Brikelle was an interesting mix of excited and nervous for their shopping trip Monday night. She had no clue what clothing or styles would impress a bunch of wealthy people, and she felt really awkward about Colt buying them for her. It was obvious he wasn’t hurting for money, but still it didn’t feel right for her to be a charity case for him. Her dad wouldn’t like it. No matter how tight things had gotten on the farm, her family had never taken a handout. She could remember winters surviving on milk, meat, cheese, homemade wheat bread, and what they could process from their garden, but survive they did.

Her phone rang as she was driving back from Emma’s house to her apartment to get ready to go tonight. If she wore the same pencil skirt with a different top, would that just scream to him that he definitely needed to buy her clothes? He might think she would wear this same outfit to Emma’s party this weekend and really embarrass herself. The skirt was a great one that she’d found on the clearance rack at Macy’s. It fit her well and it was Anne Klein. Wasn’t that a nice brand?

She fumbled for her phone as it rang again and hurried to swipe it to accept the call. “Hello?”

“Girl! Where have you disappeared to? I go away for my graduation trip and you just up and leave the valley without my permission.”

“Caimbre. How was Europe?” She’d missed her friend these past few weeks.

“Oh, friend. I can’t even describe how fabulous it was. The castles, the scenery, the food, the men.” She sighed dramatically. Everything with Caimbre was dramatic, but Brikelle absolutely loved her. They’d roomed together their freshman year because neither of them started school with someone they knew, and they’d been inseparable their entire college experience. Except for summers, when Brikelle would go home to work on the farm and save up money, and Caimbre would travel the world with her ultra-wealthy parents. Brikelle mostly ignored the unfairness of life, because Caimbre was such a great friend and didn’t rub it in too much.

“Where are you?” Caimbre demanded. “Did you go home? I thought you were working for that design company that you were so excited about.”

“I am. There was a lot of work up Ogden Canyon in Eden and Huntsville, so I got an apartment up here to work for the summer, maybe longer.” She looked around at the picturesque valley. It wasn’t Europe, but the lush greenery and scenic lake made her feel like she was on a vacation and she was really enjoying her summer, especially a certain cabinet maker’s company.

“Good for you! Any hot men?”

“Um, yum—I mean, yes.”

“Yum? Oh, this I have to hear about.”

“Yeah, he’s definitely yum. Colt is doing the cabinets for the house I’m decorating. That man is the epitome of hot construction worker.”

Caimbre giggled.

“He owns the business and he’s pretty amazing.”

“You like this Colt, I take it?”

“I like him a lot.”

“Yeah, baby!”

“Hey.” Brikelle pulled into her driveway and popped out of her old car, standing in the sun for a minute. “I need to look fabulous this weekend for a party I’m going to.”

“A nighttime party or what?”

“Like an all-weekend party with a bunch of richies. If I impress them I’ll get a bunch more work and it’d be amazing.”

“Oh, gotcha. So not a party-party. A weekend house, stuffy people party?”

“Yeah. At Emma Jensen’s new house. That’s who I’m decorating for right now.”

Caimbre gave a low whistle. “Whoa. Good job, girl. Emma’s a sweetie. She runs in my parents’ circles sometimes.”

“She is. She’s really fun to work for and she’s kind of promised more work if this weekend goes well.” She paused and knew she’d regret it, but then she had to spit it out to her best friend. “I also have to pretend I’m married to Colt.”

“What?”

“Yeah. Everything got kind of twisted.”

“Oh, my. Sounds like this is going to be a really fun weekend.”

“For sure.” The sound of a motor tugged at her attention. Colt’s white truck rolled into the driveway. “I’ve got to go. He’s here.”

“Okay, good luck! Oh, and go to White House, Black Market. Classy and great quality. You’ll look fabulous, but won’t look like you’re trying too hard.”

“Thanks. Love you.”

“Love you too!”

Colt hopped down from the truck and grinned at her as she pocketed her phone. “Let’s shop!”

Brikelle laughed. “Didn’t figure the tough construction man would like shopping.”

“Oh, I don’t, but I get to be with you.”

Brikelle strode up to him and planted a kiss on his lips. “Thank you! This is so nice of you.”

Colt kissed her again. “If you’ll promise to model, then I think it’ll ease the pain a little bit.”

She kind of loved that he was so attracted to her. The thought of modeling for him warmed her cheeks. They were getting really good at this fake-married act.

