I scrunch my nose at him, batting his hand away. “Okay, even if you are… you shouldn’t spend so much money on me.”
I’m not worth it.
“You know,” Koen says after hanging the dress in a fitting room. “I don’t want to leave any money behind. Why should I? I don’t want kids, so I have no one to think about. When I leave this earth, I’d like my bank account to read a big, fat zero.”
Levi nods in agreement, a grin spreading across his face. “Or a negative balance. That would be even better.”
“Well, that won’t be a problem for me,” I mutter, making them both chuckle.
“Come on.” Koen nods toward the fitting room. “Try it on.”
I give them both a wary look before stepping in and closing the curtain behind me, taking a deep breath. The dress is beautiful, and I slip it on. It hugs my curves perfectly. The slitcuts very high up my thigh, almost to my hip, and the neckline dips just enough to be suggestive without being too much.
Looking at myself in the mirror, I almost don’t recognize the woman staring back at me. The dress is beautiful and sexy, but also…
I lookexpensive.
Then my eyes fall on my burn. The scar stands out against my skin, and my breath catches in my throat as the unease starts to rise again. The dress is perfect, but the scar is a reminder that I’m anything but.
I’m so damn stupid. I should have covered it with glitter.
I hadn’t even thought about it.
Clenching my jaw, I shake my head. I can’t do this. I can’t step out there and show them this part of me.
I’ve already exposed enough of my trauma to them.
Before I can decide whether it would be that bad to pull the dress off, stuff it into my bag, and tell them it mysteriously vanished before I walk back home, Levi’s voice echoes through the fitting room. “You done, Little Bird? Come on, let’s see it!”
I squeeze my eyes shut, taking a deep breath.
Get a fucking grip, Nova.
It’s a scar.
Slowly, I pull my hair over my shoulder to at least cover it a little bit as I push the curtain aside, stepping out. Levi’s eyes widen, and he pulls in a sharp breath. His gaze sweeps over me, and there is genuine appreciation in his eyes.
“Yeah, you’re done here,” he mutters, turning without another word and walks to Kati, asking loudly if they have shoes to match the dress.
I shift uncomfortably, my eyes flicking to Koen. He hasn’t moved, but he’s standing so close with his eyes locked on me that I watch his pupils dilate. Heat rises to my cheeks, and I cross myarms over my chest, trying to shield myself from the intensity of his stare.
He steps even closer, his eyes dropping to my shoulder, and without a word, he reaches out. His fingers are inches away when instinct takes over, and I pull back.
“Stop,” Koen commands softly. “Let me.”
My eyes shift from his outstretched fingers that hover over my shoulder to his brown ones. There’s something there, something genuine that feels like understanding. I hesitate, my heart pounding, and then slowly, I nod.
His touch is featherlight as he pushes my hair over my shoulder, his fingers brushing over the scar with a tenderness that takes my breath away. The warmth of his skin against mine makes me gasp. It’s as if I’m breathing in the same breath he exhales as he leans in to inspect the scar.
He traces the raised skin before his eyes meet mine again, and there are questions there, unspoken, lingering. He’s looking at me like he wants to understand, like he wants to know the story behind the scar,my story.
There’s an urge to let him in, be vulnerable for once, and tell him what I couldn’t tell anyone before.
Except it feels too raw, too real.
And we’re in a fucking store.
I shake my head the tiniest bit, and Koen nods, a silent understanding passing between us. After one last stroke of his thumb that makes me shudder, he pulls his hand back, but his eyes never leave mine.
