“Great buffet.” Blake says appreciatively around a mouthful of Bruschetta.
“What?” He frowns when we all shake our heads at him, then shoves a sausage roll in his mouth.
A hand lands on my shoulder as I get a refill of champagne for Laurel and I at the bar. I spin round and see Seb and Tiff all dolled up in Black Tie looking every bit the perfect couple.
“Thanks for coming, guys.”
“Wouldn’t miss it. Finally get to meet the woman that’s whipped you into shape.”
“Don’t listen to him, James. There’s nothing better than the love of a good woman.” Tiff smirks up at her husband and he sends her the same private, knowing smile. I’m missing something.
“Today is our anniversary.” Tiffany says by way of explanation. My eyebrows shoot up. Damn, I wish I had known, I would have done something for them.
“Ten years married to the most amazing woman I’ve ever met. I’m a lucky fucker.”
Tiff nods, clearly impressed, and looks back at me. “At least he knows it.” I grin and tilt my head as I watch Seb pull her close, the sappy bastard. He’s been a mentor to me for a while now, and I’m thankful he’s happy. It makes me hopeful for Laurel and I too.
“Congratulations to you both.” I hand them both a glass of champagne and kiss Tiff on the cheek.
“I guess this means you’re not bored yet.” I turn down the corners of my mouth, and clutch at my chest. “I’ll wait for you. However long you need.” I put my arm round her shoulder. She grins and places her hand on my chest. “I think I’m going to stick with the man I’ve got for now.”
I chuckle at the scowl on Seb’s face as he pulls her out of my hold and curls his hand round her hip possessively.
“Get your own.”
“I should. Where is she?” I mumble to myself.
I scan the room and see Laurel finishing up her conversation with a group of women who have been admiring some of the dresses. Her eyes meet mine and I give her my no-holds-barred grin that makes her flush and look at me underneath her eyelashes. Fuck, she looks so disturbingly turned on that I have to clear my throat and take a few deep breaths to slow down my heartbeat.
Laurel
God, I’ve been watching him in that suit all night and all I can think about is going back to the hotel and doing rude things to him. And that grin? Gets me squirming, every damn time. The heat in his eyes, as he beckons me over sends a throbbing straight down to my core. I make my way through the tightly packed bodies, ‘sorry’ and ‘excuse me’ tumbling out my mouth several times in quick succession. I still can’t believe the turnout tonight.
It’s when I get closer I realise he’s not on his own. I didn’t even notice who he was talking to, all I could see was him.
The man standing next to him must be early thirties, tall, dark hair, wearing a sharp black suit and purple bow tie. The purple matches the dress of the woman he’s got tucked tightly into his side. Her dress is amazing, a long flowing Grecian style purple gown, with a thin diamante strip just under the bust, the rest of the dress flowing down and skimming her hips. Her glossy brown hair is pulled back in a chignon, her skin like porcelain. She looks every bit a princess, or a model. Just like Alex. They have the same wealthy, well-bred, successful look. As I approach all eyes turn to me, and I shrink back, feeling slightly intimidated.
That’s not you. Don’t be intimidated. My inner voice tells me to stop being so stupid. There was always some kind of conceited arrogance in Alex’s smile that made me uncomfortable but hers is welcoming, and it reaches her eyes as she looks between James and I.
“There she is.” James holds out his arm for me and I step into his side, relishing the protective way his hand grips my waist, and lips brush my temple.
“Babe, this is Sebastian Burrows, and his wife Tiffany. Guys, this is my beautiful girlfriend, Laurel.”
Tiffany steps out of Seb’s arms and throws her arms unexpectedly around me. It surprises me but I go with it and hug her back. “It’s so good to meet you, Laurel. James has told us all about you. Don’t worry.” She says when she sees my anxious smile. “It was all wonderful.” She winks and I feel myself relax. Seb is a little more reserved but he takes my hand and kisses my cheek. “Finally.” He looks back at James who’s still got a silly proud grin on his face.
