“Wh… how?” Gabby says, looking at me again. “This…”
“We’ve been working from photographs of you, taken from your social media profiles,” Millie says, with a confident air. “Even so, I’m proud to say we’re very good at getting the sizing right. We’ve put together a selection of things we think you’ll love, from items that already match your personal style through to a few wildcards which we think will turn you to new possibilities.”
Gabby blinks at the two racks of clothes and accessories in front of us. “You mean – all of those are for me?”
“Yes,” Millie says, smiling as she recognizes Gabby catching on. “You can take home as many or as few of them as you like, though I’d like to think you’ll fall in love with almost all of them. Are you in need of refreshments, by the way? We have a selection of complimentary drinks for you to choose from, and we work with a local bakery to offer some delicacies while you try everything on.”
I pick up the menu resting on the side table next to the chair, but everything is just as I remember it. “I’ll take a couple of those pistachio macarons, to start with,” I say. “And do you have anything for me to read?”
“Of course,” Millie says, inclining her head. “We have today’s Financial Times for you as always.”
“Excellent,” I say, settling in more comfortably. “Well, Gabby. I can’t wait to see you try on the first look.”
We spend the rest of the afternoon in a hazy kind of way, enjoying the drinks and high-quality little bonbons and pastries while Gabby works her way through the whole rack. Every time she steps out of the dressing room my heart races at how stunning she looks, dressed up in the kind of clothing she deserves. Not that there was anything wrong with that white tennis dress – but when clothes are as expensive and well-made as this, it shows.
And I see the smile it puts on her face, too. Even though the doubt is still there – and I’m already anticipating the argument we need to have before I can get her to accept these things as gifts – I see how her face lights up when she sees herself. When she recognizes what I’ve always seen, that she’s the most beautiful woman that has ever existed.
I would pay any amount of money, up to and including the value of every single thing I own and more, just to see that smile on her face more often.
Chapter Seventeen
Gabby
“Seriously, Oz,” I complain, squeezing his hand tighter where it’s entangled with mine on the backseat of the cab. “You shouldn’t have bought all of them.”
“Why not?” Oz asks. He looks at me seriously, his eyes piercing into mine. “I have the money. You look good in all of them. Why shouldn’t I be selfish and want to see you wear them?”
“But you won’t,” I say softly, even though I kind of hate myself for bringing it up. “I can’t possibly wear all of these clothes before I have to go home at the end of the week. You won’t see all of them.”
Oz shrugs, lightheartedly. It makes my hand jump as he shifts. “Then you’ll have to take pictures when you get back home and send them to me.”
My heart drops, just a little bit. When I get back home. No, invite to stay longer, then. Not that I was expecting it or even hoping for it. It’s just – that was the perfect opportunity for him to say it, and he didn’t. Which means it’s not going to happen. In just a few days, I leave here, and I might not come back at all – or if I do, it will be months from now, and he’ll probably have moved on by then.
“You’re going to ship all of this back with me?” I ask, pretending not to notice what he said or that it hasn’t affected me. “I don’t know if it will fit in my suitcase.”
“Of course, I’ll arrange for it to join you,” he says with a smile. “Wouldn’t be much of a gift if you had to pay excess luggage fees to enjoy it.”
I glance out of the window and realize we’re pulling up in front of a huge glass and stone building, an impressive modern construction right by the river. The driver is stopping, so I guess this is where we’re headed. “Is this where you live?” I ask.
“Yep,” Oz replies, leaning over quickly to pay the fare, giving me a grin. “Ready to come up and see it?”
I remember why we’re here, and the excitement rushes back through my body again. “I’m ready,” I say, even though the trembling nerves inside me aren’t quite sure.
Even if they aren’t, something else is. The heat pooling in the bottom of my stomach in anticipation of what's to come.