Page 24 of Honey Bee Library (Sweet Tea and a Southern Gentleman #7)

WILLOW

I wasn’t sure what Cole meant when he said he could help with my lack of clothes. But sitting on the living room couch and watching him point out fish to Jasper hadn’t been a contender for that list.

I thought, perhaps, he wanted me to wear his clothes. Or maybe Maddie had a set of clothes for nights she stayed over. I wrinkled my nose at that thought. The idea of wearing Maddie’s clothes made my stomach churn.

But what did Cole mean? We’d gone from, I have a solution , to him distracted with Jasper. From a heat so palpable that I feared it would burn me, to nothing.

Had I imagined everything?

I shook my head as I finished off the granola bar that Cole had fetched me from the kitchen to tide me over.

It wasn’t my imagination. I’d felt the desire in his gaze.

I’d felt the electricity crackling between our bodies as he stood inches away from me.

The desire I felt for his touch was mirrored in his gaze as it kept slipping down to my lips.

I wanted him to want me, but did I dare hope?

Harold never made me feel desired. The sex we did have was rehearsed and more for him than me. And after I had Jasper, he made a point to take jabs at my postpartum body, so much so that I finally stopped changing in front of him and any physical contact between us stopped.

Of course, I’d learn later that he’d been getting what he needed from the strip club in town, further solidifying my desire to pound the final nail in the coffin of our relationship. But in the moment, it had crushed me. It pulverized my self-confidence into dust.

I felt stupid for thinking that Cole, a handsome and rich man, could ever want a single mom like me.

Knocks on the front door were followed by a female calling out, “Hello?” I straightened against the back of the couch and turned to see Maddie walk into the living room. Her smile was wide as she studied Jasper and Cole, who had both turned to look at her.

“Hey, Jasper!” she said as she closed the space between them and held out her fist.

Jasper could never leave a person hanging and bumped her fist.

Realization as to why this woman was here washed over me. Of course, she would just drop by. She was Cole’s girlfriend. I was sure she was excited to see him. It had been a few days.

But for some reason, she just gave him a quick glance before her gaze shifted and fell on me. “Willow,” she exclaimed. Her excitement felt genuine, which only made me feel guilty for disliking her. “Welcome to Miami.”

Pulling out all the southern hospitality that I’d learned in Harmony, I forced a smile and stood.

“Thanks,” I said as I glanced over to see that Jasper had returned to the fish tank and Cole was watching us intently.

I cleared my throat and pulled my attention away from him.

Maddie was nice, but I had no intention to make her my bosom buddy like Cole seemed desperate for me to do.

“Here to take Cole away?” I asked, his plans for dinner now rang hollow in my mind.

“Actually, I’m here for you,” she said, her smile wide.

I frowned. “Me?” I asked, punctuating my question with a jab to my chest.

She nodded. “Yep.” She clapped her hands and then rubbed them together. “Cole asked me to take you shopping.”

Ah, that had been the plan. I felt like such a fool for mistaking his generosity with desire. Cole didn’t want me. He was just a genuinely nice guy. I’d been the fool to extrapolate from his kindness feelings that just weren’t there.

I was an idiot.

“Oh,” I said. I didn’t want to go shopping with Maddie, but if I refused, I was going to have to explain myself. “Are you sure you have the time?” I racked my brain in an effort to remember what she did. Had they told me?

She laughed. “Of course I have the time. It’s my job.”

“Oh.” Then realization dawned on me. She was a personal shopper.

“Oh!” Dollar signs flashed in my eyes. There was no way I could afford a store that employed personal shoppers.

“I don’t think I have the funds,” I whispered, embarrassed that I had to bring it up.

These people probably never had to check their bank accounts or worry about overdraft fees.

Maddie knit her eyebrows together. “Doesn’t matter.” She reached out and grabbed my hand. “Cole’s paying.”

My gaze whipped over to Cole, who was still watching us intently, but he didn’t look like he was going to correct her. He had to have heard what she said, and from his expression it looked like paying for my clothes had been his idea.

Was that true?

Before I could ask him, Maddie pulled me to my feet and started to guide me to the front door. “I’ll have her back later,” she called over her shoulder.