* * *

Colt was relieved Brikelle requested White House, Black Market. His sisters had told him that was the best spot for really high-quality women’s clothing.

They drove to Salt Lake City and into the City Creek shopping district, situated in the middle of downtown. Brikelle seemed a bit uncomfortable at first, but she explained that her friend had told her this was the store to go to and the saleswomen were fabulous with her. Colt sat in a comfy chair by the changing room and watched as they brought her armloads of clothes and she kept coming out to model. When she walked out with a blousy black shirt and some floral print shorts that showcased her legs very nicely, helped out by strappy black-heeled sandals, he couldn’t hold in a whistle of appreciation. She shimmied her hips and did a little dance, and Colt lost the ability to breathe for a few seconds.

“I don’t care what you say,” he finally muttered. “We’re buying everything you have on.”

The saleswoman beamed. “Your husband is a keeper.”

Brikelle blushed. Colt wondered why everyone assumed that they were married, especially since neither of them wore a ring. He should buy her a ring of some sort. He liked that people assumed they were married. Hopefully that meant they really did have sparks between them. Crazy that he’d only known her for a week and not liked her at all when he first met her.

She strode back to the dressing room. Colt lifted out of his seat and pivoted to watch her go. Those legs were great.

“Your wife is a beauty,” the saleswoman said.

“She is.”

“And so sweet. I love working with women like her.”

Colt nodded. He decided shopping was a great pastime as he watched her model dresses, skirts, shorts, and loved every minute of it. “What about a swimming suit?” he asked the saleslady.

“Oh, we don’t carry suits. I’d suggest Athleta.”

“Thanks.” The saleslady had kept everything that he’d said he liked and there was quite a pile by the checkout desk.

“Did you get a bunch that you liked too?” Colt asked Bri. Everything in the pile looked like the clothes he’d preferred on her. He didn’t care which clothes he bought for her; they’d all looked great and he just wanted her to be secure in the way she looked.

“I liked the same ones you did.”

He studied her. “Bri. I want you to be comfortable and confident in the clothes you choose.”

“You’re paying for it, and unfortunately I can read numbers on price tags,” she whispered.

The saleswomen were now gathered around the counter, watching the two of them. Colt smiled at them, but pulled her gently away. “Bri, I don’t care what the prices are. I want you to get whatever you like.”

“All of the ones you wanted are far too much.”

He ignored that. “But was there anything I didn’t pick that you liked?”

She glanced down. “There was one dress.”

“Grab it. Which one?”

She looked at the saleslady. “Can you please get the sleeveless white with the small black polka dots?”

The lady’s face lit up. “The fit and flare. I loved that on you.” She hurried back to the changing room, returning with the dress.

Colt remembered the dress too. “I loved that on you too,” he murmured near Bri’s ear.

“Why didn’t you say something?”

“I loved everything on you. Should we buy it all?”

“No!” She blushed; then she leaned up and kissed his cheek. “Thank you.”

The gesture was sweet and innocent, and her gratitude made him fall just a bit deeper for her. Obviously, she hadn’t had much money in her life, and she’d been so cute throughout the modeling show. They waited while the ladies totaled and bagged the clothes. The clerk started to say a total, but Colt cut her off with a quick shake of his head and thrust a credit card into her hands.

He was loaded down with bags as they walked out into the sunshine. “Now I get to watch you model swimsuits.” He pumped his eyebrows. “This is the best shopping trip ever.”

Brikelle rolled her eyes at him. “I can choose a suit quick. I bet I won’t even have to try it on. You’ve spent too much on me already.”

“I’d be happy to break the bank if it made you happy.”

“Who knew you were a big old softy?”

“Don’t let it get out. My crew would riot.”

She laughed. “We still need to find you clothes.”

“Naw. I can wear whatever.”

She pushed at him. “You liar! You claimed you needed this shopping trip.”

He quirked an eyebrow at her, then sighed. “My sisters would say I definitely do. Okay, here’s the plan. You model suits, then we eat at Cheesecake Factory. After that, we’ll run into Hugo or Nordstrom and buy me some stuff.”

“I get to sit in the chair and watch you model, then.”

“I don’t think it will be nearly as fun for you as it was for me.”

“Think again.”

He laughed. “I wish I could set all these bags down and kiss you right now, my beautiful wife.”

“You’re getting way too comfortable with that.”

“Kissing you?”

“No. Wife.”

“Just practicing, pretty girl.” He winked and followed her into the swimsuit store.