Never Say Never (The Price of Fame Series) (15 page)

Anna shook her head. “Miles is waiting. We’re visiting my mum this weekend.” She turned to Sander. “It was nice catching up. Why don’t you bring Chloe over for dinner one night soon?” She grinned at Chloe. “We can chat about the time my hubby convinced him to wear a kilt. It was awful windy that day.”

Chloe couldn’t hold back a chuckle at the picture Anna painted, and Sander groaned. “You’re never going to let me forget, are you? I didn’t think underwear was required with the damn things.”

Chloe pressed her lips together to stop her mouth hanging open. God, what she would have given to be there and catch a glimpse of his backside. Or front…Her stomach quivered again, but not with nerves this time.

Anna rolled her eyes. “In Scotland, underwear is
always
required, unless you wanted to flash everyone at my wedding reception.”

Chloe laughed, unable to help it. Sander flashed her a look, but she couldn’t stop. He reached out and hauled her against him. The giggle died in her throat. His eyes were dark, with an undertone of amusement, and he looked so very hungry that her core throbbed.

“Do you find my embarrassment amusing, Miss Butler?”

His grin let her know he was teasing. With her body pressed against his and her heart hammering, her reply was breathless. “Maybe a little. I’d have loved to see that.”

Chloe’s eyes widened as she realized they weren’t alone, and she’d confessed wanting to perve on him out loud. Bugger.

Sander leaned forward and brushed his lips against hers. Her
faux pas
was immediately forgotten as lust coursed through her veins. He pulled away far too quickly for her liking.

He winked at her. “I still have the kilt.”

Blood rushed into her face and her cheeks burned. Thankfully, Anna saved her from making a bigger idiot of herself.

“Your idea of kink is seriously weird, Sander.”

He laughed and her whole body shook with his. “I’m all about giving the people what they want, and if Chloe wants me in a kilt, she can have it.”

Bloody hell
, her face was on fire.

Anna shook her head, but the smile didn’t leave. “I’m glad you two found each other, but keep that stuff to yourselves. Chloe, I’ll see you soon. Give me a shout on EconEkt and we’ll arrange dinner.”

Chloe nodded. She didn’t want to lie to Anna, but she knew there wouldn’t be a double date in the near future. If she was going to protect her heart from being crushed, she had to stick to the original deal. Their relationship was only pretend.

They walked Anna out to the street and she declined Sander’s offer to drive her home. They said goodbye and Anna said she looked forward to seeing them soon. It was a shame really, Chloe liked the other woman and they were about the same age. If she wasn’t only on his arm for show, Chloe thought she could be good friends with Anna. She sighed, knowing that would never happen.

“Everything okay?” Sander asked and snared her hand in his as he led her to the car park.

“Everything’s great,” she lied.

If he could see through her like she feared he could, he didn’t call her on it. Instead he drove them to a car park a little away from Selfridges and didn’t speak at all. Chloe waited until they almost reached the store when the silence became too much.

“Why didn’t you tell Anna the truth?”

Sander stopped and turned to her. He had donned his own mask and she wished she had kept her mouth shut, but there was a little part of her that hoped it was because deep down he did care for her like she did him. That maybe they could work past the fact he had so much going on this year and still find a way to be together.

He shrugged. “I told her about you, and she assumed. I didn’t see a point in correcting her.”

“Oh.” It wasn’t what she had hoped for, but if Anna assumed they were together, that Sander cared about her, he must have said things to give Anna that impression.

“Do you want me to correct her?” he asked, pulling his phone from his pocket. Again his face was unreadable.

Chloe sucked in a breath. “No, I just hated lying to her when she asked me to dinner. She seems nice.”

He nodded and slipped his phone back into his indigo jeans. Reaching out, he entwined his fingers with hers. She thought about protesting, but there was no reason to protest. They were in public and this was for show. She decided to keep any more questions to herself as they made their way to Selfridges.

It was a store Chloe loved to window shop in, but she had never gone in before. What would be the point, everything there—even the stuff on sale—was way out of her price range. But the window display always took her breath away, especially at Christmas.

