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Smiling that awkward smile you do when you pass a stranger in the street, I was grateful when we pulled into an undercover car park. Once pulled into a space, Sam leaned into the back seat and pulled out a baseball cap and a normal black leather jacket.
“Ideally, I’d like not to be spotted today.”
He had noticed me watching him intently and it clicked then. I was sitting next to the captain of one of the best hockey teams in Canada and currently, he was on a break hiding away in our small town. If word got out where he was, there was no telling what the news outlets would do. If the shop had been notified he was coming, that may have meant the media would know, too.
“I just don’t want today being spoiled by a stupid amount of cameras.”
“Hey, I’m not judging, you gotta do what you gotta do.”
As he got out, I noticed how tidy he looked and here I was in a pair of black leggings and looking as unkempt as ever. If I had known he was going to ‘steal’ me today, I would have at least done my hair and stuck on some makeup and not looked like some character out of a Halloween movie.
Opening the passenger door for me, he held his hand out and I happily took it. I wasn’t used to this gentleman side of him, even Luke would very rarely open a car door for me, so this was a new experience altogether.
“I checked the map before I left, the shop is just a block from here.”
“Lead the way.”
As we exited the car park, I took in the busy high street. It was decorated with beautiful harvest and autumn decorations. Walking along the street, I spotted maintenance men up on ladders, leaning against street lamps hooking up what looked like Christmas lights. They were getting ready for the festivities it seemed.
No one batted an eyelid as we walked together, crossing the street and heading down another, passing a diner filled with happy voices. Sam looked back occasionally to see if I was still following him and although I was getting distracted by my surroundings, I tried to keep up and finally we reached the Henry Rosen store. Just by the look on the outside, I knew it was an expensive upper end boutique.
The door was unlocked and opened for us, with a stunning sales assistant standing in most likely her finest dress, waiting for us. Her blonde hair was up in a neat bun with a black ribbon tied around it, her eyes lit up as she spotted Sam then lowered to me, looking me up and down before gesturing us to come in.
“It’s so wonderful to see you, Mr. Jones, my name is Izabella, please come in, welcome to Henry Rosen. My colleagues and I have set up a space for you and your assistant with many options.”
“Oh, this is Kimberly and she’s not my assistant, she’s my date.”
Date?! This was in no way a date! We were just here to look for a suit and possibly a dress, that was it. Even with the wedding coming up, he wasn’t really my date then either. Izabella looked at me a little shocked then composed herself, smiling that salesperson smile and locked the door behind us.
“Right this way then, please.”
As she started to walk in front of us, I pulled Sam back and looked at him with surprise and anger in my eyes.
“Date? This is not a date.”
“I thought we were, you know, ‘fake dating’?” Holding his fingers up to make quotation marks, then he took my hand, smiling.
“Would you rather me tell her you are my assistant and have her try to hit on me in front of you?”
“She can flirt with you all she wants.”
“Yes, but then that would be rude to you, when I am here with you.”
He smiled an even brighter smile then, squeezing my hand a little. How could I resist that smile? Allowing him to lead me, we followed Izabella up a set of stairs and into an open planned space filled with ball gowns and formal wear.
“Your team expressed you also wanted to look at dresses, I understand now why. Are you going to match for the occasion?”
“Yes, I think that would be best.”
“Wonderful! Ok, Mr. Jones, if you can just sit here, I will take Kimberly to look at some dresses and we can then hopefully pick one and match your suit to compliment her dress.”
“That sounds perfect, thank you, Izabella.”
I could have kicked him there and then. He was really enjoying this whole fake dating thing already and we hadn’t even been to the event where we needed to somewhat pretend! He was exhausting, but still seemed to be his playful self, the fun guy I fell in love with back in high school. Yet, I was nervous and continued to wait for the other shoe to drop and for him to disappoint me once again.
Izabella led me into a rather large changing room, a bit too large for one single person, but I tried not to question it. This seemed to be a very expensive shop and I hoped I didn’t find a dress I loved and couldn’t afford.
“If you can get undressed down to your underwear, I can go pull a few dresses. Is there any style you’d like to see?”