“James speaks very highly of both of you. Thank you so much for coming tonight.”
I sip my champagne and Tiffany does the same, eyeing me prudently over the top of the glass. I wonder what I’ve done to deserve that level of interest from her.
“The store looks beautiful. You’ve both got a great eye for detail, the window display is magnificent.” I suck in a sharp breath when her words make me realise who I’m speaking to. I completely forgot who she actually was. She made a dress for Keira Knightly for God’s sake.
I grin and I think it comes across as a little creepy but she knows what she’s talking about, and she complimented my store. She didn’t have to say it.
“Thank you.”
She nods graciously, and just as it’s starting to get a little awkward she looks at our men and declares that we’re leaving their company.
“There are a few things I need to discuss with this young lady, can you excuse us please?” Seb acknowledges her with a quick kiss on the cheek then carries on talking to James who completely ignores my questioning look.
“Come, Laurel. We have business to discuss.” Business? She sees my frown but says nothing until we’re in the office.
Before I say anything, she reaches into her bag in silence. The bag I now realise is larger than I would have thought and when she pulls out handfuls of folded material, I see why.
“James showed me these.” She places them on the desk in between us and looks across at me. My eyes go straight to the fabric and as I run them through my fingers my heart beat starts pounding when I recognise them as my creations. She sits down and gracefully crosses her legs.
“I know that tonight is about your store. But I really wanted to discuss a business venture with you before Sebastian and I go to the U.S for a month.”
I nod, encouraging her to continue because I don’t really know what to say and I’m sat in awe and slight embarrassment that a world famous fashion designer has seen these dresses.
“James tells me you want to open a store in central London next year.”
“Yes.” I say nervously. “I’m aiming for the later part of the year. There’ll be two more boutiques before then.” Where is she going with this?
“I’ve made cocktail dresses, and gowns for over fifteen years and I’m going to continue but I really want to expand into another area.” Her eyes search my face as she says, “Wedding dresses.”
I gulp down the fear and dread that someone so successful wants me for something. “So, how can I help with that?”
She picks up the dresses and examines them closely in front of me. “Obviously I know these were done by you and your mother in your spare time. The stitching’s not perfect, it’s way too loose, and is already unravelling, but the designs? They’re fabulous. I think you have a great eye. And that dress you’re wearing is gorgeous.” I feel my cheeks heating up under her praise.
“I’ve grown my business on my own since I was sixteen. I hear your story is similar, and I see a lot of myself in you, and your work ethic. Of course all of this is what I hear from James but I pride myself in making business decisions based on my own gut instincts too and they’re telling me to put this proposition forward to you. I’d like you to come on board with Breakfast at Tiffany’s to help me design a range of exclusive wedding dresses. It’d be freelance of course, so you can continue to run Proposals and work round the needs of your own business. Then when you open your flagship store we could discuss stocking the new range.”
I can’t stop my eyes from widening until they feel like they’re going to burst out their sockets. I sit looking at her, completely dazed and unable to articulate any thought that’s
swirling round my brain. She wants me to help her with a new range! Oh my God, that’s such pressure. And I’ve just taken on this new store. But what an opportunity! I swallow hard. The silence is deafening but I just don’t know what to say.
Thank you would be a start!
“Thank you.” I stutter out. “It’s such a flattering offer but...”
“You need time to think about?” I nod and her eyes soften.
“Of course.” She takes a deep breath in and leans towards me conspiratorially. “I’m going to tell you something but I’m going to need full discretion from you.” She looks at me meaningfully and I get what she’s saying. Whatever it is, she doesn’t want me to tell James.
“Sebastian and I have had our own little run-in with Alexandra Shaw.” She practically spits out her name, and it leaves a sour taste in my mouth too.
“Not in the business sense.” She adds. “The personal sense. She tried to seduce my husband.”
