Nick and Britney?
Together. In the chief’s office. Behind closed doors. Lily’s heart sank.
When the doorknob jiggled, she bunny-hopped backwards into the open broom closet across the hall before they caught her eavesdropping. Nibbling her thumbnail in the cramped space, her pulse pounded in her jugular over her panicky breaths, making it harder to hear their words. She hoped she didn’t pass out in here. Wouldn’t that be hell to explain?
She’d peeked between the crack and caught the backside of Britney dressed in thigh-high boots and a fur jacket, stuffing money her pocket. And Nick with red lipstick on his cheek. The rumors of Britney being a hooker were true!
No!
This. Can. Not. Be. Happening.
Her brain screamed, but nothing passed her lips except for hollow breaths.
She needed air.
Needed to get out of the closet.
Out of the building.
Out of town.
She loved Nick, but was too foolish and afraid to tell him. Now it was too late; he moved on.
Running out the back door, she thanked God she didn’t collide into anyone.
Halfway home, operating on autopilot, heading in the direction of the blinding sun, she remembered her car parked in the lot behind the barbershop. She didn’t realize the stream of tears until her cheeks were stinging from the cold.
“Pull yourself together,” she urged, huffing and puffing white vapor clouds.
Once she barreled through the front door, she dove onto the bed, sobbing into the pillow until she was too exhausted to do anything but sleep off the heartbreak. She woke up with an emotional hangover at four in the afternoon of the same
craptastic
day.
With nothing left to lose, she turned on the laptop—a gift from Christmas past from the Secret Santa Society—and searched the web for New York City salons. Within an hour, she made a dozen phone calls and scored three interviews for tomorrow morning.
Now all she needed was an outfit other than her a velour tracksuit. As discouraging as shopping was, it might prove to be the distraction she needed to get her mind off Nick.
And Britney.
Britney and Nick.
The outfit Britney wore today was probably from the pole-dancer department of Violet’s Valise. Right up Nick’s slut-loving alley.
Lily didn’t need exotic attire. Just something contemporary and preferably stylish. Something from Walmart could work. However, when she stepped out the front door, her station wagon wasn’t there.
“Humph!” She smacked her forehead, remembering where she’d left it, then trekked downtown slipping along the sidewalk coated in black ice. The roads would be riskier to maneuver on bald tires. It wasn’t worth it for a new clothes. Still, she needed to drive the car home tonight, or else she’d have to hike this route at dawn, plus a few miles further.
Pausing to catch her breath in front of Violet’s window, the memory of Nick’s hands all over her body put a cramp in her stomach.
“Oh, screw it.” She twisted the brass doorknob, pushing her way through the magic portal, to the land of cutout lingerie. A wave of vanilla and baby powder enveloped her like a warm blanket.
It wasn’t so bad in here.
In fact, it was quite lovely, and larger than she expected. Not entirely pornographic as she presumed. Maybe there was something here for her after all.
In addition to see-through baby-dolls, peek-a-boo bras, caribou-trimmed teddies, and blinged-out thongs in the window, less-flashy ensembles were in the back.
She steered clear of a canoodling couple with their hands all over each other, wincing at their PDA, and redirected her attention to the wide selection of jewel-toned velour tracksuits hanging on a round rack. Had she known about this modest collection she would have shopped here a long time ago, except everything was out of her price range, including the items in the clearance section.
Just because she brought the credit card reserved for extreme emergencies, it didn’t mean this was a carte blanche spending spree. Flipping price tags helped the decision-making process.
Considering the frosty weather conditions, low-heels were the best choice. Amongst the stilettos, she found one pair of flats in her hard-to-find size-six—black suede knee-high boots with laces up the back and ruffle trim—on sale half-price at four hundred dollars! She cringed, nearly choking on a mint.
The beautiful boots were so far out of her price range she should have dropped them and run for the door. But she took them anyway, carrying the big box in both arms as careful as if it were a baby.
Next, she found a hunter green knit dress that fit in her comfort zone on sale for a
mere
hundred-fifty bucks.
The purple curtains on the three dressing rooms against the back wall were closed. Lily peeked underneath to see if any were available.
Two sets of feet—small bare ones with French-manicured toenails and a pair of men’s loafers—occupied the one on the left. The newlyweds were in there, Lily presumed, imagining what they could be doing.
