I lift my hands up and back up from the rack.
“As you wish, mi corazón. Lead the way.”
Chapter 20
Impress the Missus
Holly
My fingers trail across the fabrics of the suits on the rack. I’ve gone shopping so many times here with Alex that I automatically know which suits he would go for. But today I’m not here with Alex. I’m here with Mateo.
My husband.
My husband who wants to hold my hand, open doors for me, and who’s trying to make me smile. My heart is torn, wanting to fall into the comfort that is Mateo, but also knowing our marriage is temporary—which is why I need to keep my semi-promise to Alex that I won’t fall for Mateo. I can’t ruin their friendship by making things awkward post-divorce due to having feelings for the man.
The dressing room door opens and Mateo walks out in a black tuxedo Lucille, the saleswoman, picked out. I can immediately tell it’s made by Brooks Brothers, the designer my brother favors for black tie events.
My breath catches and my cheeks heat.
My husband is hot.
He’s more than hot. He’s smokin’ hot. Mateo is a dreamboat, or at least that’s what Hudson called Mateo when he texted me a few minutesago about my killing-me-slowly-with-his-good-looks husband. Dreamboat doesn’t quite capture just how attractive Mateo is in this outfit. Sorry adopted Grandpa, but my husband is plain old smokin’ hot.
Mateo walks toward me. The stark black and white emphasizes the subtle warm tones in his skin, and brings out a richness to his brown hair. The cut shows off his broad shoulders and long legs. Mateo looks mighty fine.
What he doesn’t look is comfortable.
I give him another once over. “How does the tux feel?”
He shrugs, making the fabric pull tighter against his shoulders. “I’ll wear it. It’s good enough.”
I laugh. “I don’t think the designer would appreciate his suit being called ‘good enough’ if he were here.”
Mateo lifts his eyebrows as he shoves his hands into his pants pockets. “It’s a tuxedo. It’s not supposed to be comfortable, right? So, if you like it on me, then I’ll wear it. I don’t think it’s my style, but if you think it looks good, I’ll wear it for you.”
Cue heart melting.
Nope, nope. No heart melting. He’s just being the charming farm boy I know he is. He’s being nice, and we’re just friends who are married, and that’s all we’re going to be.
No. Heart. Melting.
“Let’s take that one home for tomorrow. Then we can get a few more and have them tailored to fit you better. I think there’s a different designer whose suits may fit your build and match your style more.”
Mateo’s lips twitch and I catch a flash of his dimple. “Does that mean I need to go change again?”
I nod. “Yep. Lucille has a whole rack of tuxedos and suits for you.”
He pulls at the collar of his shirt and nods his head. I glimpse the briefest moment of resignation on his face before he smiles at me again. “See you in a minute.”
I nod and watch him saunter back to the dressing room.
Faster than I thought possible, the door to his dressing room opens again. Mateo walks out in a navy blue suit, a red tie, and brown dress shoes.
He’s a smokin’ hot dreamboat.
The suit jacket fits his shoulders better, and the color is stunning on him. Mateo isn’t the work-out-in-the-gym six-pack type of guy. He’s the manual-labor-for-twelve-hours-a-day build. He’s thick muscle and somehow, with just a few seam differences, it complements him and shows off his manliness.
If only he didn’t ruin the picture by pretending to walk down a catwalk and making dramatic model faces as he approaches.