They slipped inside and excitement vibrated through her. The shop was everything she had expected and more. Modern, sleek, and filled to the brim with the best gadgets, jewelry, perfume, and clothes.

She felt his gaze on her and turned to him in awe. The mask had slipped and a warm smile curved his lips.

“I’d buy you the whole store if it meant you’d keep smiling like that.”

Her heart swelled in her chest, and her cheeks heated. How could he say things like that and not feel what she felt for him?

“The dresses are this way.” He tugged her hand gently and she followed him in a daze.

Everyone she spotted was clad head to toe in designer, and she was glad she’d chosen to wear her Barbour coat today, though she had a feeling she was still underdressed as her leggings came from the local supermarket. Still, nobody looked at her like she shouldn’t be there. They were all too busy with their own purchases, barely even noticing the celebrity Adonis on her hand.

He led her through to a room filled with dresses and gowns in every shape and color. A perky brunette with a curvaceous figure spotted him from across the room and made her way over. Chloe wondered if it was the scent of a sale in the air that made the woman walk quickly or the chance to flirt with Sander.

“Can I help you?” The question was directed at Sander and Chloe guessed the woman was there to flirt.

“I think we can manage,” he said.

The brunette eyed Chloe from head to toe and by the disbelieving look on her face, she wasn’t convinced Chloe could manage. Bristling, she squeezed Sander’s hand but kept a polite smile aimed at the woman.

“I’m Layla. Let me know if you need anything at all.” Again, directed at Sander, but something behind the woman had caught his attention.

“We will.”

He tugged Chloe in the direction of his gaze and she was more than happy to be led away from the flirty sales assistant. A bronze gown caught her eye and when she realized Sander was taking her toward it, her heart thrummed in her chest. It was the most beautiful gown she’d ever seen, cut low enough to hint at a cleavage but not too low that it would come off as slutty. The material flowed down in a curve and she guessed it would come down to her knees, again not giving too much away. The color was out of this world.

Sander pulled the dress off the rail with his free hand. “You’ll look stunning in this.”

She’d look like a bloody celebrity, or millionaire, in it. “How much is—”

He started moving again and she followed. “Money isn’t an issue, I told you that.”

Stunned by the speed at which things were moving, she rushed to keep up with him. He led her to a mirrored dressing room at the far end of the store. After pulling a red velvet curtain to the side, he hung the hanger on a pole inside.

“Try it on.”

Chloe frowned. It seemed the pushy side of Sander was back full force. “How do you know it’s my size?” she asked, annoyed that it did look like it would fit.

He didn’t answer, only raised a brow. Walking into the dressing room, she slid the curtain shut behind her. Immediately, she felt terrible. He was doing this so she wouldn’t feel uncomfortable wearing Dane’s dress, and her attitude wasn’t very nice. Sliding her clothes off, she eyed the thin straps of the dress and knew she couldn’t get away with the black bra she wore, so she whipped that off too.

When she pulled the dress on, she couldn’t believe it was her in the mirror. Bronze shimmered gold in the light and a black netting underskirt curved the bottom half, making her hips voluptuous. She pulled her hair out of the twist and it fell in loose curls, framing her face. This was definitely a dress for a down do, and the bare minimum of makeup. Although with smoky eyes and nude lips with a dash of bronze shimmer to kick it off, she’d look like a goddess.

“How are you getting on?” he asked from the other side of the curtain.

She turned, realizing her bare feet took away the effect, but she needed him to see her in it. Needed his approval. After all, tonight was for him. She pulled open the curtain to his stunned face. His gaze roved over her from head to toe, darkening on the return trip, and he muttered a curse under his breath.

The suspense was killing her. “What do you think?”

She turned slowly, showing him the deep plunge at the back. She saw his throat bob in the mirror and had to fight a smile. He liked it, and excitement furled in her stomach knowing she’d be able to wear it again.

He murmured something under his breath and she caught the words
trying to kill me
.

“You picked it,” she teased and was rewarded with a smile.

He cleared his throat. “Do you like it?” At her nod, he said, “Then it’s yours. I won’t let you out of my sight tonight.”

