CHAPTER 23
LIAM

I’d never owned a suit before. I grew up too poor to have one as a child and when I enlisted in the Navy, I simply wore my dress whites to formal events. I’d been to a couple of balls and guarded a couple of charity events but nothing spectacular. I’d never been to a fancy dinner or anything like that. I drove us into town but, beyond that, I had no idea where we were going. Whitney was pulling up something on her phone as I drove along the slushy roads and, soon, she began giving me directions.

“Turn here. Pull over there. Get in the left lane; you’re about to miss it.”

With every turn, she grew more and more excited and I smiled at her reactions. When she got excited, her cheeks turned rosy. Her voice got louder and louder and she wiggled around in her seat. It was like she turned into this joyful little child and, as we pulled into the parking lot of a place I didn’t recognize, she practically threw herself out of my truck.

“Come on!” she exclaimed.

Shaking my head, I followed behind her into the shop. Coats and pants and button-down shirts covered the entire place. There were rolls of fabrics attached to the walls and ties that hung off racks. There were even shoes that lined an entire wall toward the back of the shop. Taking my hand, she pulled me to the front of the store and up toward the counter where a man dressed in a three-piece, all-black suit was there to greet us.

“Welcome to Custom Clothiers. My name is Trey. How can I help?”

“We need a suit fitting for this guy right here,” Whitney said.

“That is something we can get done for you,” Trey said. “Any particular pieces?”

“We need an entire ensemble, complete with a tie and shoes,” she said.

Trey nodded. “Any particular style? Lapels? Pants? Any specific colors?”

Whitney looked up at me and I shrugged.

“Never owned a suit before,” I said.

“Oh, a virgin,” Trey said. “Perfect.”

“Been a long time since I’ve been called that,” I mumbled.

Trey came out from behind the desk and led us into a room. The door shut behind us and I was prompted to step up onto a podium where a woman took my measurements. She strung a measuring tape down my arms and all the way up my legs. Around my waist and chest. Even around my neck. I had no idea what the fuck was going on but Whitney standing in the corner smiling helped me to relax

She was enjoying all of this and I wanted to see her smile.

“A big boy you got here,” the woman said.

“Don’t I know it,” Whitney said.

I shot her a look and all she could do was giggle.

“All right,” the woman said. “Got his measurements. You want to pick out some things or is the missus doing it?”

“He can stay here,” Whitney said. “I’ll go get him some things. What are they?”

The woman rattled off numbers I still didn’t really know anything about and Whitney was off. I stood there on the podium like an idiot while the woman tried to slide off my shoe. She was looking at it as if it was a foreign object. It was odd.

“There a size in this thing?” she asked.

“Fourteen wide,” I said.

“Of course, you are. I’ll be right back.”

Just as the woman exited the room, Whitney came barreling back in. She was holding coats and pants and button-down shirts of every color and I wondered how in hell’s name she had gathered them so quickly. She sat them down on a chair before she handed me a pair of pants. Then she stepped back and folded her arms across her chest.

“Go ahead. Put them on.”

“You’re just gonna stand there and watch?” I asked.

“Would you like me to go and leave you alone with your new girlfriend?” she asked, grinning.

The woman promptly came back to the room with boxes of shoes in her arms and Whitney rushed over to help her.

I had no idea how many pants and coats and shirts I tried on but, soon, they were dwindling down. We were all trying to choose between a black suit and a gray suit but, honestly, I didn’t really care. Whitney fell in love with this dark blue shirt that popped my eyes or some shit and the pair of shoes the measuring tape woman picked out would go with both of the suits.

Or so Whitney said.

“I just don’t know,” the woman said. “They both look good on him.”

“It happens when you’re as handsome as him,” Whitney said.

“Well,” the woman said. “I can’t choose. Either will suit him just fine.”

Whitney giggled at the joke but all that I did was shake my head.

“Let’s go with the gray one then,” I said.

“But I really like that black one,” Whitney said.

“Then we’ll do that one.”

“But the gray one just accentuates your shoulders so well,” Whitney said.

“Then get the gray one,” I said.

“Ugh, why are you so handsome?” she asked. I shrugged, uncomfortable with the attention.

“Well, that settles that,” she said.

“Did we settle on something?” I asked.

“We’re just gonna have to get both.”

“What?” I asked.

“Yep, rule one of shopping: if you have two perfectly good outfits that look wonderful and you can’t choose, get them both,” Whitney said.

“I’m pretty sure that’s not a rule anywhere,” I said.

“It is when you’re with me,” she said.

“Yes, ma’am.”

She turned around and caught my gaze before a small little smile crawled across her face. If I didn’t know any better, I would’ve said her demeanor was illuminated a little more than usual. Her eyes seemed to sparkle a bit brighter and her shoulders were a little more rolled back. She seemed more confident and, had I not nursed her back to health myself, I wouldn't have even known she’d been injured.

