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“No feathers, get that out!” I stop her and shake my head. “Not happening.” The poor startled lady hands it off to the minion that followed her in. I could have dressed myself for this since it is my entire plan to use the money I earn from doing this job to finally set up my own fashion label. A vegan line of high-end fashion for women who care. It was just a pipe dream, but working for Spencer will fund it.
The stylist comes in, and lays out a few dresses on the bed. They are all stunning—and way fancier than the ones I have in storage. Maybe I should look at making more shiny things when I start again. “I think I have the sizes right. Audrey tried to help,” she says. Of course this was my bestie’s work and not her brother’s.
When her helper comes back in accompanied by Spencer with an arm full of shoes, my hackles go up again. He looks at the choices on the bed, but my eyes catch the shoes being lined up. “Hell fucking no. Is that leather?” Hard pass. I don’t do leather. His sofas are gross enough.
“Yes, they are the latest range we brought over from fashion week,” she says. “Perfect fit, comfortable. The design is just—”
“I am not putting a dead animal on my body, I would rather go naked,” I say, mortified at the thought.
“I’d like to see that,” Spencer snickers. “I am sure the event organizer would love it if my plus-one showed up naked.” He looks around the room. “Take those away, and you can go. Luna can dress herself I am sure. Naked isn’t a hard look to pull off…” Spencer stands staring at me while the two ladies scurry away. They obviously know his wrath, “…is it?” he whispers, and I am not sure what to do. He is standing right there…so close I can smell him, and when he looks down at me, there’s a heartbeat when I think the man might kiss me.
“Don’t show up naked or barefoot, I hate being embarrassed,” he says, pushing my hair out of my eyes before he steps back. He’s gone, and it leaves me reeling. The room is spinning with my thoughts, and I have to sit down. Did Spencer just hit on me? Has he been drinking?
It’s Spencer. My best friend’s grouchy brother. He was not flirting? Was he? Shit? I am losing my mind. He has driven me insane. It’s official. I shake my head, hoping to get my head straight again, but it just gives me a headache. No, Spencer gives me a headache, but he also just gave me butterflies.
I need a cold shower, and maybe I should start drinking. It might be a long night if I don’t. While I am in the shower, I think about the exchange I just had with my boss. He touched me. I haven’t seen Spencer touch another human—ever. Now I think back over all the years growing up with Audrey and him. He’s always kept space between him and others.
He’s a handsome man, and aside from the perpetual bad mood, he isn’t a bad person. Audrey has never spoken about him dating or even liking women. Once when we were in college, she came back because he’d had a breakup. She wanted to check on him, but that’s it. Spencer didn’t have girls around him in high school, and I can’t think now, but I am sure he didn’t go to homecoming or prom. He played first-team football, but the guy was a nerd with his nose in a computer every minute of the day.
Even back then, he tolerated me but made it rather easy to tell he didn’t like me. We just annoyed him with our girly antics. Now I am thinking too much, wondering if he has ever looked at me like that before. I have a flashback to the day I arrived here, and security thought I was an intruder. Spencer was in his boxers. The man has no reason to hide behind a desk all day.
He blushed when he caught me checking him out—no woman would have the willpower not to look when faced with abs like those. It’s that v-thing that they have. It’s like boobs but for girls. We have been programmed by nature to stare when faced with a hot man and his evil v-line. His naked moment makes me chuckle. On rare occasions, he shows that he has a sense of humor. I think if he relaxed, he’d be quite funny.
I’m tempted to try and see if he can loosen up, but afraid it might just put him off and then I’d have to sit with the grinch all night. After trying on all the dress choices a few times, I choose a vivid pink one. If I am going with him, I will make sure we get noticed. The leather shoes are not happening. I have a pair of silver sandals that will work.
I’m in my undies digging in the closet for the shoes when I hear a voice. “Hello, I’m here to fix your hair.” That’s a manly voice, and I am almost naked. Shit. Looking around me, I grab a robe I stole from the hotel where we hosted Audrey’s baby shower and pull it on.
“Hi, I am coming,” I say, still only having found one shoe. I toss things on the floor until I have them both, not wanting to sweat and risk getting all messed up after my hair is done. I come out of my closet to find the hair-guy.
“Whoa, look at those curls. Girl!” He gasps, and then circles around me. “You know God was not playing games when he gave you hair.” That is an understatement, I gave up trying to tame the madness on my head a long time ago. “Sit, sit, sit.” He points to the chair at the dresser.
“What are you going to do with it?” I ask cautiously because my hair sort of has a mind of its own and will probably not behave for anything too fancy. “It can be a bit wild.”
“Wild is my favorite.” He is very animated, and I laugh. “I will make it look gorgeous, even if it is wild. Curls is all about the product. If you feed the beast, it will listen to you.” I giggle at him comparing my hair to a beast. It’s a very accurate description. “We are not hiding this magic. No, no, no.” I shrug, watching in the mirror. “I am Dan.” He adds after a few minutes, realizing we were not introduced.
“Luna,” I say, and he nods.
“Audrey’s best friend who needs to look amazing,” he says. “Audrey told me everything when she called. That you are working with Spencer, and he has to go out. How did that happen?” He is as shocked as one would expect.
“I made a small RSVP error. He doesn’t want to go.” Dan raises his brow, listening to me while he snips off some dead ends. “Now he is making me go as punishment.”
“A night out in fancy clothes, free drinks and watching him suffer…that’s not punishment.” I laugh. I never thought about it that way. I was too distracted by what happened earlier. “We are going to make you look so hot, he will forget he is a grump.” Dan might have the wrong idea.
“It’s not a date,” I say, correcting him.
“No, but in the ten years I have cut his hair and worked with Audrey, he has never once gone to an event with a woman. So, it’ssomething.”
Dan makes my hair look like it could be on a poster in a salon. I’m impressed. He offers to help me zip up the dress and stands next to me as I get myself into the too-high-heels. My friend has kept him away. What a gem of a man!
“Whoa, you know, Luna…you will cause a few hands to turn tonight. I wish I was a fly on the wall when Spencer sees you.” I almost die when I look at myself in the mirror.
Who is that woman?
ELEVEN
SPENCER
“Move Athena.” The damn dog is like a shadow. She will not let me out of her sight and whines like she is being killed whenever I lock her out of a room to be alone. Luna and her damn dog. Luna—just fucking Luna! She is making me question my own sanity. I had this moment earlier where she was the most beautiful woman I’d ever seen. Can I blame dog allergies for all of a sudden being attracted to my sister’s best friend? I’m not allergic to Athena, I just don’t like her.
