“I’m so sorry. I only assumed…” Her cheeks stain red, and panic widens her eyes. “Please forgive me, Mr. DiPietro. That was most unprofessional.” She turns to Sloane. “I apologize for jumping to conclusions.”
“It’s fine, Kate,” I say, not wanting to make a bigger deal out of it even if I am annoyed. Perhaps I should’ve gone elsewhere, but it was a last-minute decision. I used to take Aliya here for clothes, and she was always delighted with the items Kate chose for her. “Do you have a dressing room set up? We’re taking Elio for pizza, and he’s not known for his patience when it comes to his favorite food.”
“Say no more. We wouldn’t want to keep the little cutie from his pizza. Come with me, Sloane. I have a suite all ready, and I’ll show you the things I’ve picked out, though I may need to revise the sizes.” She gestures for Sloane to follow her, but my nanny looks uncertainly at me.
“Go on. It’s okay. I’ll stay right here until you’re done.”
While I wait for Sloane, I take a seat on one of the couches and check emails on my phone.
“Mr. DiPietro.” Kate drags me away from my screen. “We’re done, but the young lady is insistent she doesn’t need anything. I thought you might like to talk with her.”
“Of course.” I put my phone away and stand.
“She noticed the prices, and I think it shocked her,” Kate explains as she leads me to the dressing room where Sloane is.
“I’ll handle it.” Walking into the large space, I find Sloane standing in front of the large mirror wearing a pastel pink short puffer jacket with a belt and a fake-fur-trimmed hood. “That looks lovely and warm.”
“It’s gorgeous,” she admits, pulling the hood down and turning to face me. “But it’s too expensive. I don’t need a Moncler jacket for work, Cristian.”
“Do you like it?”
“I love it, but?—”
“We’ll take it,” I tell Kate before refocusing on Sloane. “You need a full-length coat too. Did you pick out something else?”
“What about this one?” Kate says, holding up a hanger containing a long black wrap wool coat. “You liked it, and it looks fabulous on you. Plus, it’s fifty percent off today.”
“It’s still far too much money.”
“We’ll take that one too, and can you add matching scarves and gloves for both coats, please?”
Kate’s warm smile radiates relief. “I’ll get everything together and meet you at the register.” She moves to help Sloane out of the jacket she’s still wearing.
“Could I keep this on?” Sloane asks, glimpsing herself in the mirror. “It’s so warm I don’t want to part with it.”
“Of course, dear. I’ll just take the tag to ring it up.”
Kate hurries away, leaving Sloane and me alone.
“This truly is too much, but thank you, Cristian. No one has ever done anything so nice for me before.”
“Please tell me that isn’t true.”
She shrugs. “I’ve never had much luck with men. Most of the guys I dated were poor students or too self-obsessed to even consider doing anything nice for me.”
“I want names,” I growl, flexing my knuckles, as irrational anger surges through my veins.
“What?” she whispers, and I silently curse myself for acting like a jealous boyfriend or husband.
“What about the guy you’re seeing now? Doesn’t he do nice things for you?”
Her eyes lower to the floor. “It’s, ah, super casual with him. And not exclusive,” she blurts, lifting her gaze to meet mine. “It’s not serious at all.”
“Does he treat you right? Take you out to nice places and pay? Send you flowers and gifts? Run you hot baths? Cook you dinner? Give you a massage when you’ve had a bad day? Listen to you when you’re stressed or upset, and do everything and anything to cheer you up? Does he make you laugh and give you multiple orgasms while worshipping every inch of your beautiful body?”
Sloane’s eyes widen, and I drag a hand through my hair, shocked at my outburst.What. The. Actual. Fuck, Cristian??I guess I haven’t let go of all my bitterness toward Aliya. I treated her like a fucking queen, and she threw it all back in my face.
“Pretty sure what you’ve just described is pure fantasy. Maybe if I was dating a book boyfriend,” she teases.
