“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.