“Yes.” I nodded seriously. “It’s like the—benchmark. Dynasty girls wear Devereux as a status signal. It’s almost ceremonial. His shoes are one of the first real markers of wealth and power. Owning a whole set is like…”
His gaze sharpened. “Do you have a set?”
“A full collection? No. But I have a solo pieces.”
“Solo pieces,” he echoed, amused. “And these?”
“These,” I whispered reverently, “are the most beautiful heels he’s released in three years.”
Vince didn’t look at the shoes. He looked at me.
“Try them on.”
I stared at him. “You didn’t listen. You can’t?—”
“That one,” he interrupted, nodding to the display. “That’s a bow on the back, isn’t it?”
He was right. A pink bow at the back ankle strap like it had been made for me.
My mouth opened. “You—you’re just torturing me because of what I said to you in the elevator.”
Bow cake.I still couldn’t believe those words had left my mouth.
“Maybe.”
I turned fully toward him. “That’s cruel.”
“That’s honest,” he corrected.
He lifted a hand and gestured. The sales assistant appeared instantly, as though she’d been pressed flat behind a display case, waiting for his signal.
“Yes, Mr. Crow?”
“Bring those out,” he nodded to the pair. “Her size.”
She didn’t even ask what that was.
My stomach somersaulted. Within moments, she returned with a velvet tray and the shoes, rose-gold, shimmering, and now even more breathtaking up close.
My breath actually caught. Loudly. Vince crouched, before I could move away.
“Sit,” he said.
I listened. My eyes were too fixed on the heels to banter about it. He held the heel steady as I slipped my foot in. His thumb brushed the side of my ankle.
A small inhale.
Barely audible.
But he heard it. He didn’t comment. He simply reached for the other shoe. When he finished, I looked down and nearly died.
“Oh my God. They’re so beautiful.”
The pale pink bow at the back rested exactly above my ankle, feminine, rose-gold.
“This is the prettiest shoe ever made. It’s…it’s art. I love them.”
Vince stayed crouched, watching my reaction like it was more interesting than the shoe.
