“Do you want to talk about it?” I asked.
“God no. I just wanted you to know that I live in a glass house. And apparently I like to throw a stone or two from time to time.”
He peered at me from the corner of his eye, and then we both laughed. “Noted,” I said. “When you mentioned hypocrisy before, you were referring to yourself. Got it.”
Worth stood up and reached out a hand to pull me up too. I reveled in the solid warmth of his grip. Every moment of holding hands in the jewelry store had been branded into my memory like a particularly enjoyable game of pretend.
He dragged me to some of the fancier shops and bought more clothes for me despite my strong objections. I got a secret thrill from watching him turn a little snooty about how any man on his arms would need certain “accoutrements” in order to be believable. I guessed “accoutrements” was rich-guy speak for silk shirts and linen pants because I noticed him sneak some of those into the bags even after I’d insisted him dressing me up like Douchebag Barbie was a hard limit.
“Shoes,” he muttered at one point, pressing his hand on my lower back to steer me toward yet another boutique.
“I have shoes.”
“You have rubber flip-flops. Not the same thing.”
“We’ll be on a ship. I don’t need shoes on a ship.”
“If we go onto an island for a restaurant meal, you will need something other than those.” He peered down at my dollar-store shower shoes with disdain. I could admit they weren’t making their best appearance at this moment, considering there was a bite out of one of them and the other had been worn almost paper-thin at the heel.
“The dollar store is over this way,” I said, trying to turn us around. “I can replace them with a brand-new pair.”
Worth shuddered. “Certainly not. I will compromise on a nice pair of leather flip-flops if need be.”
I looked down at the well-worn but still impeccable canvas slip-ons he wore. It kind of surprised me he didn’t have on a pair of tasseled leather driving mocs from Coach or Cole Haan or something.
“Yeah, okay. Leather flip-flops, I can do. But then please put me out of my misery and get me back out on the water. I wasn’t made for this shopping bullshit.”
“No kidding,” Worth said under his breath.
We entered the store and ran right into Lucas and Prescott. I wasn’t surprised to see them since the marina shopping area was fairly small, but I was surprised to see Lucas looking so flustered. The edges of his hair were damp with sweat, and his face was flushed. Deep creases ran between his eyebrows. He sat on a bench surrounded by mountains of shoeboxes.
Worth stepped toward him and squatted down in front of him. “Are you okay?”
Lucas’s eyes flicked between me, Prescott, and Worth. “Yeah. I’m just trying on shoes and getting frustrated, that’s all. How are you? What’ve you found? Anything good?”
Worth looked worried, so I decided to try and lighten the tense mood. “Worth made me get a skimpy bathing suit, but I don’t know if I’m brave enough to wear it,” I joked. It was a lie, both because he hadn’t made me get it and also because I couldn’t wait to wear it and see Prescott’s reaction. Okay, fine. I couldn’t wait to see Worth’s reaction too.
Lucas smiled. “I’m sure you’ll look great in it. You’ll put the rest of us to shame.”
I waited for Prescott to say something nice about Lucas’s body, but when he didn’t, I jumped in. “Are you kidding? You’re in great shape. The only thing I have on you is a tan from being in the islands longer, but a little St. Tropez will fix that right up.” I winked at him and glanced at the shoeboxes all around him. “I hope you’re a size nine because that’s going to make my shopping go a lot faster.”
I moved past Prescott and squeezed onto the bench beside Lucas. “Jon, I am yours to accouter.”
Worth’s nostrils flared with a suppressed laugh, and his eyes lightened. “And I am ever at your service, Your Highness.”
When Worth stood back up to browse for what he wanted, I leaned over and bumped shoulders with Lucas. “What are you looking for in here today? Seems like you’re not finding it very easily. Maybe your brother can help fetch.”
Lucas opened his mouth to answer, but Pres beat him to it. “He needs new running shoes at the very least. He forgot to pack his and won’t be able to keep up his running program without them. I also think he needs a pair of leather mocs in case we decide to go out to eat at a resort while we’re down here.”