“Alex has been telling me how you two met,” Gracie said.
Jay glanced at Alex. He saw her blushing. “Really? Do tell. I’m curious.”
Gracie chuckled. “She spilled tea on your jacket.”
Jay took a bit of his toast. After a bit of chewing, he said, “She did.”
“Then you spilled beer on her.” Gracie continued. “How clumsy of you, Jayden.”
He threw the half-eaten toast down and grabbed for the coffee.
“It’s already 9:30,” Beth announced at the door as she rushed into the room. “Come along now. We are late for Vera Wang.” She tsked loudly. “Where’s Kelly?”
“Calm down, Beth. She’ll be down soon,” Gracie said.
Jay saw Alex hiding a grin. God! How she affected him. He wanted to leap over the table and kiss her. Only he couldn’t because a) he was supposed to be gay, b) his family was with them, and c) he had promised himself not to touch her.
He thrust back the chair with a loud screech and stalked out of the room. “I’ll get the car ready,” he announced as he was leaving.
A moment later, Kelly appeared. “Oh gosh! We are late. Come along, Alex. You’re coming, too.”
Alex widened her eyes. “Me?” She pointed a finger at herself, her brows raised.
“Yeah. We can’t just leave you here. Besides, Vera Wang is on Madison Avenue where all the fashionable boutiques are. We can go shopping for your dress when we’re done,” Kelly said, her hands clasped together in anticipation.
“Yeah,” Alex said, somewhat reluctantly.
Gracie grinned. “Come on. We’re late.”
Alex nodded, and then she was led by Kelly and Gracie on either side of her to the car.
* * * * *
Leaning his shoulder against the black limo, Jayden watched as his family and hired girlfriend finally made an appearance.
“Oh, we are late, we are late,” muttered Beth. “We do not want to be late for lunch with Britney, too.”
Jayden saw Kelly smirk and whisper something into Alexandra’s ear. Jay wondered what they were gossiping about. Him, perhaps? They were eyeing him with some sort of interest.
He opened the door for his grandmother, who muttered something about the weather being too hot for her frail body to handle. Then Gracie slid in, followed by Alex. He nodded at her with a masklike face, and that was the most he was going to interact with her from now on, he vowed to himself.
Kelly said, “You look like you want to murder someone, Jay. Don’t worry. We won’t take long. I know how much you hate shopping.”
“Just get in the damn car,” he snapped and gave her a nudge.
Kelly chuckled and slid in. Jay followed her. He found himself sitting beside his grandmother, who was busy on the phone, talking to Britney. In front of him were Kelly, Alex, and Gracie. He thought it was better for him to sit in the front with their chauffeur John. Where he was now, Alex was too close for comfort. She was within reach, and he could simply put his hand out and pull her into his arms if he wanted to. Yeah, he certainly wanted to do that, especially when she grinned at him in that alluring way. She kept nibbling her lip as though she were excited about something.
“Is Madison Avenue big?” Alex asked Kelly. “Is it near Central Park? Is Central Park big?”
Gracie laughed. “We’ll have to take you on a tour, Alex.”
“Yes, please,” Alex replied, at which point she turned her eyes meaningfully to Jay.
Jayden got the hint. Now he knew why she was so excited and kept grinning at him. He had promised to take her on a tour today. Damn! He forgot about that.
“We are on our way to Vera Wang, Britney dear. I assure you we won’t be late for lunch,” Beth said to her BlackBerry.
“Beth, do you have to tell her we’re going to Vera Wang?” Kelly muttered.
Beth ignored Kelly. “I’m on the phone, dear.”
Jay turned over to the chauffeur behind him and said, “Vera Wang, John.”
John nodded and started the car.
As they drove out of the Upper East Side of New York City, Alex widened her eyes with wonder, staring at the tall buildings. And Jay in turn found himself enjoying watching her expressive face.
Not long afterward, they were heading along 77th Street off Madison Avenue. The limo came to a halt in front of Vera Wang. Before Alex could enjoy the sight of one of the most fashionable streets in the world, she was bustled away into the elegant store.
And what a store it was. There were beautiful, expensive wedding gowns on display, chandeliers with bright crystals hanging above them, tall vases of flower arrangements giving off vibrant colors and scents, and sofas and chairs arranged near the dressing room and in the center of the store for comfort.
“You’re here!” a voice sang out.
Alex saw a pretty redhead rushing toward them. Kelly and the woman hugged and displayed some girlish giggle type of excitement. “Oh, I can’t wait to see you in it.”
“I know. I know,” Kelly chuckled. “Oh, this is Alexandra Stewart, Jay’s new girlfriend.”
Alex turned her attention to them. New? What did Kelly mean by that? But before she could ponder on the subject any further, Kelly pulled her aside and introduced her to Stephanie Wilson, the maid of honor.
“So, Alex, how did you meet Jayden?” Stephanie asked, a note of curiosity in her voice.
“Back in New Zealand,” Alex said, eyeing Jay, who was now sitting on one of the antique sofas and making himself comfortable. He already looked as though he were bored to tears. She wondered if he hated shopping that much.
“Well, come along now. We haven’t got all day,” Stephanie said, pulling Kelly by the hand away toward the dressing room. “Nice to meet you, Alex,” she said over her shoulder.
Alex replied, “Same here,” with a bright smile. Then she wondered what she should do to pass the time. She thought about joining Gracie and Beth, who were now comfortably seated on the sofa, chatting and sipping their tea that a sales assistant had placed before them. She, however, decided against it and so busied herself exploring and touching the lovely, soft fabrics of the wedding and evening gowns designed by Vera Wang. They were all so beautiful, the type that she could never afford or ever dream of wearing.
She had just finished her browsing when she saw a stash of evening gowns near the back of the shop. Clearly they weren’t popular to be left there out of the customer’s eye. Curious, she started browsing. They were all elegant, pastel colors with some mixtures of gold and silver laces. Then she found one that caught her eye. She picked it up and inspected the tag.
“Have you found one you like?”
Alex jump. She twisted around, her heart hammering in her chest. “Jay!”
“What?” he asked. “That one looks good,” he commented, touching the lilac-pink silk material in her hand. “Why don’t you try it on?”
Alex widened her eyes. “What? Don’t be silly. I can’t afford it.”
Jay chuckled. “Just try it on.”
“No,” she said sharply, stacked the gown back in its place, and turned to go.
Jay caught her arm and pulled her back. He was so close she could feel his breath on her forehead.