“No reason, no.” I swallow. “I showed her the picture after she said you’ve been in touch with her all day.”
Alessio smiles. “I had to arrange your shopping trip. My sister isn’t around.”
“Thank you,” I say. “Annette and I patched things up. Just so you know.”
“You look beautiful. Absolutely stunning.”
The heat in his gaze makes me want to hang my legs over his hips, lock my ankles, and dig my heels into his bottom. I bite my lip and look away.
“Do you want to see what I bought you?” he asks.
I nod.
Alessio steps away and does something completely unexpected. He gives his erection a squeeze. It’s a fast move but a hot one, and done deliberately so that I’d notice. I think Alessio likes to make me squirm and blush.
Since he’s backed away, I take in his black suit and a crisp white shirt underneath. He looks like a man out of a magazine, except I can’t imagine Alessio posing for anything or anyone. What you see is what you get, and if you happen to snap a picture of him, that’s what you’ll get. The real deal. The raw beauty. Raw power wrapped in a designer suit.
He pulls out a royal blue box the size of a dinner plate. Under the cover, Alessio reveals a necklace made of rows upon rows of small diamonds that reflect the light ever so perfectly.
I gasp. “It’s so beautiful.”
“Turn around.”
“Wait, Alessio. Just a second. When you said you bought it for me, what did you mean?”
He blinks. “I meant exactly what I said.”
“I can’t accept this. It’s… How much is this? You can’t buy me things like this and expect me not to gawk.”
“Gawk all you like. Turn around.”
I pinch the bridge of my nose. “Alessio…”
He checks his watch, then levels me with a stare that feels like impending doom.
“We don’t have time for theatrics,” he says. “The man I was supposed to meet is waiting for me. I’m making him wait because half an hour before the meeting, he told me his daughter will attend with him. I’m unsure what his game is now, but since he brought a plus one, I’ll bring mine. Objections?”
I turn around and dip my head. “None at all.”
Alessio kisses the back of my neck before securing the necklace. I feel something cold and hard bounce off the middle of my back. When I reach behind me and catch it, it feels like a metal string.
“What’s this?” I look at him over my shoulder.
Alessio’s at the exit. “Come and see.”
I join him and stand in front of the mirror. The diamonds around my neck glisten even in the dim light, maybe even more than in the dim hallway. “When you said you were buying jewelry, I expected a thin gold chain with a cute pendant. This is way beyond my imagination.” I run my fingers over the jewelry. I love shiny things.
“What kind of pendant?” Alessio asks.
“Any kind.”
“A letterAperhaps?”
His reflection in the mirror tells me he’s serious.
“If that’s what you want to buy,” I say.
He smiles. “I do.” Possessively, he grips the back of my neck, and when he squeezes, goose bumps run up and down my arms. I turn around and look behind me to see a long, flat, golden chain trailing down the middle of my back and disappearing between my butt cheeks, covered by the dress.
