“If you feel like you need a drink, squeeze my hand,” she said seriously.
An excuse to touch Kate whenever I wanted? Looked like I would be very thirsty tonight.
“I thought I should tug my ear,” I teased.
She frowned, considering. “Hmm, good point. You can do that.”
I pulled her closer to me. “I like touching you. I think that’s the better option.”
She flushed and wrapped her arms around my middle. “Just practicing.”
“Come on, you two. I’m starving,” Harrison called from the back of the car.
As soon as we got back to Harrison’s, Kate was whisked away from me.
“Go eat, Grumpy Gus. We’ll meet you two down here at ten,” Emma said.
Kate gave me a fake worried look before she allowed herself to be tugged away.
She looked so happy. There wasn’t much I had to offer, but a night of luxury on the town was one of them. I would be by her side while I could and that was all that mattered.
“Oh, man, you have it so bad,” Harrison said, slapping me on the shoulder. “Now let’s feed you before you muck it up somehow.”
33
Kate
I blinkedin awe at the beautiful array of glorious fabrics in various styles and cuts that shimmered expensively in front of me.
“I feel like I should put on those little white gloves they use to handle the Declaration of Independence,” I said.
“These are far more valuable than that silly little document,” Emma teased, making her British accent more posh.
I gently lifted out a forest green mini dress with capped sleeves. I sighed and put it back.
“Emma. These are amazing—”
She lifted a hand to stop me. “If you’re about to argue about how you can’t accept this offer, I’m just going to ask that we skip to the part where I convince you anyway. The fact is, I would rather these be worn more than once. The designers I support are slightly better with their global footprint but still not great.”
I smiled. RC had mentioned a best friend who was trying to always save the world. He also mentioned how pushy Emma could be, and now I was witnessing it firsthand.
“You sound like Charlie,” I said. “But actually, I was going to say that this isn’t a makeover montage in a movie. These hips are not going to magically fit in the dresses cut for your size zero, five-nine frame.” I shook my head, laughing. “But thank you for your optimism.”
“Oh.” She frowned, thinking.
“And we won’t even talk about those.” I pointed to the row of shoes that I would never be able to walk in. Heels were one thing, but Emma’s pointy stilettos reached heights I hadn’t trained for.
She tapped her lips in thought, then shrugged. “Well, lucky for you, I do have the power to create a movie-style makeover.”
“What?” I stared at her.
“I don’t like to take advantage of my situation very often, but I have to admit there are definite perks.” She brushed her hair off her shoulder, looking bashful. “Not to freak you out, but there is probably nothing you could ask for that I couldn’t get for us in less than an hour.”
“Anything?” I asked.
An hour later, as we snacked on street tacos, her room was descended upon by stylists, for clothes, hair, and makeup. Was it way too much? Probably. But it was so damn fun.
The personal stylist brought several dress options for my body type. We settled on an emerald-green satin dress with long sleeves and a neckline cut so low that wearing a bra was not an option. It pinched in high on my waist and flared out to cover my buxom booty. And maybe a tad too short.
