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“I picked out three suits if you want to weigh in on it,” Adam said, apparently unbothered by the presence of the sumptuously appointed, pillow-soft horizontal surface between them. “I’m leaving the tie to you.” He stepped into his walk-in closet, pointing to the valet hooks where the suits were waiting, as well as his vast selection of silk ties.
Melanie already knew she wanted him to wear the dark charcoal-gray suit. He’d worn it the night she first met him and he looked absolutely incredible in it—jacket perfectly tailored to accentuate his sculpted shoulders and trim waist. So she’d have to avert her eyes and bite down on her knuckle every time she saw him tomorrow night. No big deal. She’d endured worse.
She thumbed her way through his ties. The quiet in the closet was suffocating. She had to say something. “Why no tuxedos?”
Adam cast his eyes away when she looked at him. “My mother hates the way my dad looks in black. She says he looks like an undertaker, which, given the circumstances, is probably an image we want to avoid.”
“Yes. Of course.” So much for small talk. She selected a few ties—a steely blue, black with a deep green diagonal stripe, and lavender.
“No way.” Adam plucked the light purple tie from her hand and hung it back up. “You and your lavender. It’s too girlish.”
“It’s your tie. Why do you have it if you can’t even stand to look at it?”
“It was a gift from my mother. I think of her every time I choose not to wear it.”
She deliberated between the other two ties before thrusting one into his hand. “Fine. We’ll try the blue. It’ll bring out your eyes.”
“You care about how my eyes look. Really?”
“Yes, I care. Your eyes are one of your best features.”
“If I didn’t know better, I’d say you were flirting with me.” He twisted his lips. “But I definitely know better.”
“Just put on the suit so you can run through your speech and we can both get on with our night. I’ll be outside the door.”
He let out a frustrated grumble. “Okay. It’ll just take me a minute.”
Melanie wandered out of the closet and over to the window, looking out at the city. The days were getting longer, only a few months until summer. Where would she be by then? Would she have a few more clients? More money coming in? Logic said that she was on an upward trajectory, thanks to the success of Adam’s campaign. So why wasn’t she happy? She’d made the choice to focus on her career and it was going to pay off, but it all felt empty. She had no one to share these triumphs with, and as Adam had suggested, that was likely her own doing.
Adam strolled into the room, stopping in front of the full-length mirror on the wall. “Thoughts?”
Melanie steadied herself, leaning against the window casing. He was so handsome, it hurt to take a breath, producing a sharp pain in her chest. Her exhale came out as an embarrassingly choppy rush of air.
“That will work.” She straightened, trying to play it off as a triviality when all she felt was a profound tingle from head to toe. Not getting to kiss him while he was wearing that suit was torture. Even worse was knowing that she wouldn’t get to watch him take it off.
“What are you wearing to the party?” he asked.
“A dress.”
“I assumed as much. Care to elaborate?”
“I don’t know.” She hadn’t figured it out and it wasn’t in the budget to buy anything new. She’d probably just go with one of her reliable little black dresses she’d worn to this sort of event hundreds of times. “Why does it matter?”
“I’m curious.” Adam adjusted the cuff on his shirt. “Are you bringing a date?” His eyes didn’t stray from his reflection in the mirror.
Melanie closed her eyes for a moment. This was supposed to be her chance to level the playing field tomorrow night, but she was now far less enthusiastic about the prospect. “I’m going with my neighbor, Owen. He’s a doctor.” She had zero romantic interest in Owen, and she’d made it clear this was just as friends, but Adam didn’t need to know that. She simply refused to attend the party without a date, knowing that she’d have to smile and pretend to be happy while Julia was on Adam’s arm.
“Let me guess. Ear, nose and throat.”
“Gynecologist, if you must know.”
Adam laughed. “You can’t be serious.”
“Why would I joke about that? Especially knowing what you’d probably say?”
“This is your event. I take it that you asked him out?”
What is he implying? That I can’t get a date? “I invited him, but Owen has asked me out plenty of times.”
