Page 43 of Champagne Nights

“No, Ethan. You already paid for my makeup. I can buy myself a dress.”

“It’s going on my account, Aubrey. End of discussion.”

“Is everything okay in here?” the sales associate asked as she walked up.

“Yes. I’ll buy that dress, and she will wear it out of the store.”

“Very good. Just follow me, and I’ll ring you up and remove the sensor and the tags.”

I walked inside the dressing room and grabbed Aubrey’s other clothes.

“Do you need shoes?” I asked.

“No. The white sandals I’m wearing are fine.”

I led her over to the cash register, picked up a piece of paper and a pen, and wrote a note to the sales associate.

“My friend is blind, and I don’t want her to know how much the dress costs. Please do not say the total out loud.” I handed the note to her.

She read it and then looked at me with a smile.

“You can just put the dress on my account. The name is Ethan Klein.”

“You’re all set, Mr. Klein. Thank you for shopping at Bloomingdales.” She nodded her head.

I had the valet bring the car around, and we set out to my parents’ house.

Chapter Sixteen

Aubrey

I was very appreciative of Ethan’s generosity, and he made me feel special. The kind of special that I had never felt before. I was slowly falling for this man, and I didn’t want to, but he was making it impossible with the sweet things he had done for me. I remembered his comment about never wanting a family, which made me curious why he felt that way. Did I dare ask him now? That probably wasn’t a good idea since I didn’t want to stir up anything before arriving at his parents’ house.

“We’re here,” Ethan announced as the car stopped.

“I’m a little nervous.”

“Don’t be. My parents are great people who will welcome you with open arms.”

As Ethan helped me out of the car, my phone rang and alerted me that Ian was calling.

“Let me answer this for a second,” I spoke.

“Go ahead.”

“It’s about time you returned my call,” I answered.

“Oh, sorry. I didn’t know you called. My phone got stolen last night at the club, and I had to get a new one this morning.”

“That’s a bummer.”

“I know. I was just calling to see if you wanted to hang out today. A bunch of us are getting together in Central Park for a barbeque.”

“That sounds great, but I’m spending the day with Ethan. In fact, we just arrived at his parents’ house, so I’ll call you later.”

“Wait. What? You lost me at you were spending the day with Ethan. He called you?”

“Bye, Ian. We’ll talk later.”

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