Chapter Five
Seraphina
THE LIMO PULLSup in front of a store I know very well even though I’ve never been inside. There are several stunning dresses in the window, including a black satin evening gown with a halter neckline and daring cutout in the center of the chest covered only by dark lace.
The kind of dress I would never wear in a million years. But exactly the kind of dress one of Aiden’s previous girlfriends would have worn. Unwelcome jealousy curls through me. I tamp it down lest the man seated across from me looks up from his phone and notices an expression I don’t feel like explaining.
I glance at him out of the corner of my eye. His hair is brushed to one side, his jaw set as he types something out. We’ve barely said two words to each other since he rushed me into the limo.
After he walked into my apartment and upended my life, I took thirty minutes to pack a couple of suitcases and a backpack. Aiden offered to send movers for the rest, but a quick glare cut him off.
I love my apartment. The night I finally left Brett, I fled with the clothes on my back and my wallet. I didn’t even risk grabbing my phone off the charger. I ended up at Grace’s Refuge for three days before I finally got the courage to call my parents and tell them what had happened, that they had been right and I’d been in an abusive relationship for years. What made it worse was how kind they were. They offered for me to move back in with them, but I didn’t want to leave New York, didn’t want Brett to chase me out of the city I loved. And I definitely didn’t want to accept anything from my parents, even though they offered to pay the first month’s rent on a new place. One of the client advocates at Grace’s Refuge found my studio apartment a week later. It’s been home for the last three years and I’m not giving it up. I need my place, a tether to the life I’m leaving behind, the one I’ll return to in ten months when this ridiculous charade is over.
“Ready?”
I start and turn just as Aiden leans over and opens the door. My breath hitches and I lean back. He gives me a curious glance as he climbs out and then extends a hand. I hesitate. Then, slowly, I place my hand in his.
His fingers curl around mine as he gently guides me out of the limo, his bare palm resting against mine. Did he see the slight tremor when his fingers closed over mine? I look at the store, the sidewalk, anything but him. This man has already seen far more of me than I’d like him to. I don’t need him to see just how deep my attraction to him runs.
My phone rings as the chauffeur closes the door behind us. I pull it out of my pocket and grimace. Jessica. She’s called no less than a dozen times in the last hour. I hit theI’ll call you back laterautomatic text reply and slide the phone back into my pocket. I called my parents while I was packing, a call that went as well as I’d expected. Which is to say, horribly. I don’t blame them. Here they thought I was still trying to get up the courage to start dating again, only to find out their daughter has supposedly been dating her boss for months and just got engaged.
I don’t know which was worse—my mother’s teary voice or my father’s threats to kidnap Aiden and drop him off at some random truck stop in the middle of nowhere if he hurt me.
I’ll need to talk to Jessica soon. But I need a break.
“Everything all right?”
I can’t help it. I laugh. “No, Mr. Hawke, everything is not all right.”
He doesn’t correct me on his name. Instead, he faces me and takes my other hand in his so both are held captive in his grasp.
“I know things are progressing rapidly—”
“I just lied to my parents.” God, I would love nothing more than a good cry and a steaming caramel latte right now. “I had to tell them all sorts of lies and you know what? They’re worried about me.”
God, I can’t believe I’m putting them through this again. They spent three of the four years I was with Brett worrying about me. Toward the end, they were terrified.
And now they’re scared again. Because of me.
“If there had been another way, I would have made it happen.”
I tug my hands out of his grasp. “I know. I know being engaged is the last thing you ever wanted.”
He doesn’t answer, just watches me with fathomless eyes.
“Let’s go,” I finally murmur.
We walk up to the doors. The interior is dark, with the hours clearly written on the glass, including Closed Sunday.
“Looks like we’ll need to come back.”
The words are barely out of my mouth when the lights flicker on and a tall woman with thick black curls walks into view. She grins at both of us with an enthusiasm I’m not prepared to deal with after my life’s been upended. But I force myself to give her a tiny smile and wave back as she opens the door.
“Good morning, come in!”
She opens the door and ushers us in. A cool blast of air greets us, as does the sight of dozens of stunning dresses hanging from silver bars, handbags displayed in recessed shelves with bright lights accentuating every expensive detail, and mannequins draped in beautiful jackets. Why on earth did I just throw a T-shirt on over my sports bra?
“I’m Brenda, your stylist.” She inclines her head to Aiden. “We’re so excited to serve you and your fiancée today, Mr. Hawke.”