I cough out my disgust and shake my head while I watch Tiffany shift in the chair. “I can’t quite believe the balls on the woman, but I put her in her place. As did you.” Her mood changes as does the look in her eyes. It’s now pride and camaraderie. We have the witch in common, but it makes me respect her more. Her husband’s obviously the most important person in her life, and she would fight for him. Not that she should have to.
“The bitch.” I mutter, forgetting who I’m in the company of, but she just laughs. “My thoughts exactly. We’re going to get on well, you and I, and I’ll leave you to think about my business proposition. Meanwhile, we have a couple of gorgeous men probably wondering what we’re doing, so shall we go out and celebrate your new store?”
Her dresses are stocked in the most exclusive department stores, and her clients are celebrities and royalty, but Tiffany Burrows is also just James’ friend, and a woman in love. Just like me. I grin and take her outstretched hand, both of us picking up our champagne glasses and sashaying through the crowds of people.
“Tiff, my love, our reservation’s soon. We better go.” Sebastian glances at his watch then smiles lovingly at his wife and leans down to kiss my cheek. “It was lovely to meet you Laurel. Though brief. Perhaps next time you’re in London, we could all get together.”
I nod enthusiastically and hug Tiffany. I’m surprised they stayed so long tonight given it was their anniversary but I’m grateful. Tiffany hasn’t mentioned the business venture again for the past hour and it’s allowed me to relax. It’s going to take a lot of thinking about.
“I’m pleased you’ve met them.” James says against my temple as he places a sweet kiss there.
“They’re fun. Tiffany’s a force to be reckoned with.”
He narrows his eyes at me slightly and I pretend I haven’t noticed. I know there was a hint of annoyance in my voice, having reminded myself that someone else was affected by Alex when they shouldn’t have been, but he doesn’t say anything. I tilt back my glass and finish the champagne. I’ve had several glasses tonight, I’ve been talking so much. There have been a huge amount of local business owners, and potential clients here and I think I’m all talked out now. Not to mention that champagne and little food has made me feel light-headed.
“What do you want to do? The party’s winding down.”
I look up into his eyes and see my own thoughts reflected in them. Time for us to go.
He leans down and whispers into my ear. “This dress has been distracting me all night. I want to take you back to the hotel, bend you over the bed, and fuck you in it.”
I do my best to swallow down the whimper. Yes please.
Chapter Seventeen
Laurel
“It sucks I have to go.” James says as he finishes buttoning up his jeans, and tugs up the zipper. I couldn't agree more. It feels like as soon as we have a little time together something happens to part us again. We’ve been back from Manchester for two days but now he’s got to go back to London for his big pitch for The Garrison and solve a few problems on a project his company’s working on. I open the wardrobe and pick out a shirt, a baby blue colour that matches his eyes perfectly. "I can’t believe I ask you to move in and then I’m hardly here now. It won’t always be like this babe, I promise."
I open out the shirt for him to put his arms into then pull it up over his shoulders and start buttoning it up. This is new, I’m normally undressing him. But there’s something sexy about picking out his clothes and him allowing me to take care of him.
"Don't worry about it. I’ll miss you like crazy but it’s not like I’ll be on my own. Tyler's here."
Definitely the wrong thing to say because he stares me down.
"I still don’t trust him, you know. He makes one wrong move and you tell me, okay? I’ll be back straight away to punch his face in."
I roll my eyes and he takes my hands in his. "Promise me. Please. I need this from you. He’s practically a stranger and my gorgeous girlfriend is going to be alone and vulnerable in my house with him. Please just promise me you'll tell me. Or ring Blake, ring Ryan. Whatever. Just call someone straight away if something goes wrong?"
He's so serious I can’t even mess around with him now. If it means that much to him of course I can promise that.
"Yes, I promise. It’s going to be fine though. You don’t need to worry."
"I’ll always worry. I need you safe."
I nod, seriously. "I know. I will be. Now, go kickass with the pitch, then whip that designer of yours into shape. He needs a serious talking to. He can’t be stealing you away from me again."
