I wanted to fling myself into traffic. But, his extremely good looking body was standing between me and the traffic. He pushed the door open with his free hand. “Come on. Show me what had you whispering to the glass.”
My face burst into flames. “You heard that?”
“Even the shoes heard that.”
I stepped inside. The store was gorgeous, polished marble, soft lighting, elegant displays. But something felt… off. I glanced around. Why was the place so empty.
“Um,” I whispered. “Where is everyone?”
Vince shrugged. “I asked them to give us a minute.”
A minute? The boutique was cleared. For him.
“How? We just walked in.”
He saw my expression and smirked slightly. “Don’t say it.”
“I wasn’t going to.”
“You were.”
“I was absolutely going to.”
I held back every comment about him being the Lord of Villain.
“I just didn’t want people crowding you. Or staring.” He shrugged as if that was normal request. I wasn’t sure if I should be impressed or if I should ask if he didn’t want to be seen with me.
“So,” he said, nodding to the display wall, “which ones were you about to drool over?”
I marched to the rose-gold pair. Or maybe I had been pulled to them by destiny. “These. They’re perfect.”
“They look painful.”
“A necessary sacrifice.”
“For what?”
“Beauty. Obviously.”
He studied the shoes, then me. “Try them.”
“They’re limited edition,” my breath catching a little. “And these ones aren’t try-on shoes. They’re custom.”
Vince tilted his head. “Custom?”
I stepped closer to the pedestal like it was holy ground. “The designer, Archibald Devereux, only allows a strict number of pairs each season. Completely custom. No two pairs in the world are identical.”
“And?”
“And… you can’t just slip them on,” I said, sounding mildly offended on behalf of elite footwear everywhere. “The molds are heated and hand-shaped to your foot. He accepts very few clients. Most people never even get on the waitlist.”
“Keep going,” he folded his arms like I was giving him a briefing on nuclear physics.
I tried not to brag under his focus.
“Well,” I continued, “Devereux only permits custom work. If you want to own his limited edition shoes, they have to be tailored to your foot.”
He blinked. “Every set is tailored?”