“I’ll take these and get them rung up,” the woman said.

“I’ll be out there in a second,” Whitney said.

“I’m gonna put my clothes back on,” I said. “Can I do that now?”

“Don’t ask me,” the woman said. “Ask her.”

Whitney giggled incessantly while the woman with the measuring tape gathered everything up in her arms and left.

“Can I get dressed now?” I asked.

“I don’t know. I’m kinda liking the view.”

“How much do you like it?” I asked.

“Enough to get you back to the cabin earlier than I’d expected,” she said.

“Sounds perfect to me.”

I quickly threw my clothes back on before I dragged Whitney out of the room. Her laughter was filling the corners of the shop as Trey rang us up at the desk. Whitney stopped him from calling out the price before she shielded the debit card kiosk from me and I shook my head in defeat. She swiped her card and paid for everything while the woman was zipping up the suits in a holder for us, giggling like a schoolgirl as she did so.

“I can’t wait for dinner tonight,” she said. “It’ll be exciting to figure out which one you pick.”

“And I can’t wait to see you in this ensemble you just naturally packed for a trip away in the mountains,” I said.

Whitney grabbed all the bags from the woman but I promptly took them from her.

“Liam,” she said.

“You paid. I carry. Come on.”

We walked them out to my truck and hung them up. Whitney slid into the seat so we could head back, which was when I got a really good look at where we were. We were in a strip mall that was lined with beautiful little shops and there was a part of me that just wanted to walk around. Being cooped up in that cabin didn’t afford me the time to explore the town I’d settled into. Before I’d met Whitney, that had been just fine with me, but now, something inside me had shifted and I didn’t feel so closed off. I closed my truck door and turned to Whitney.

“What are you doing?” she asked.

But all I did was hold out my hand.

I helped her down from her seat and we started ambling down the strip. There were candy shops and clothing shops. There was a trinket shop and an antique store. There was an art studio and a glass-blowing studio and there was even a leather shop.

But there was one shop in particular that caught Whitney’s eye.

We passed by a shop with beautiful dresses hanging in the window. One was strapless and blue, fitting tightly to the body before it fluttered around the mannequin’s ankles. One was long-sleeved, gray, and very Grecian. However, as Whitney walked up toward the glass and started studying the green dress, I knew I’d have to get it for her.

The way she pressed her hand to the glass tugged at something inside me.

It was a beautiful dress. It had a soft shimmer to it and cascaded all the way to the floor. The straps of the dress sat off the shoulders of the mannequin and had this neckline that seemed to fit women with voluptuous bosoms like Whitney had. Her eyes danced along the soft fabric of the dress as a soft smile crossed her face and I simply couldn’t stand it any longer.

I walked up to her and took her hand before I started walking her into the store.

“Where are we going?” she asked.

“Into the store,” I said.

“I don’t need to go in there,” she said. “Plus, we need to get back and start getting ready for dinner.”

“After I buy you that dress, sure.”

“Liam, you don’t have to buy me anything.”

I stopped us in our tracks and turned toward her before I slowly threaded my arm around her waist.

“Rule number one when shopping with me: if you stare at something for more than ten seconds, you get it.”

The smile that slowly ignited upon her cheeks swelled my chest with warmth.

“Okay, under one condition,” she said.

“There are no conditions,” I said. “I’m buying you that dress.”

“I wasn’t about to argue that moot point, if you’d just listen,” she said.

“Then speak away, beautiful.”

The blush that crept into her cheeks prompted me to press a kiss to the tip of her nose.

“I get to buy matching shoes to go along with it,” she said. “None of the shoes I packed will match a dress like that.”

“Whitney, not only was I going to get you matching shoes, I was also going to get you matching lingerie.”

The way her jaw dropped and the way her eyes widened caused a grin to tug at my cheeks. I dipped my face toward hers and slowly encompassed her lips, pulling a whimper from her throat that vibrated my cheeks. My arms cloaked her back as her tongue danced against mine, and soon, the entire world fell far behind us. I pressed her back into the glass, determined to taste her again when my body wanted her most.

“Liam, we’re in public,” she said against my lips.

“Then let them see,” I said.

My head tilted off to the side while her arms slid around my neck. I could hear people passing behind us, their voices dimming to whispers and murmurs as I lavished Whitney with the attention she deserved. I felt my heart fluttering in my chest with each ministration her lips granted me. I could feel a burden being lifted from my shoulders with every second that passed.

This city gal with country roots was slowly prying open a place I’d kept closed off from people for two solid years.

Even as the cold and ice blanketed the landscape of our little city, I felt as if she was warming the ice I’d clothed myself in. This wonderful woman who came into my life by rolling down a hill and twisting her ankle had somehow managed to twist her way into a dark place that hadn’t seen light in years.

The question was, would she stay once she realized the type of man I actually was?