I rolled my eyes, slippin
g behind the curtain to put my clothes back on.
We continued through the mall, making our way to the opposite end until we’d arrived at a men’s specialty clothing store.
I caught a glimpse of a tag on our way inside. Expensive. I had no idea how a T-shirt could cost one hundred and twenty dollars.
The store was empty, except for us and a dark-haired man standing behind a counter.
“Marco?” Grace sang the man’s name.
“Grace.” I did not like the smile that lit up his face when he saw her. Not one bit. “It’s been way too long.”
She hugged him, a little closer, a little tighter than I would have liked. He was just an average-looking guy with dark hair and brown eyes. A prominent nose and chiseled jaw.
“Marco Tonelli…” Grace gestured between us. “This is Ben Lockwood and we are in need of a suit.”
Marco held out his hand. “Nice to meet you, bro.”
I was civil, returning his handshake, but quickly pulled away when Grace kissed his cheek.
“Let me get my measuring tape and we’ll start.” Marco excused himself and we were left alone.
“So, how do you know Marco?” I hated the tone of my voice. It was curt. Distrusting.
She placed my jacket along with her coat and purse behind the counter. She was comfortable here. She knew this place. And with the greeting they’d given each other there was only one conclusion…
“I’ve known Marco for a very long time. Everly knows him, too, because he went to our high school.”
I had jumped to the most logical conclusion, that she’d had sex with him. Would there ever be a time when that wasn’t my first thought?
“I’ve been with a lot of rich businessmen and they prefer expensive things. Like suits. You need to look the part, right? You need a good suit and Marco and his father are the best tailors in the city.”
I laughed to myself. “You had no intention of buying anything in those other stores, did you?”
“Nope.” She giggled. “But it was fun.”
Marco returned, a measuring tape around his neck and a pincushion with many dangerous-looking sharp objects sticking out of it.
If she brought her clients here, then that meant Marco knew about her previous occupation.
“So, he…” I looked between them, waiting for one of them to respond. Marco just looked away.
“Marco knows about me. It was sort of obvious when I’d bring in a different guy every couple of weeks.”
“Grace is good for business.” He looked up, a sympathetic smile. “Was good.”
“I’m still going to be schmoozing corporates.” She sidled up to him, resting her head on his shoulder. “Don’t worry, Marco, I’ll keep referring.”
With a knot in my stomach, I turned away and stepped onto the circular pedestal in front of a three-way mirror. Marco took his time measuring my shoulders, arms, neck, and waist. Then he crouched and worked his way up my legs, making me more uncomfortable the closer he got to…
He went for the inseam. I had no problem with men getting it on. There had been many times while filming that situations escalated into the bisexual category. Still, I was uncomfortable with the idea of a man touching my junk.
Thankfully, he didn’t. He was surprisingly discreet and when he stood and spat out an “all done,” I let out the breath I hadn’t even known I was holding in.
The whole time, Grace was on her phone. Another thing I didn’t know why I let bother me. I couldn’t help but feel like she would rather be somewhere else. Even worse, there was also a part of me that wondered if she was making dates with other men.
“What kind of suit are you thinking of?” Marco asked, looking at me with an easy smile.