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I stuck my chest out at that French bitch and smiled. “Does that gold dress in the window come in a size six?”
“Je suis vraiment désolé.”She pursed her lips. “We don’t carry anything larger than a four, I’m afraid.”
“I’ll try the four, then.” I tossed my hair over my shoulder. “Sometimes I fluctuate between sizes, and I’ve been gettingplenty of exercise lately.” I smacked Cole on the ass for emphasis.
He laughed. She frowned.
I checked my nails while I waited for that bitch to get me the dress.
“Camille, can you actually pull a couple of looks?” Cole asked politely. “We need something for that wedding, too.”
“Of course, Mr. Bryson.” She still had the sultry accent, but at least she didn’t purr at him.
“Like I said, size four should do nicely,” I called, sounding anything but nicely. “Working here, being French and speaking Frenchthe languageand all, I’m sure you can find a couple of ‘looks’ that work!”
“Jenny,” Cole said, keeping his voice low while Camille fetched me things to try on, “did Camille offend you?”
“No,” I said innocently, “but shewaseye-fucking you.”
Cole shrugged good-naturedly. “I only have eyes for you if that helps.”
“It helps,” I said. “But also, I think it’s rude that they don’t carry any sizes bigger than a four. Most girls can’t fit their asses into a four, and that’s because girls gotta eat. Maybe Camille only eats a croissant once in a full moon, and that’s why she’s such a bitch. But that’s her problem, not mine.”
Cole nodded slowly, taking my words in. “Words to live by, Jenny. Words to live by.”
I perched my sunglasses on top of my head. “Right? I can’t be worrying about everybody else out there. Just trying to keep my side of the street clean, you know what I’m saying?”
Cole kept nodding as Camille hustled back from the changing rooms. “Everything is ready for you, Miss Jenny.”
“Thanks a bunch, Camille.” I tossed my hair and sashayed past her.
“I’m going to help you screen dresses,” Cole offered and followed me back.
He ducked into the changing room behind me and locked the door. “You can’t leave me out there with her alone. She lookstrespissed.”
“Yeah, well, maybe it’ll give old Camille a chance to button her shirt. And take the stick out of her ass.”
Cole chuckled as he took a seat on a nearby stool. For such a tiny store, it had a mammoth dressing room. I was still pissed that the salesperson had been judge-y and rude, so I huffed as I stripped out of my clothes and roughly grabbed the first dress. It was pink and ruffled, totally not my style. “Ick, I hate this. Help me zip it.”
Cole obeyed, zipping me into the micro mini. He whistled appreciatively. “You might not like that, but you look gorgeous.”
“I look like a cheerleading poodle.” I frowned at my reflection. “It’s a no, Coley. Sorry to disappoint.”
“You are anything but disappointing.” He chivalrously unzipped the dress and hung it back on the hanger. “How about this one?”
The next dress was a deep purple, pretty but not my style. “Nah.”
“This one?” He held up a long, deep-teal, mermaid-looking dress. “This could be nice for the wedding,” he encouraged.
“Yeah, all right. I’ll try it.” I shimmied into the gown while Cole watched. Was I imagining it, or were his eyes getting hooded?
“Zip me, baby, okay?” I cooed in case his arousal wasn’t all in my head. I shouldn’t let stupid Camille ruin a great day. I was used to women being rude to me—it happened all the time. Either they were jealous, threatened, or snobby. Whatever the reason, they used it to look down on me. Little did they know it wasn’t all fun and games being so young and hot. I mean,itcouldhave been, in an alternate universe, but that was not the universe I was living in.
“Ooh, I like this one.” I smiled at myself in the mirror. The formal dress clung to me but was so expensive it still looked classy. “I might wear my hair up with this.” I pulled my curls up into a messy bun and made a kissy face at Cole in the mirror.
“You look stunning.” Before I knew what hit me, he was off the stool and behind me. But after a second, I knewexactlywhat was hitting me!
“Mmm, you’re so beautiful, Jenny. Andfeisty. I love it when you show your claws a little.” He ran his mouth down my neck, causing goose bumps everywhere.