He stepped forward and rested his hands on her hips. Her back was still to him, but he met her gaze in the mirror. If she ever had a doubt that abstaining was hurting him as much as it was her it would be gone now.

Those big, capable hands slid slowly over the silk on her stomach, and higher to the underside of her breasts. She could feel him tremble, or maybe that was her. All she knew in that moment was she wanted his hands to slide up an inch higher. For him to pay attention to the aching peaks begging for his touch. Her whole being throbbed for him and she knew he could tell. Her expression in the mirror was wanton, lusty, and her breathing came in pants.

He met her pained gaze, and then his head dropped to the side of her neck and he inhaled, but didn’t kiss her. “Chloe, we agreed…” His voice was rough, pained even.

They had, but she couldn’t remember why that had seemed like such a good idea. Sander cared for her more than he let on. She knew he didn’t think he could love and that probably had a lot more to do with his parents than even he knew. But his feelings were there in his words, the way he looked at her, and the things he’d done for her already. He wasn’t unfeeling, and neither was she.

Stepping away from him, she turned. He wasn’t hiding his emotions now, the regret, the need, edged deep lines around his eyes. She hoped her smile would reassure him somehow.

“It will take ages to get my hair and makeup right, we should get going.”

Wimp
, she chided herself. It seemed she was too afraid to voice her thoughts, even when she knew deep down she was right. Then again, that didn’t mean Sander was ready to face his feelings.

His features smoothed and all signs of suffering vanished. She wished he didn’t hide from her, but cold Sander was back. The one who didn’t want to deal with his emotions and she knew keeping quiet had been the right thing to do. He wasn’t ready to face what was between them.

“We should get you shoes first.” He pulled the curtain closed and left her to undress.

Chloe stood there for a second feeling like she’d been slapped, although she knew it was her own doing. He had been honest with her from the start. With a regretful sigh, she undressed.

* * * *

She was quiet on the way back to his car. Too quiet for his liking, and he wanted to say something, but his tongue seemed to be stuck to the roof of his mouth. With his hands full with her dress, a pair of shoes, and a handbag, they walked side by side.

Walking away from her last night was harder than it should have been. Even leaving Sienna hadn’t felt half as bad, though that was probably because he had thrown her and Paul the fuck out. Still, he couldn’t remember a time after when he would stay up all night wishing Sienna was there with him. But that’s what was happening with Chloe.

He hung her dress on the inside of the car and placed her shoes on the seat in the back. When she settled into the passenger side, he turned to her. “Why don’t you dress at my place? It would look better if we left from there. I’m sure the press will be hounding me tonight to see how I react.”

She nodded. “I’ll need to pick up some things from my house and check on my mum.”

He drove her home and chatted with Joyce and Freda when he arrived. Joyce didn’t seem to remember him today, and he had a glimpse of what it was Chloe must be going through. She held it together well, but he could see the pain shining from her eyes when Joyce asked for an introduction to Sander and continued to ask all the questions she had the night before at dinner. Sander answered every one with a heavy heart. When Chloe appeared with a couple of bags, he took them from her. She explained to Joyce she would be home late and he took Freda aside and instructed her to stay until Chloe was home. Freda looked surprised, and he remembered asking a few days ago if she would stay the night, but that wasn’t going to happen now.

When they got back to the car, Sander asked softly, “Does she ever forget you?”

Her eyes filled with moisture and she nodded.

“I’m sorry, Chloe. I can’t imagine how hard that must be.” He linked his fingers through hers and squeezed.

“It scares me to think one day she might never remember me again.” Her voice was thick with emotion, and it jolted straight through him.

“I hope it never happens.” Surely a loving mother such as Joyce could never forget her daughter? But he knew that wasn’t how these things worked. His mother, on the other hand, would probably gladly forget him. Even without dementia as an excuse.

“Thank you.”

He released her hand and drove them to his place. Sander thought it was a sick, twisted fate that something so horrible could happen to good people like Chloe and her mum. Yet all the best things in the world happened to assholes like his parents. It didn’t seem fair. He came to the conclusion that the world was extremely fucked.