Her smile grew bigger before she disappeared behind a row of clothes, narrow hips swaying from side to side, her little black dress hugging her figure.
I snuck a glance at Vance, but he wasn’t looking at her, his attention on me.
“Let’s get this over with.”He looked like he was in pain.
“Wait.Hang on.Don’t tell me you don’t enjoy shopping.”
Groaning, he led me to the back of the shops where the changing rooms were.“It’s right up there with getting my nails pulled off.”He pointed to one of two chairs lined up along the wall.“Why don’t you take a seat.”
The shop assistant came bustling back, arms full of clothes.“I’ll put these into the changing room for you.”
After depositing her load in the dressing room, she stopped in front of Vance, standing close enough that her front was almost touching his.“Let me know if you need any help.”
Squeezing his upper arm, she sauntered off, and Vance disappeared inside the changing room.
The bell over the door rang out, and I looked up.And when I spotted Cockalorum with his plastic doll attached to his side, my body didn’t know what to do.Fight?Flight?Play dead?
I went with flight.Unfortunately, the best—and only—way to hide was in one of the changing rooms.And the closest door was right in front of me.So I dropped to my knees and crawled the short distance, pushing my way underneath the thankfully high door.
As I lay on my belly, my eyes landed on socked feet pointing my way.
Looking up, I locked eyes with Vance.Neither of us seemed to know quite what to say.He blinked at me.I blinked at him.He opened his mouth, then closed it again.I opened my mouth, then closed it again.
It was prudent to point out at this stage that he was only wearing pants that were unbuckled as if he was about to take them off.And no top.I repeat, his top half was unclothed.
Holy perfectly sculpted works of art on display.
I dropped my forehead to the scratchy carpet.It turned out that things could always get worse.I needed to stop hitting low points.And that included not thinking about what the stain was I had put my face in.
But if I was honest, if the choice was between my current situation or running into Cockalorum, I would choose to be right there on the smelly ground.Even if it meant I’d be scrubbing my face with disinfectant as soon as I was back home.
Clothes rustled above me, but I gave it a few more seconds to make sure Vance was wearing something before facing reality once again.When I carefully lifted my head, he was wearing a black T-shirt and buckled-up pants.
At least he didn’t look mad.If anything, I would have said he looked amused.But my judgment sucked at the moment, so I couldn’t be sure.
“Is there a reason you’re in my changing room?Not that I mind, but it is a little unorthodox.”
Pushing up to my feet, I bit my bottom lip, avoiding his gaze.He still wasn’t wearing shoes.And the carpet didn’t look much better from farther away.
“I thought I’d check on you.”
He totally didn’t believe a word of it and stepped past me.His arm brushed mine, and it suddenly became hard to swallow.He stuck his head out of the changing room, and I nearly pulled him back in.
It didn’t take him long to spot my reason for accosting him.
He pulled the door closed again and turned to face me.“All right.Let’s get comfortable, then.”
And he did exactly that, plopping down on the ground, his back against the wall, patting the spot beside him.“Come on.Who knows how long this will take.”
It took exactly ten minutes and forty-three seconds.And they weren’t entirely unpleasant minutes.And seconds.Because Vance’s low murmur was soothing.And after the first three minutes of listening to him tell me about his nieces and nephews, I’d forgotten all about why we were hiding in a changing room.
“Hang on.So, if I counted correctly, you have four nieces and two nephews.”
Vance shrugged.“I have three sisters.The youngest one doesn’t have any kids, but I’m sure there’ll be some in her future.We’re all really close.It’s hard to live so far away from them, especially since they lived with me for a while after our dad passed away.It took me a long time to get used to a quiet house again.But my work kept me in New York until now.”
I put my hand on his arm, trying—and failing—not to drool over his hard muscles under my palm.“I’m so sorry about your dad.I bet your sisters loved living with you as well, though.I have to admit, I’m envious of you.I was an only child and always wanted at least four kids.”
He shot me one of his rare smiles.“You still can.”
