“Because he didn’t need to be cleaned up, right? He was already the perfect match your parents loved.” Aidan shook his head and turned away. He needed to walk away from this before he said something he would regret. “I need some air.”
Turning on his heel, Aidan headed for the exit and out onto Fifth Avenue. He pushed through the throngs of shoppers and tourists, hoping that the sounds of the city would block out the pounding of blood in his ears. When he got about a block from the store, he sat down on the edge of a planter and took a deep breath.
A few moments later, Violet sat down beside him without speaking. “I’m sorry,” she said at last. “I’m not trying to change you or clean you up, and I don’t want you to think that I am.”
Aidan didn’t say anything. He was too frustrated to answer her right now. He knew he wasn’t a clean-cut, upper-class guy like she was used to. He didn’t go to prep school or grow up with a trust fund. He went to a small state college on a scholarship and a prayer, trying to mold himself into a new and improved version of Aidan, but in truth, he didn’t really like that Aidan. That was why it had been so easy to walk away from the advertising firm. He never felt like he fit in there, something his ex-fiancée did little to help him get through.
“I forget sometimes that people react to my money differently. Some ignore it. Some are more than happy to help me spend it on them or anyone else. Some are almost repelled by it. I try to do the best things I can with my inheritance, and that means helping people when they need it. But the last thing I want to do is use it in a way that makes you feel uncomfortable. So forget it. Buy your own damn suit.”
When Aidan turned to look at her, she was smiling. “Fine. I will,” he said, matching her smile.
“Fine!” She laughed and turned back to the traffic going by.
“I just need a new suit, Violet,” he said after a few moments. “Just a suit. Basic black. Nothing fancy.”
“Okay. Can we try again?”
Aidan shrugged. Despite his irritation, he did still need something to wear. “Yeah.”
They stood up and when they turned around, they were standing outside of Bergdorf Goodman. “Let’s try in here,” she said. “They have a variety of brands and even some ready-to-wear pieces that might work.”
He reluctantly followed her into the store. They wandered through the displays, but he still didn’t see anything that would suit her taste in his budget.
It wasn’t until Violet caught a glimpse of a sales associate walking past them. “Excuse me?”
The man stopped and turned to them both with a polite smile. He was wearing a suit that probably cost more than either man made in a month, but that was a perk of working there, Aidan supposed. “Yes, can I help you find anything?”
“Actually, yes. Is there an area where you have any suits or suit pieces marked down? Maybe an end-of-season section?”
“We have a few things. Please follow me.” The man with a name tag that said Marcus led them to the back corner of the men’s formalwear section where there were a few pieces hanging. “This is all we have marked down in the store.”
From Aidan’s vantage point, he already knew it wasn’t going to work. There was a camel-colored sport coat, a black corduroy blazer two sizes too large for him and a couple dress shirts. This wasn’t exactly the type of place to have a sale. Those kind of things would be shipped out to an outlet store or discount retailer, not hanging in plain sight at the flagship Manhattan store. This was Fifth Avenue. It hurt the luxury branding to mark things down. Aidan knew that much from his years in marketing.
Violet looked over the selection and then turned back to the salesman with the sweetest smile he’d ever seen grace her lovely face. She wanted something, and he could tell she was determined to find a way to get it on Aidan’s terms.
“I know this is a strange question, but do you ever get suit returns? I know with the custom tailoring you do here it might not happen very often, but I was hoping to find something for my friend. You see, Marcus, we’re both involved in a charity organization that’s hosting a black-tie event for some very important donors. As much as I’d love to just pick out the latest style and let your tailors start measuring him, it’s probably going to be out of our budget.”
Marcus listened to her speak, nodding in consideration. “What kind of charity is this for?”
“I’m opening a transitional home called Molly’s House,” Aidan chimed in. “It’s designed to help alcoholics transition from rehab back into real life by giving them a safe space and the tools they need to cope with their new sobriety. I’m trying to make a good impression on our potential donors, but the young lady’s taste far exceeds my budget. I understand if there’s nothing in the store that will work for what I need.”
Marcus looked thoughtfully over their shoulders for a moment and then held up his finger. “I actually might have something.” He disappeared into a doorway marked Private and came out a few minutes later with a black Tom Ford suit bag in his hand.
“This was a custom tuxedo order. We’ve called the client repeatedly to pick it up over the last month and this morning, he finally called back to tell us that he’d changed his mind about the order. It’s a Tom Ford slim-fit mohair and wool-blend tuxedo. You would need some additional alterations, but it might work for what you want.”
Aidan watched the man unzip the bag. Inside was a sharp, black tuxedo with a black satin lapel and bow tie. He turned in time to see Violet’s eyes light up at the sight of it. He knew fr
om the description alone that she’d love it. “How much?” he asked. He didn’t want to try it on and have her fall in love with something he still couldn’t afford.
Marcus eyed the paperwork attached to the suit bag and did a little mental math. “Normally this is something we couldn’t sell, since it was a custom order. We’d either allow one of our employees to use their discount on it or pass it along to the outlet locations, but for you, I think I can make an exception. Would seventy-five percent off make it doable for you?”
Aidan glanced at the paperwork and realized that he was about to get an amazing deal on a designer tuxedo. It was more than he wanted to spend, even then, but the quality was well worth the investment. “Are you serious?” he asked.
Marcus smiled and nodded. “I am. Why don’t we take you back to try it on? I’ll get one of our tailors to mark it up for you and you can pick it up later this week.”
“Okay.” Aidan followed him back, leaving Violet in the area outside the dressing rooms.
Once they were alone, he turned to Marcus as he hung the suit in one of the private rooms. “Is this suit really supposed to be marked down that much?”