She skipped the vacant middle room and aimed for the one on the far right.
Unfortunately for her budget, everything fit perfect.
Posing in the three-way mirror, she noticed lines from her cotton panties.
Unacceptable.
There had to be a solution aside from wearing a thong.
She poked her head out the curtain, and beckoned the saleswoman. “Excuse me.”
The elegant-looking lady with silver-streaked hair asked, “May I help you?—oh, hello, Lily. I didn’t see you come in.”
Feeling sheepish in strange new clothes, Lily smiled awkwardly at one of Sophia’s friends. “Hi, Marie,” she whispered, “I, uh, need something to go underneath.”
“Hmm.” Marie gave a liberal nod after a quick inspection. “It looks very good on you. However, it can look better. Wait—” She held up her palm and hurried away, returning with what looked like a piece of skimpy skin on a hanger—nude spandex with a lacey panel down the center. It was very pretty and looked impossible to put on. “It’s a control slip. Built in wire-cups. Shapes your hips, tummy and tush all in one. Hides any lines. Give it a try.” She left her alone to dress in private.
Stripping down to her boring hip-huggers, Lily didn’t know which end to get into. Did it go over her head? Or was she supposed to step in it?
Over the head didn’t work at all—it was like jamming a ten-pound boloney in a five-pound bag. She tried the other method, wiggling her hips until the cool, stretchy material reached her boobs, and she could pull the straps over her shoulders. Smoothing out the painted-on fabric, she liked the way it felt on her body and under her hands.
Like a human sausage.
She struggled to reach the clasp between her shoulder blades, spinning in a circle, hoping the mirrors would be her guide. A dog had a better chance of catching its tail.
“Marie?” she sang over the heavy breathing from the couple two thin walls away. Lily peeked out and saw her at the register tending to customer, so she gave it another try and finally connected the two narrow tabs.
Aah
. She silently applauded her solo-success, then wiped the perspiration from her hairline and studied her reflection. The dress would probably look better now, but after working up a sweat she was in no mood to try it again.
It fit without the slip, so it’ll fit with it.
The slip alone didn’t look half-bad.
Hmm.
If Nick could see her now, she’d make him regret hooking up with a skank like Britney.
Ugh!
Thoughts of Nick and Britney had her seething. And to think, she went to the firehouse ready to pour out her soul to him.
Stupid. Stupid. Stupid.
Forgetting Nick Knight shouldn’t be this painful. It was her own fault for being so weak. And it would never happen again.
I swear,
she promised her infinite reflection.
Now that she found what she was looking for, she could go home and wait for tomorrow to come, but first she had to get out of the slip. Another impossible feat.
“Um, Marie, would you mind helping m—?” Lily pushed aside the edge of the curtain and her heart stopped.
Chapter Ten
Nick stood ramrod straight on the other side of the flimsy dressing room curtain waiting for Lily to come out. Once it opened, his little soldier sprang to its fullest attention at the clear view of her hourglass figure.
If looks could kill, he’d be dead already. “What the hell are you doing here!” she growled through clenched teeth.
The eyeful of her nearly nude body scattered his thoughts, leaving him dumbstruck. “Geez!” slipped past his slack-jaw. Of course she had curves under those tracksuits, but he had no idea she was stacked right and tight, a well-proportioned powerhouse.
Good, God!
She yanked the curtain closed, but the glorious vision was already branded in his brain. “Go away, Nick.”
“I want to talk to you,” he whispered rougher than he intended.
“Well, I don’t want to talk to you.” Her powdery voice radiated through the thin barrier.
The urge to rip the fabric off the rod crossed his mind, but he squashed the impulsive idea. Sure, approaching her on the sidewalk would have been a better idea than stalking her. But what he lacked in good sense, he made up with intrepid determination once he set his mind on the coveted prize. Inconvenient timing wasn’t going to stop him. This game of cat and mouse was getting old.
Thinking of games, was it not but two weeks ago she’d told him flat-out how she
never
shopped in this sex-apparel store? Now, lo and behold, here she is, shopping—her least favorite activity, if he recalled correctly.
Lily peeked out with blazing eyes. “What are you still doing here?”
