s see if they have them.”
Right around the corner, they found miles of shoes in every style. She roamed the aisles until she held up a pair of pink boots. “I can’t believe it. They have them.” Sitting on a bench, she pried off her black shoe and slid her foot inside. “Ugh. I’ve never worn fake leather before, but it’s just for a month, and they’re adorable.” She shoved it back into the box and dropped it into the cart. “Now, let’s get you a pair.”
“I don’t…” Was there even a point in telling her he didn’t wear cowboy boots?
Obviously not, since she’d already forged ahead into the men’s section. “Oh, shoot. They don’t have them.”
“Damn. I’d wanted us to get matching pink ones.”
She eyed him over the top of a display case. And then she burst out laughing. “I will accept defeat in this moment, but mark my words, we’re getting you a pair of cowboy boots to go with your hat.”
“We should get going.”
“Okay, but first…” Reaching into the cart, she pulled the hats out, sticking one on his head and the other on hers. “A selfie.” She leaned in and held her arm out.
He went to her side, standing there stiffly, at first. But he could see her expression on the screen, the happiness lighting her eyes, and he had no choice but to wrap his arm around her and pull her in close. He didn’t smile, but at least he wasn’t scowling.
As she took a dozen pictures, the entire world funneled into the scent and warmth and fucking joy of Seraphina Crutchley.
The last woman in the world he’d ever be attracted to.
She was way too sweet and innocent for him.
He’d ruin her with his darkness.
She snapped one last picture and then looked at it. “You look like you need Preparation H.”
“What?” He grabbed the phone. “I look like I have hemorrhoids?”
“Yes, like you’re in pain.”
He did look pretty unhappy. He tossed his hat back into the cart. “That’s because you’re a pain in my ass. We’re going now.”
“Say what you want, but I’ll forever be the woman that got you your first cowboy hat.” They got in line, and she started lifting her clothes onto the conveyor. “Thank you, by the way. For making a weird experience enjoyable.”
“Buying clothes in a store that isn’t Gucci is weird?”
“Yes, actually, it is. Believe it or not, I haven’t bought much of anything since The Lock-Out.”
“Lock-Out?”
“The day—well, actually, it was the night, because I’d come home at three in the morning to find my key didn’t work.”
What the fuck? “What did you do?”
“I tried calling my parents but neither answered. I texted my friends, and one of them let me crash on her couch.”
“Why would they do something like that?”
“To teach me a lesson.”
Your parents are assholes. But he didn’t say it. He didn’t need to. She knew.
Finished, she turned to him. “What your friend said about me being a gold digger…that hurt.” She took his hand. “But you stood up for me, and that was really nice. Most of my friends would’ve gone along with the backstabber just to be part of the crowd.”
“You’ve got some shitty friends.”
“I see that now, but we’d been friends since primary school. They were all I’d ever known, so when they ditched me—”
“They ditched you?”
“It’s not their fault. It’s no fun to go out with someone who can’t pay for her own dinner or drinks. What fun is it to go shopping with someone who can’t even afford a pair of socks at Harrod’s?”
“You’re talking about activities. Friendships are based on more than going out.”
“Sure, but how you socialize is important, and I couldn’t keep up with them anymore.”
“Do you miss them?”
“I miss being part of them. I miss the text chat, the dressing up to go out. But I don’t blame them for not including me. It made them uncomfortable to be around me. I can’t even afford a taxi.”