I think back to the last time I saw my dad during the holidays. She’s right. Even I noticed how much older and frailer he looked.
“It’s all a part of getting older, and he’s obviously on top of his health if he’s on medication for it. Try not to worry too much. Besides, if he needs anything serious like surgery or something, you and Daddy Warbucks can afford it.”
“Fuck off,” she says, and we both laugh.
Satisfaction rolls through me that I was able to make her laugh and get her out of her funk. There’s nothing she hates more thanwhen I bust her chops about marrying a billionaire. Trent raised us to think they were the scum of the earth.
A knock on the door has me looking in that direction. “Come in.”
The door opens, and Hattie walks in.
“Ari, I have to go.” I hang up before she can argue because standing in front of me is an entirely different version of the woman living in my house.
I was already finding it hard to resist Hattie, but this version will be impossible. Thankfully, it only makes me hate her more.
21
HATTIE
The way Bastion’s looking at me makes me feel a certain type of way I’ve never felt before. Beautiful, sexy, desirable.
But as soon as that thought floats through my mind, I shut it down. I shouldn’t be thinking things like this. Shouldn’t be feeling them. It’s not right.
“I wanted to see what you thought of this,” I say.
His eyes practically devour me, sending goose bumps cascading down my arms and legs.
The clothes aren’t sexy if you’re looking at them on the hanger, but the black pencil skirt fits me like a second skin, and the white blouse dips down further than anything I’ve ever worn in my life. And I’ve never worn heels this high. I hope I don’t break my ankle before getting used to them. It took all my nerve to come in here and get Bastion’s approval.
“I think you look phenomenal.”
His words caress my self-consciousness, and a smile blooms on my face. “Thank you.”
His eyes continue to roam over me, and his gaze turns heated. Have I… have I turned Bastion on? The idea is both frightening and exhilarating.
“We’ll go figure out another outfit, and I’ll come show you.”
He nods in approval, and when I turn to leave the room, I swear he groans.
Outfit after outfit, his reaction is the same. He expresses only his approval, and with each one, his looks grow more tense and passionate.
Or maybe I’m seeing what I want to see. Maybe I’m seeing things I subconsciously wish were happening and aren’t. But by the time a few hours pass and we’re saying goodbye to Ivy and her team in the foyer, I feel as if I might come out of my skin. It’s not a sensation I’m used to. Not a sensation I’ve really had before.
After he closes and locks the condo door, Bastion turns to face me. “Happy with your new outfits?”
“Very, but I can’t let you pay for them.” I mean it, but truthfully, I know I can’t afford any of the new items lining my closet. It was apparent from the designer tags and the fabrics that they’re way above my pay grade.
“You can and will, Hattie. It’s nonnegotiable.” He steps past me and heads toward the kitchen.
“That must have cost you a small fortune. I’m sure I can find something on my own that can work. Why would you go to so much trouble for me?”
He grabs a bottle of sparkling water from the fridge and faces me. “Why wouldn’t I?”
He says it as though it’s a perfectly reasonable question.
“You don’t owe me anything. We’re only just getting to know each other.”
Bastion shrugs and removes the cap from his drink. “That’s reason enough, don’t you think?”