James chuckles and kisses my cheek. "It should just be overnight babe. I’ll try and get back tomorrow afternoon. Call you later?"
He throws his bag over his shoulder and leans in to press his lips gently against my forehead.
“You better."
The next couple of hours are taken up with analysing sales from the new store. It’s now been open a few days, long enough for me to start looking at what’s selling well and what isn’t. I also check Facebook and Twitter. Jess has been going crazy with both of them, trying to drum up as much interest as possible and it’s been a great way of getting a buzz out there. I've just finished tweeting some pictures of the store when Tyler comes in the house, slamming the front door.
“Hey, what did the door ever do to you?” I shout through to the hallway from a barstool in the kitchen.
“Got in my motherfucking way.” He shouts back and I smile when I hear him thump his way up the stairs.
Ten minutes later he comes back down, slightly calmer and freshly showered. It’s only ten in the morning. Where the hell has he been? I chance it, and ask him that very question fully expecting the answer I get.
“Mind your own business.” He grunts, as he flicks the switch on the kettle, and directs his attention to his phone, madly typing away. Texting, or emailing I guess. I haven’t actually seen him without his phone in his hand since I’ve known him. It must be work. I could ask again, but I know the response I’ll get.
“You have such people skills.” I sigh, as I get the devil blue screen and have to restart my laptop.
“I just don’t have time for nosy do-gooders.”
Ouch. What’s stuck up his ass?
“That’s mean. You hardly know me.” I frown. I know I’m nosy, not one of my best traits, I’ll give him that. But do-gooder? I’m just trying to get to know him.
“I know enough.”
He’s so frustrating. I hate how fickle his moods are. He’s more up and down than a bloody yo-yo.
“Okay. Tell me. Who am I?”
He turns to me, watching my face and my body language which in the last few seconds has gone really defensive. He narrows his eyes, putting his phone back in his pocket. “Blonde. Sexy. Sweet. If we were in a movie you’d be the perfect little cheerleader who lives in her perfect pink fluffy world with the good grades and the jock boyfriend, who knows nothing about real life and whose middle name would be ‘naïve as fuck’.”
Oh my, he’s pissy today.
He thinks he has me all figured out, but he doesn’t realise that his little speech gives me more insight into him than I had before. I was right. There’s a humongous chip on his shoulder, from something. And I will find out what.
“You’re right.” I say as I get up from the stool. “If we were in a movie that’s exactly how I’d want to be. Because it’s all make believe and fairy-tales, right? But we’re not, and real life isn’t like that. I know it.”
I’m not going to go through the whole my shit’s worse than your shit slanging match because maybe his is worse than mine. It doesn’t matter. It’s personal.
“But it’s not about how much shit you’ve gone through. It’s about how you deal with it. How you move on from it. ‘Triumph in the face of adversity’. You can spend your whole life hating other people, laying blame elsewhere, but really where does it get you?” I look at him pointedly. “Twenty-five, bitter, jaded, and pushing everyone away who may actually want to get to know you.” I shrug as I close my laptop and start to walk towards the door. “I know who I want to be. Who I’d rather be. The question is, do you?”
I leave the room with him still staring after me and I have to take a few steadying breaths as I walk upstairs. He takes so much energy out of me. I’m pissed he has that perception, but I don’t think it’s necessarily because of me. I’ve clearly had a very different life to him. And it makes me feel sad that it still affects him so much even now he’s an adult and is able to make his own choices.
I don’t see Tyler for the rest of the day and I make a conscious effort to keep all thoughts of him out of my head. I go into work for the afternoon, and ring Jess. We talk about some new styles she wants to order and the research she’s been doing on the competition. She’s confident and has really been paying attention, leaving me thoroughly impressed with her attitude.
As I settle myself in bed that evening, I type out a quick text to James. I hate him being away. I know it’s only a couple of days but we haven’t really had a chance to enjoy the benefits of living together. We’ve had company pretty much ever since I moved in.
Sweet Affection (Truth Book 3) Page 23