| |
We stared at each other for a long moment, gazing appraisingly into each other’s eyes. It was a look we had shared countless times before. Times when we were measuring each other’s opposition to an idea. Measuring each other’s intoxication. Measuring each other’s willingness to participate in either a PR venture, or a whimsical, hair-brained scheme.
It had never been quite like this. Truth be told, it had never even come close. But no matter his intentions now, the age-old question remained: When had I ever refused him?
“Alright, but that’s enough.”
He thrilled, then hesitated. Wedging his bets. Probably thinking about the word compromise for the first time in his life. Weighing its merits.
He clearly didn’t like it.
“Abby, we are friends, are we not?”
I studied him cautiously as some of the previous tension began to melt away. There was a little dimple forming in the corner of his cheeks, and those twinkling eyes worked even better than the booze.
“Yes...we’re friends.”
He nodded seriously, then held up the things he’d collected.
“Well as your friend, I cannot allow you to walk outside like this.” He glanced over each of them in turn. “In nothing but a garter, a purse, and some shoes? How could I?”
I dropped my head with an exasperated smile, covering my face in my hands.
“Nick—”
“One: you’d surely freeze to death. Probably before we got to the next hotdog stand, and I do really want a hotdog. Two—and this can’t be overstated: you are going to attract men if you go outside like that. Lots of men. Too many to count, and lord knows I can’t fight all of them off by myself. Truth be told—I’ll probably be one of them.”
I shook my head, lips pursed as he stared back with coaxing smile.
“So...please? Let a guy buy you a dress?”
My chest tightened in dismay, as I glanced automatically over towards the gowns. Now he wanted to buy a whole other dress? How much was this going to end up costing?
“I promise not to make you jump in a fountain...”
Okay—even I had to grin at that one.
“You’re a real dick, you know that?”
He threw back his head and laughed, grabbing me by the arm once more as he snapped his fingers for more champagne. A second later, we clinked glasses and cheers’d again. This time, to nothing really in particular.
“You know,” Nick glanced over with a smile, as we wandered back towards the front of the store, “you’re the only girl I’ve ever met who would call me a dick for buying you shoes.”
I considered this for a moment, grabbing his arm as I swayed with a bit of a buzz.
“Well, the girls you like...they like to be taken care of.”
Yeah—there was a definite buzz. I never would have said that otherwise.
He glanced down in surprise, keeping his arm steady for me all the while.
“And you don’t?”
There wasn’t an ounce of slur to his voice. After years and years of diligent practice, Nick had the tolerance of an Irish sailor. It would take more than champagne to unsteady him.
Again, I considered the question thoughtfully.
“I would I guess...I’m just proud of being able to take care of myself. In the neighborhood where I grew up—that wasn’t the easiest thing for a woman to claim.”
He looked at me seriously for a moment, and my cheeks flushed crimson at having given something so personal away. His lips parted to reassure me, but sensing my discomfort, he lightened the mood instead with a joke.
“I can imagine that it must have been tough. I hear that Brooklyn’s mostly an agrarian society...”
I snorted with laughter as we came to a stop in the middle of the gowns.
There were so many shapes and sizes. So many colors, and cuts, and fabrics—I had no idea where I’d even start to look.
But Nick seemed to have a very good idea. In fact, from the way he made a beeline for a specific one, I was willing to bet he’d had his eye on it from the moment we came in.
I couldn’t help but watch as his fingers slid the zipper down the mannequin’s back. The expert way he eased the sleeves off its shoulders before pulling the whole thing over its head.
Talk about a specific skill set.
There was a soft gasp, as behind me, the saleswomen were doing the exact same thing.
By now, the alcohol had taken firm effect and I was curious. Unlike the rest of his selections, Nick didn’t hold this one up for approval. Instead, he’d slipped it discreetly into the purse—shielding it from view.
“Well?” I asked with a little grin. “Can I see it?”
He shook his head firmly.
“Nope. It’s a surprise.”
I must admit, I was a bit crestfallen.
“What?” I took a step forward. “Why? Just let me—”
“Not a chance.” He held the purse out of reach, looking down with a smile. “You’re going to have to wait.”
I surrendered easily enough and followed him to the counter.
“Wait for what?”
He glanced over his shoulder, grinning at my petulant tone.
“For the rest of the apology.”
That was enough to shake me from my intoxicated stupor.
“The rest of the apology?” I stopped dead in my tracks. “Nick, this is so much more than enough. Surely even you can see that.”
“Actually...” he came to a stop in front of the jewels, “it needs one more thing.”
By now, I didn’t even try to fight it. I just stood there quietly as he pursed his lips and looked over each piece in their collection with a slight frown. Occasionally, he would hold something up to me, but each time, he put it back down without a word.
...until he got to the necklace.
“This.” His eyes glowed as he picked it up. “This is the one.”
My lips opened, then closed. No words could come.
It was, without a doubt, the most beautiful necklace I’d ever seen. It was long. Overly-long, in the style of 1920’s flappers. But instead of a string of pearls, this was a chain of diamonds. The thing sparkled like you wouldn’t believe. Dropping almost down to my navel, before ending in a teardrop-shaped pendant that was as big as my thumb.
“Mr. Hunter,” Ruby gasped. “It’s absolutely stunning. The finest piece in the store.”
Nick ignored her and turned to me instead.
“What do you think?” he asked softly. “Do you like it?”
I wanted to tell him no. I wanted to tell him it was obviously too much, that this entire spree had been kindhearted but confusing as shit, and walk right out of the store.
But the words ‘too much’ had never really registered with Nick. He wanted to do something nice to apologize. He was staring deep into my eyes.
In the end, I pulled in a breath and did the one thing that people who work in PR are never supposed to do.
I told the truth.
“It’s the most beautiful thing I’ve ever seen.”
A beaming smile spread across his face—a smile I’d never seen before. It wasn’t bored, or mischievous, or amused, or anything else I’d come to associate with Nick.
It was sincere. A soft kind of radiant that seemed to glow from the inside-out.
“Then it’s yours.”