“Sounds good,” Cole said.

I glanced back at him to see that he was still watching us.

I followed behind Maddie as she walked toward her car. The sun was beginning to set, the heat of the day going with it. I waited for Maddie to pull open the driver’s door. When I heard all the locks disengage, I grabbed the handle and pulled.

Once my seatbelt was buckled and the car had been started, Maddie pulled out of Cole’s driveway.

I felt her glance over at me a few times.

Not knowing what to do, I just smiled each time her gaze fell on me.

I didn’t want her to think that I didn’t like her.

That would be ridiculous. Maddie had been nothing but nice to me.

It was childish for me to be upset with a woman for dating a man I had no claim to. He had no desire to date me. I was the only one who couldn’t seem to get it through her head that Cole was not available.

“Everything going well?” Maddie asked as she clicked on her blinker and took a left out of Cole’s community.

Determined to be as nice to this woman as she was being to me, I nodded. “Yeah. Everything’s great.” I glanced over and gave her another forced smile.

Maddie nodded. “Good. I’m glad.” She drummed her fingers on the steering wheel. “So what is your style exactly?”

I glanced down at my faded jeans and discount store t-shirt.

“Affordable?” I offered and then winced.

Was that the wrong thing to say? Cole and Maddie lived in a completely different tax bracket than I did.

I feared that I would be pushed into purchasing things I couldn’t afford just to fit in with those two.

“Comfortable?” Maddie offered.

I glanced over to see her smile at me. It was such a genuine smile that, for a moment, I hated myself for being so skeptical of these people. She was truly trying, and I was the one with a stick up her bum.

“Comfortable is right,” I said with a smile and a nod.

“Comfortable I can do.”

With this direction, Maddie turned her attention to the road and kept the conversation light as we drove through downtown Miami.

She asked me questions about my childhood and my connection to the diner.

She didn’t push me by asking questions about Harold, which I appreciated.

I preferred to keep my failures in love to myself.

Fifteen minutes later, Maddie pulled up in front of a small boutique called, Citrine & Cashmere.

She unbuckled her seatbelt as a man in a suit made his way toward the car, I realized that Maddie and I had completely different views on what comfortable meant.

Never in my life had I gone to a store where there was a valet to park my car.

“Ready?” Maddie asked as she let her seatbelt retract and opened her door.

I took in a deep breath. “Yep,” I said as I followed after her.

The shop smelled like roses, and the lighting was as soft as the clothing looked.

A beautiful woman with a harsh black ponytail and a suit that flowed like liquid gold approached us.

Recognition passed over her face as she grasped Maddie’s hands and did the cheek kiss that all the French people do in the movies.

They talked for a moment in hushed tones before they both looked over at me.

It was then that I realized they were talking about me .

Not sure what to do or how to join their conversation, I just gave them an awkward smile before I glanced around at the soft beige sweaters that were hanging next to me.

I reached out and rubbed a sweater’s sleeve between my thumb and forefinger. It felt like touching butter.

“Don’t worry, I’ve got this,” the shop woman said as she patted Maddie’s hand before approaching me. “No, no. This is not your color,” she said as she pulled the sweater from my hand and let it fall back in place. “Come with me.” She raised her hand and flicked her finger in a beckoning manner.

It was pointless to protest. I was here, and my ride home was currently making herself comfortable in a large oversized couch that ran parallel to the dressing rooms. I doubted she would be interested in hightailing it out of there.

I was going to try on clothing with labels I couldn’t pronounce whether I wanted to or not.

I followed after Claudette—she’d thrown her name over her shoulder as we made our way through the shop—and watched her pick up item after item. Most of them I wouldn’t be caught dead in. But there were a few that looked decent enough.

Thirty minutes later, I found a few outfits. I felt bad for doubting Claudette. Even though I would have never voluntarily set foot in this place, I was glad I’d trusted the process. That woman seemed to know the exact styles and colors that looked amazing on me.

Maddie was just as enthused as I was every time I stepped out of the dressing room and up onto the pedestal surrounded by mirrors. She cheered and clasped her hands, declaring that this outfit was the best one yet.

She had a way of making me feel amazing in just about anything.