“What are you doing? Period.” He rumbled low enough to avoid attracting the attention from the salesclerk, his mood growing more volatile with each passing nanosecond.
“I. Asked. You. First.”
“Okay, fine. You’re right. You asked first.” He ran frustrated hands through his hair. “I saw you come in here. I wanted to talk to you so I followed you. Now, would you tell me just who the hell you’re planning on wearing this get-up for?”
She jerked the curtain closed again.
“Lily, just come out so I can talk to you.”
“I can’t.”
“Why not?”
“I can’t get this thing off.”
The salesclerk was with a customer. “Want me to help?”
She poked her head out. “Are you kidding?”
“I’m sorry about Thanksgiving.” As soon as Nick took a step closer, she shut the curtain. “I never should have pressured you to talk. I’m a jerk.”
Her fingers parted the curtain once more as she leaned out to say, “You’re right, you
are
a jerk.”
Nick seized her hand so she couldn’t disappear while he unloaded the weight in his heart. “I’ve missed you like crazy. You’re all I think about. I’m sorry for everything. I can’t pretend it doesn’t bother me that we haven’t figured out this thing between us. I know you feel something for me, too.”
When Lily opened her mouth, he expected her to scream. The first tear fell; he caught it on his fingertip. “You’re right. I do.”
“I just need to know if there’s someone else in the picture.”
“Are you serious?” she squealed. A broken smile twisted her pretty lips as she dug her fingers painfully into his hand, inching her way out of the dressing room. “You have some nerve accusing me…after…after I saw you!”
“What are you talking about?”
“Oh, give me a break.” She shoved his chest. “You’re gonna make me spell it out? Okay. Fine. I. Saw. You. With. Britney,” she hissed, smiting him with her laser vision. “I didn’t think you were so hard-up you’d be willing to pay for it.”
Stunned and confused by the accusation, he shrugged. “I don’t understand. Pay for what?”
“Sex!” she shouted.
Two doors down, the noisy couple poked their heads out of the curtain with ruddy cheeks and ruffled hair.
“Don’t worry—we’re not talking about you.” Nick pushed Lily into the dressing room, and she yanked him along, propelling his back to the mirrors. This infuriated woman giving him the evil eye was almost intimidating if she wasn’t so damn adorable. “I didn’t have sex with Britney.”
“I saw the two of you. Together. In the chief’s office. You paid her.”
“Yeah. That’s right. I did pay her. For
lunch
.” He went on to explain the food delivery from the diner.
“Oh.” Lily stepped back, a lovely shade of crimson spreading across her creamy exposed skin.
Nick stepped forward, swapping positions, pinning her in the corner. “So, you’re jealous,” he whispered. “Silly girl, thinking I want Britney, when it’s you I’ve wanted all this time.” He brushed tendrils away from her face. “I’m flattered.”
“Well…” She refused to look up. “I-I…”
“You, what? Spit it out, sugar,” he teased. There was no way she could conceal the glow of embarrassment. Afraid she’d start hyperventilating, he cut back his taunting before she passed out. “Are you trying to apologize? Because if that’s the case, I accept, fully and completely.”
“I-I…” She wet her lips and he took it as a yes.
He curled a finger under her chin and tilted her face, thrilled she didn’t fight his tender kiss. But when he tasted her salty tears, he pulled back to swipe them from her cheeks with his thumbs. “You can’t imagine how much I’ve missed you.”
“I missed you, too.” She panted the words like a drunken midnight confession and it was all he needed to hear.
He crushed his mouth to hers, while his hands encircling her ribs, trying not to squeeze too hard under the pressure of his greedy fingers. Her equally desperate kiss should have been proof enough. Still he couldn’t resist asking the barrage of questions, only softer this time. “Who are you buying this for? Are you seeing someone else? Tell me and I’ll stop.”
“No. There’s no one else. Only you.”
He paused to study her eyes, seeking the truth. As hard as it was to imagine a catch like her staying single for too long, he believed her. “I need to see you.” It was a plea more than a demand, and his groin strained painfully behind his zipper to prove it. “Will you go out with me tonight? We don’t have to talk. I just wanna be with you. We can go for a drive. A walk. Get coffee. Or ice cream. Anything. Anything you want. I just wanna be near you.”