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Following behind her, I step into the store. It’s not a store. It’s a boutique. It’s somewhere my mom would shop, except she wouldn’t because there are no rhinestones and absolutely gaudy things on the aesthetically pleasing shelving. Glancing around, I know what kind of place this is. We have them all over Vegas, and there’s really only one word to describe it—expensive.
“Honestly, I have clothes somewhere. We can just go to a department store or something,” I say as I reach for her arm and wrap my fingers around her wrist.
She turns her head, looking over her shoulder at me, and gives me a small smile. “We’re using the guys’ credit cards. Wells gave me his and said to get you what you needed, that Coleman would just reimburse him. Seriously, it’s fine.”
I open my mouth to protest, but she shakes her head once. “Seriously,” she says, “if your stuff has vanished, you may never see it again. These guys have their own ideas about things. Let’s at least get you set up for the next couple of weeks, and if Coleman is anything like his brother, he prefers expensive luxury items over anything that’s not.”
She doesn’t give me the chance to respond to her. Instead, she turns and walks toward the middle of the store. I begin to thumb through the items, finding a few things to try on, but my heart isn’t in this, mainly because I already know I won’t be here for long.
I’m hoping that I never even make it to the actual wedding day. Let alone that I’ll need clothes for several weeks. I’m hoping for days at best. It doesn’t take me long to find a handful of clothes and then try them on. I’m not truly invested in any of it.
“That dress would be pretty for the rehearsal dinner,” Parker says.
The light-blue dress hugs me in all the right places. It’s beautiful. It looks better than anything else I’ve ever worn, or maybe that’s just how I feel. I’ve never really felt beautiful before, but when my stranger looks at me, touches me, I feel absolutely drop-dead stunning.
“It would,” I agree as I turn from side to side to check my reflection in the mirror.
I can’t help but wonder what my stranger would think of it. My midnight stalker. Would he like it on me? Will I ever see him again?
“Should we get some lunch? Talk a little? I would like to get to know you better since we’re both marrying brothers,” Parker suggests as I change out of the dress and back into my leggings and T-shirt.
So I guess she isn’t married yet. There’s something about Parker. I don’t know if she’s nervous to meet me or get to know me. Maybe she’s a ball of nerves about her own wedding coming up, but it’s clear to me that she is having her own anxious feelings.
Maybe we do need to sit down and just get to know one another. If nothing else, maybe I can help her somehow.
Together, we leave the shop and head toward a little café. She tells me this is one of her favorite places because it’s just down the road from her old condo. They have coffee and small bites. It’s the perfect place to sit down and chat without being bothered.
And that’s what we do. We don’t shop anymore, and I’m thankful. We talk. She tells me how she met her fiancé, that he kind of stalked her. And it sounds so familiar that I find myself completely engrossed and lose track of time, imagining my own stalker with every word she says.
When we’re finished, I feel as though I know her better, and we head to her friend’s in-home lingerie shop.
ChapterTwelve
CLAIRE
Parker’s eyeswiden as the person on the other end of the line speaks to her. Whatever that other person is saying must be fascinating because her eyes are huge, her lips are parted in awe, and she’s staring at me as if she wants to tell me something but can’t say it yet.
“Okay, see you soon.”
Her lips curve up into a smile, and she watches me for a silent moment before she speaks. “Want to meet your new mother-in-law?” she asks.
Absolutely not.
“Sure?”
“Brenda Hamilton is amazing. You’re going to love her. I love her.”
Hamilton.
I didn’t even know my new husband’s last name. My father just told me I was marrying someone, and my mother demanded it. Claire Hamilton. I kind of like that. Too bad I know he’s not going to want anything to do with me once he discovers the truth. Once he finds out that I am not the perfect virgin he’s ordered and paid for.
Parker hugs her friend Allison and pays for my lingerie. I wish she wouldn’t, but I have no money at all. Then we leave the in-home lingerie shop, something that I initially thought was weird, but now not so much. It felt less salacious than going into a darkened store with loud music. It was comfortable, and I kind of can’t wait to go back.
“Brenda’s office isn’t far from here. We can walk,” she explains with a smile.
Together, we move down the street, and for the first time since landing here, I see the beauty in the city. Maybe it’s because we’re downtown. Maybe it’s because I am able to just take everything in for the first time.
I don’t have to deal with my parents and their expectations. I don’t have to deal with my sexy stranger. I don’t have to deal with anything except this city and the beauty of it all.
