“Better.” When I turned, Suman was smiling at Xavier.
“I’m surprised you picked all her sizes in one go.” She rubbed his hand lightly, making me frown.
“When you adore someone, you work hard to make them smile,” he replied, eyes on me. Heat crept into my cheeks once more. I tried to smile, it still refused to come. “Get dressed.” He held out the shirt and coat to me. While I pulled them on, he picked up a few pairs of socks.
“Will you have all these delivered to my home and a few dresses from your store, Suman?” Xavier pointed to the heap of clothes he’d set on a seat, adding the socks to the pile.
Her eyes lit up. “How many?”
“I’ll send you a text.”
“Okay.” She set the princess dresses down on the heap. “I’ll be back for these in a moment,” she said to the other lady, then proceeded us toward the closed doors.
I looked up to see Ramone outside the glass doors, his back to us, hands in front, and his head turning slowly from side to side. As the doors glided open with a soft sound and we stepped outside, my eyes darted around the big place. Different-sized stores surrounded us, but the people caught my attention. There were lots of them, walking, sitting, laughing. The level of noise startled me. I froze.
Xavier turned to look at me. “It’s okay, love. I’m right here.” He slipped his arm around my waist, drawing me to his side. “Trust me?” I nodded.
Just as we were about to move, a man approached us. I reacted on instinct, turning my body into Xavier and hiding my face in his chest.
“Queensland, uncle?” I heard him say.
Xavier laughed, the sound rumbling through his chest and vibrating over me. “Cinder.”
I lifted my chin to look at him, still stuck against his body. “This is my nephew, Rhett. You’ll see a lot of him at the castle. Say hello.”
Slowly, I turned, still within the circle of Xavier’s arms, to meet bright blue eyes below goldish brown hair, reminding me of Cinderella. His smile filled his face, dipping his chin into a cleft.
“So, this is the lovely lass Saint mentioned to me earlier. Hi there. Me and you are going to be good friends, right?” His voice sounded like laughter, making me feel comfortable.
“Hello,” I replied, accepting his outstretched hand in a quick shake before retracting my hand.
His gaze flicked from me to Xavier. “Shopping?”
“Yes, for Cinder,” Xavier replied. “Join us for dinner later?”
Rhett glanced over his shoulder then back at his uncle. “I’ll see. Adrian promised me a double date, but I have no idea where that fucker is.” He rolled his eyes, making Xavier laugh again.
I liked the way he made his uncle sound happy. “Call me,” Xavier said.
“Will do,” Rhett replied, his eyes on me. “See you soon.” He touched a light finger to my nose, startling me, yet not in a bad way.
I was still looking at him walking away when Xavier tightened his hold and guided me in the opposite direction. As we did, I kept my eyes glued to the floor, overwhelmed by all the sounds around me. We stopped for Xavier to say goodbye to Suman when another man arrived at her side, and I shrank into Xavier’s body, turning my face into his chest.
“This is my husband, Tahir,” Suman said. “Jaan, this is Xavier Sinclair of Winthrop Castle.”
“Nice to meet you, Xavier.”
Something in that voice had my head whipping around. I frowned, not recognizing him. Then his gaze shifted from Xavier to me, and I wasn’t sure if I imagined his shocked reaction. Quickly, he looked at his wife, smiling at something she said.
What if he was one of Master’s guests?There were so many, how would I know? Any of the men walking this place, right next to me, across from me, or behind me, could be one of Master’s guests. Stupidly, I searched my head to see if I could remember the voice.
“Are you okay?”
Lost in thought, I didn’t realize we’d walked away. I looked up to find Xavier’s concerned eyes on me and nodded. He smiled while helping me into the car. The rest of the journey was completed in silence. While Xavier checked his phone, I watched the passing scenery, feeling braver now than when we’d left.
Just as we drove over the drawbridge, the sky opened, and the rain fell. Since arriving at Xavier’s home, I’d seen and smelled the rain many times, yet I never dared to go outside and feel it against my skin like I’d wanted to for so long.
