I arched a brow. “That’s a bit presumptuous, don’t you think? Maybe I dress for myself.”
Jared’s finger traced the white piping on my lapel, across my chest, and down. I felt the barest brush of his touch against my breast and fought to keep my breathing steady.
Something had changed between us, and the ground was unsteady beneath my feet. We’d flown apart after the kiss and decided it was a mistake, but now…
“Do you?”
I blinked. “Do I what?”
“Do you dress for yourself?”
I took a small step back. Anything to put a bit more space between us. “Of course.”
He hummed. “I think there’s more to it than that. You always seem to know exactly the right balance to strike no matter where we go.”
It surprised me that he could read me so easily. Most people-men especially-thought my interest in fashion and beauty to be frivolous. It was girly. It was silly. But of all people, Jared saw what was beneath the surface. I liked that about him. I liked that he didn’t dismiss me just because I liked to wear vampy lipstick.
But liking him and kissing him again were two different issues entirely. I had to work for the man for the foreseeable future. I didn’t want to get involved with him.
I clasped my hands in front of me, arching a brow. “I’m guessing this outfit is a winner?”
He grinned. “You think it isn’t? Garcia’s going to take one look at you and call you his new muse.”
I flushed, unable to keep the smile from my face. “We’ll see.”
Jared’s hand slipped down my arm to my elbow, the touch sending heat skittering through my veins. He guided me out the door, nodding to Clara before heading for the elevators. Once inside, he let go of my arm, and I could breathe.
“Have you always liked clothing?” He watched me from where he leaned against the wall of the elevator. We traveled up toward the roof, a short ride up to the very top of the building.
The doors opened as I nodded. “Mostly, yes, but my interest really started in my late teens.” I paused, my throat suddenly tight.
Jared stopped at the exterior door leading to the roof. “What is it?”
I looked up to see his brows drawn, his gaze intent. There he went again, seeing me. The real me. I shook my head. “We’re going to be late.”
He leaned against the metal door and crossed his arms. “Something’s on your mind. Tell me.”
“Ordering me around isn’t going to work, Jared.”
He grinned at me. “But you used my first name, so you must be warming up to me.”
“Marginally.”
He laughed, and the sound made my own lips twitch. When he quieted down, his gaze was warm. “Tell me what you were thinking about.”
“It’s nothing, really.” I shook my head. “It’s just old memories. They’re hard to explain.”
“Try me.”
“Why do you care?”
“We need to pretend to be a real couple for the entire weekend. Maybe I think knowing a bit about the real you will help.”
My heart wilted the tiniest bit. He didn’t actually want to know about me; he was just doing this because he thought it would help his cause. But I could tell by the set of his shoulders that he wouldn’t open the door at his back until I spoke.
“My mom grieved my dad’s death for a long time. She’s still in the thick of it, and it’s been two decades. The way she grieved was by letting everything around her collapse. Our house was a mess unless I cleaned it up. She lost her job. She did the bare minimum to feed and wash herself.” I stared at Jared’s tie, not wanting to see his face. “So when I started putting more effort into my appearance, she took it as a personal insult. She thought it meant I didn’t care about my dad.”
“Because you wore nice clothes?”
I lifted my gaze to his, smiling sadly. “My dad’s passing really messed her up. Messed both of us up. I think she became incapable of seeing me as my own person. Everything I did was interpreted through the lens of her experience and her opinion. My clothing choices had nothing to do with her, but she still had something to say. That made me rebel. Our relationship deteriorated from there.”
Jared held my gaze for a long moment, then dipped his chin. “I’m sorry.”
I shrugged. “It is what it is.”
He huffed, and for a few moments, I felt a connection with him that I hadn’t felt with anyone else. He also knew what it meant to be alone in his family. He had fraught relationships with parents who were supposed to take care of him but hadn’t.
My dad’s death broke my mother. I no longer blamed her, but the truth was that she had failed me. I’d been alone from the moment he passed until now.
Jared knew how that felt. I believed that to my core.
He pushed the door open to reveal the helipad and helicopter beyond. “Ready?” he asked.
I took a deep breath and straightened. “Let’s do this.”
Iris’s POV
I’d never been to the Hamptons, so I didn’t know what to expect. When the helicopter landed on a lawn at the back of a five-acre estate, it took me a minute to realize that the mansion and both other small guest houses were all part of the same property. A tennis court took up the entire backyard of one of the guest houses, lined with perfectly trimmed bushes and trees that had lost most of their leaves. The main mansion was right on the white sand beach, with the water and sky the same color of overcast gray.
This place would be spectacular in the summer and early fall.
New Book: Back Home to Marry Off Myself
Loredana’s father left the family for his mistress, leaving them to fend for themselves abroad. When life was at its toughest, her father showed up with “good news” after 8 years of absence: To marry off Loredana to a paralyzed son of the wealthy Mendelsohn family.