“No, thanks,” Letty said, pulling away from Darius. Ducking her head, she pretended to look through the nearest dress racks, sparsely and expensively filled with garments that seemed to be designed for a size zero.
“We require assistance,” he said.
“Sir?”
He turned to an elegant white-haired woman, apparently the manager, dressed in an expensive-looking tweed suit. “I need a ball gown for my fiancée.”
Fiancée. The word made Letty shiver. But it was true, in a way. She’d agreed to his marriage proposal.
It’s not a real engagement, she told herself firmly. She glanced down at her bare left hand. There was no ring. No ring meant it wasn’t real. Anyway, the engagement would be over before the end of the night.
“Couture or ready-to-wear, Mr. Kyrillos?” The white-haired woman somehow already knew who he was.
“It’s for tonight.”
“We can, of course, do any last-minute alterations that madame may require. If you’ll please come this way?”
They were led to a private area with a white leather sofa and a three-way mirror, as a succession of salesgirls, under the sharp-eyed direction of the manager, brought in clothes.
“She’ll try on everything,” Darius said, standing in front of the sofa as his cell phone rang. Lifting it from his pocket, he told Letty, “Come out when you have something to show me.”
As salesgirls filled her a
rms with gowns and gently pushed her toward the changing room, she hesitated. “What do you want to see?”
Looking her body over slowly, Darius gave her a heavy-lidded sensual smile. “Everything.”
Beneath his hot gaze, somehow, he made her feel like a goddess of sex—even at six months pregnant, in her old T-shirt and jeans!
Darius sat down calmly on the white leather sofa, talking into his phone and sipping champagne. She turned away with a sigh to try on gowns for a ball that she was dreading.
Maybe it wouldn’t be all bad, she tried to tell herself. She couldn’t remember the last time she’d had new clothes. Everything in her closet was either from high school or purchased from the bargain bin at the thrift store. It might be fun to get a dress that was not only pretty, but actually fit.
Then she saw the price tag of the first gown.
Darius looked up expectantly when she came out of the dressing room. His expression changed to a scowl. “Why are you still in your old clothes?”
“The price of these gowns is ridiculous! We can go to the local thrift shop and find a barely used prom dress...”
“Letty.”
“I mean it. It’s foolish for you to throw money away when you might never see me again after tonight.”
“Now you’re talking nonsense.” He tilted his head, looking her over critically. “Are you not feeling well? Are you hungry? Thirsty? Tired?”
She wasn’t going to say a word about being hungry. Wild horses couldn’t drag it out of her!
Her stomach growled again.
“Um. I might have missed breakfast.”
It wasn’t her fault! The baby made her say it!
He looked mad. “You should have told me.” He grabbed a glass of sparkling mineral water from a salesgirl. “Here,” he said gravely, pushing it into her hand. “Start with that. Breakfast or lunch?”
The cool water tasted delicious, and did make her feel slightly better. “Breakfast?”
Turning to one of the hovering assistants, he ordered, “Have a large breakfast sent down from your café.”