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He snapped his head towards the back of the boutique, where a man was laughing with one of the other personal shoppers. Ryzen’s face turned a shade of red I hadn’t seen on him before, and he clutched his phone so hard his knuckles turned white.
Gianna ushered me back into the dressing room and yanked the curtain closed. “You are going to love this dress.” She slid it out of the bag and held it against my body. “Oh, yes, you are going to have every man drooling over you in this.”
I giggled at her enthusiasm and didn’t try to stop her when she turned me around and unzipped the back of my bird dress. I wasn’t sure if this was a rich person thing, or a Gianna thing, but she had insisted on dressing and undressing me the entire shopping trip. I didn’t think it was something I could get used to though, being fawned over and praised about my body. She was probably working on commission, and who was I to fault her for trying to make money? Besides, she kind of made me feel like a princess, so it wasn’t that bad.
She tugged the Valentino dress over my head and zipped up the back. At her gasp, I turned and looked at my reflection, my mouth hanging open.
“Well, butter my biscuits. I look good enough to eat.” I grinned and twirled in the dress. She had been right; it was a stunning red piece that plunged down the front to a beaded waist and had a long slit up each side, showing off my legs.
“With biscuits like yours, they will definitely get buttered.” She held up her hands and imitated a knife buttering bread, and we both laughed until tears came out of the corners of my eyes. See, this wasn’t so bad.
Ten minutes later, I put my street clothes back on and walked out to find a missing Ryzen. Gianna took the pile of clothes I handed her and nodded in the direction of the back wall, where Ryzen’s security guard stood between him and that man from earlier. It looked serious, but I couldn’t make out what they were saying. Whatever it was, it wasn’t good because Ryzen was red in the face and waving his hands around, yet the other man seemed completely unbothered.
He had the same build as Ryzen, yet was a little taller with darker hair. I stopped dead in my tracks when my eyes caught his, his smirk turning into a wolfish grin. Ryzen turned to see what the man was looking at and stepped in front of him, blocking his vision.
Gianna walked back over and turned me in the other direction by the elbow. “Mr. Goodacre said to grab shoes as well.” She ushered me towards a back wall, where I saw nothing but heels and more heels. “Don’t worry, I already snuck some flats into your shopping bag.” She winked and left me to browse.
Thank heavens for that.
I quickly grabbed heels in the same style, but different colors, and loaded the boxes into my arms. I turned to walk back to the front of the store when a noise stopped me. Not just any noise. A demonic giggle that I had heard my whole life growing up.
“Well, well, look what the trash dragged in.”
I sighed and turned to face my sister. “Grace.” I lowered the boxes to the ground. “Funny seeing you out in daylight. Surprised you haven’t burst into flames yet.” I smiled at my sister and dug my nails into my palms.
I would not let her get to me. Not here, not today, and definitely not in front of a store full of people.
“Did you get the wedding invitation? Dalton doesn’t really want you there, but Mommy and Daddy insisted I invite you.”
How much damage do you think a shoebox could cause? Hypothetically, if you were to throw a box of shoes at someone’s head, would it hurt them? Or just ruin their hair?
Grace snapped her fingers in front of my face, and I shook my head. “Earth to Nova, I’m talking to you! What are you even doing here? I thought you were all ‘fight the patriarchy,’ or whatever the hell you do?”
“She’s here with me.” Ryzen strolled up and tugged me against the side of his body. My face warmed as he stared down at me and my hand came up to lie on his chest. “And you are?” He gave Grace a dismissive look and pulled me tighter.
I wished I had a camera right at that moment, because I had never seen my sister’s face turn so red and bitter. She was practically foaming at the mouth, which only made me smile wider.
“This is my sister, honey.” I glanced at Grace out of the side of my eye, then back to Ryzen. “You know—theone.” Ryzen grunted in response, which only seemed to make her even more angry.
Grace puffed her chest out and glared back and forth between us. “That’s right, the one and only Grace La Roux.” She held her hand out to Ryzen. “Soon to be Grace Barrington.”
I did a little victory dance in my head when Ryzen refused to shake her hand. Served her right. Knowing Grace, she would be downright humiliated at the fact a good-looking man like Ryzen was not giving her the attention she craved. Especially because it was all on me at the moment. Typical Grace. She had been like that her whole life. Any time anyone gave me any attention, whether it be our parents or total strangers, it made her livid. I could never understand that about her, which was one reason we’d never gotten along.
Ryzen leaned down and nibbled on my ear, causing me to flush. I bit my lower lip and giggled. She looked like her head was about to explode.
“Sorry, Grace, he can’t seem to keep his hands off of me.” I swatted Ryzen’s chest. “This is Ryzen Goodacre, my fiancé.”
Grace’s eyes popped wide, her mouth forming an “O” before she quickly recovered. She tugged her purse tight against her chest and sputtered. “Do Mommy and Daddy know about this?” Her tone was accusing, and my confidence faltered for a moment.
Shit, I’d forgotten about that part.
“They don’t know?” She had a snakeish smile on her face. “Oh, they are going to love this.” She pulled out her phone and snapped a picture of us, then typed on her phone.
What was with people taking pictures of me without my permission? It was getting annoying. I took a step forward, but Ryzen tugged me back. He waved his hand, as if saying not to worry.
“Well, I have more important things to do than shop in this dump. I’ll be seeing you.” It sounded like a threat, and it brought back years’ worth of fear to my gut. She turned on her heel and was out the door before I could think of a snotty comeback.
“Well, she’s delightful.” Ryzen snickered. His smile faltered at the way I looked at him, and he hugged me tight. “Don’t let her get to you. You’re the bigger person.”
