Absolutely Mine

This didn’t satisfy her. “You were already late. And now you want to take more time to shop?”

Shopping. Not quite. I held my cool. “I’ll be fast and I won’t take lunch.”

I didn’t mention how many long hours I’d labored at work over the years I’d been there. Even those in the last few weeks.

“This is your last warning.”

I nodded and she walked away. I flipped her off and she said, “I saw that.”

Crazy bitch had eyes in the back of her head. Or she’d been flipped off so many times in her life she’d guessed. But time was ticking. The meeting was in less than an hour. I grabbed my purse and ran for the elevator.

I might have jaywalked across the street and had been nearly hit by a Mercedes. The driver called out, but I barely registered, knowing I had no time for apologies on either of our parts.

A woman who barely looked out of her teens and couldn’t be eating more than salad on a daily basis greeted me as I entered.

“Hello, welcome to Le Colour. How can I be of assistance?”

My eyes drifted over the artfully placed racks of clothes and my heart sank.

“I’m looking for a white top,” I said, meeting her gaze.

Her smile fell. “White?” She said it like it was a dirty word. “We are all about color, can’t you see?”

I had. I felt like I’d stepped into a metallic paint color show.

“Golds and greens are all the rage.”

There was no way I could go to the meeting in anything I could see. They weren’t just bright, but reflective as if they were made of tiny sequins. And maybe they were.

In a small voice as I felt my job slipping away, I said, “You don’t have anything white?”

Her lips flattened before she said, “Follow me.”

We weaved through the displays all the way to a back corner. And there it was, a basic white shirt that would match the navy slacks I’d worn that day.

It wasn’t exactly my style, lots of ribbon detailing that ended in a bow at the hip. But what choice did I have? There was nothing else except psychedelic red. I felt like I’d stepped into a Christmas shop and it was too soon or just passed, how ever you wanted to look at it.

“Great,” she said. “I assume you’ll need a large with that bustline.”

I wanted to say something nasty, anything. But she’d spoken with a huge smile. I grabbed the large and medium and went into the dressing room.

I settled on the large, though it was a little loose around the midriff. The medium made my boobs look compressed.

“I’ll take it,” I said, stepping out of the dressing room without taking the shirt off.

Time was precious. We walked to the counter and she removed the tags with scissors she had on hand like she did this a lot.

“Good for you. You look… great.”

I rolled my eyes as she nearly looked bereft to find a compliment. I had my hand out when she announced the price, which was somewhere in the neighborhood of about half of my weekly take home pay. My hand shook as she snatched the card out of my hand. I couldn’t think about how I could possibly afford the silky blouse I didn’t even like.

“Do you need a bag?”

She looked to my hand that held my wadded up shirt. I should probably toss it, but said, “Yes.”

Hell, at the price I was paying, I deserved the bag.

After the transaction was done, I ran back across the street, dodging honking cars.

I’d exited the elevator and ignored the receptionist who tried to flag me down. I didn’t have time. I had to go to the bathroom to fix my hair and makeup in time for the meeting.

Before I got to my cubicle to grab my makeup bag, I saw him.

“Jillian,” he said.

My name on his tongue, and oh what a tongue he had, did things to clench my core with need.

“Edward,” I said, using his full name, which he hated, and strode by him to get to my cube so I could gather my wits.

Chapter Five

Edward McCabe was breathtaking. Even sporting a grizzly man beard as he was, I had an undeniable attraction to him. He was tall, dark, and extremely handsome and could nearly make me come just by saying my name.

His scowl was dangerous, which unfortunately for me only turned me on more, and I didn’t have time.

“Aren’t you supposed to be on your honeymoon?” I said, with my back to him.

There was no way I could let him even notice a hint of my hurt. I sighed when I found my makeup bag and hairbrush. I tucked them into my tote, ready to stride to the ladies’ room, when he blocked the opening of my cube.