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“I suspect,” I said, picking up the boxes and turning to Henry, “this is what I’m going to wear.”
Minutes later, in my room, I undressed and carefully, slowly slipped the blue silk gown on. It was one of the contents of the first box. The second box and third, I noticed, had heels in a couple of sizes. One of them was my size, and it was black Manolo Blahnik stilettos. The fourth box had diamonds—a glittering Chopard string necklace and drop earrings. I gasped as I looked at them in my hands. Real diamonds. Sean was … out of his mind.
I turned to the mirror, and my jaw dropped at the sight. My ears and neck glittered, and the added height from the stilettos made me look almost regal. As for the dress, the material was soft, and the gown simply cascaded all the way down to my ankles. The halter neckline exposed my shoulders and long,creamy arms. I didn’t want to think about how much this dress must have cost in addition to the rest of the outfit. The wordsAlexander McQueenwere enough. I turned around, and it swished around me with a delicate sound.
So, this was how the other half lived.
I’d never worn a dress like this before. I’d probably never wear one like this again.
Feeling very conscious about how different I must look, I quickly styled my hair into an updo and put on my makeup before I stepped out.
Henry looked at me from the living room as I approached, and his mouth falling open.
“You look …” His jaw worked a few times, and he finally gave up. He rolled closer to me. “Who gave this to you?”
“Erm … just a friend,” I said, wondering if Sean could even be slotted into that category.
He was … friendly perhaps. He had certainly thawed a little in the past few days. I looked through the window out of my apartment just as a sleek black limo pulled up to our curb.
“Bye,” I said to Henry in sudden urgency.
I didn’t want Sean walking in and asking me questions about Henry. Whether he was friendly or not, certain parts of my life weren’t available for him to witness and inspect.
People never did well with the knowledge of Henry’s special needs. They fumbled, said the wrong thing, and sometimes, it tapped into a well of anger that Henry usually kept hidden. I hadn’t seen one of his angry episodes in a while, but they were always unexpected and volatile.
I got out of the house, shutting the door firmly, and waited to hear the familiar sound of the TV turning on.
In a second, I heard the sports channel come on and breathed out a tiny exhale. I knew he’d be watching the TV until I came home.
The driver was holding the car door open for Sean, who got out and turned to face me. He stopped all of a sudden, and then he leaned casually against the car as the door fell shut.
He was dressed with a bow tie and a black suit, the fit so close that I could see the fabric move as he leaned off the car when I approached.
He looked sharp, his lips full and brown eyes glinting wickedly. His hair was gelled and drawn into a tight ponytail at the back, and I loved that for a CEO; he had thedon’t-care,bad-boylook that suited him so well.
How was it possible that this powerful, handsome man was here, waiting to pick me up?
“Look at you,” he muttered.
His eyes took me in, traveling down my body slowly, and I could see in the upturn of his lips that he approved.
“You look stunning.”
Happiness swirled through me at the compliment. It was just three words, but three words I’d treasure forever because they had come fromhim.
“Thank you for the dress,” I told him half shyly. I’d never been on the receiving end of such a gift before. “Though I’m not sure it was necessary.”
I wanted to tell him it was the closest I’d felt to being cared for in the longest time, but that kind of information wasn’t something you shared with an emotionally distant man like him. It felt strangely nice to be on the other side of caring for someone.
“Itisnecessary, and you look great,” he said as he took in the navy-blue halter dress that he’d chosen for me. He took a step closer, and I saw his eyes linger on the curve of my neck, where the dress descended sharply into my cleavage. “Will is definitely not getting within a foot of you,” he said.
I felt weak with desire at his words. Who cared about Will when a man like Sean was in front of me?
I wanted Sean, his broad shoulders, his wicked smirk and all, even though he was my boss.
If only I could have him.
I swallowed. “You need to promise not to pick a fight with Will today,” I said.