Page 63 of Moonlit Colorado

Dane’s driver had picked us up in a luxury SUV from the airport, and now we were driving into the heart of Manhattan. Downtown Denver had skyscrapers and an old warehouse district, but this was on another scale altogether.

“You like it?” Dane asked.

“Iloveit,” I breathed.

There was justso much. So many cars, so many people. Gorgeous Gothic architecture and tall, futuristic spires and bridges spanning the water. Trees wearing their vivid fall colors. Sensory overload.

“The shop you liked best on the list is in SoHo. So that’s where we’re heading.”

Dane kept pointing out landmarks along the way, explaining how Manhattan was laid out on a grid and which area was which, but I was too distracted to pay attention to which avenue we were on. I could worry about navigation later. I didn’t want to miss a single tiny detail outside my window.

SoHo was all charming brick buildings, narrow streets, and shoppers filling the sidewalks wearing far edgier outfits than me. I thought I looked good though. I’d worn my favorite jeans, leather boots that I reserved for special occasions, and an untucked white Oxford shirt. Classic and simple.

I’d blow-dried my hair and left it down, but now I was second-guessing my choice to wear my glasses. Of course, my contacts would’ve been killing me in the dry air of the plane. Dane didn’t seem to have a problem with how I looked, though. He kept touching me and giving me that pure-sex grin.

Dane’s driver Ben pulled into an alley, and someone popped out of nowhere to open the door for us. “Right this way, Ms. O’Neal.” A few people on the sidewalk stopped to watch us. One even lifted her phone to take a picture like we were famous.

My head was spinning already.

I realized I had left my purse in the back of the SUV, but then Dane was there, wrapping his arm around my waist and handing me my clutch. He steered me inside the boutique, and the noise of the street faded instantly.

The store was modern and beautiful, full of sunlight that made the white walls and pale wood floor glow. Upbeat music played. I saw lots of pastel colors, which had appealed to me in the online pictures.

Then a well-dressed woman appeared in front of us. “Mr. Knightly, Ms. O’Neal. Welcome. I’m Lisa. We’ve got everything set up for you. Come on back.”

“How did you ever get used to this?” I murmured to Dane as we followed her. “Everyone knowing your name.”

“Everyone knows your name in Silver Ridge.”

“That’s completely different.”

He squeezed my shoulder reassuringly. “Is it though? Anyone can figure out your name. But far fewer actually know the real you.” I glanced over at him, and a bittersweet expression had blanketed his features.

I wondered how many people Dane let in enough to truly know him.

That was when I realized there was nobody else here. We had the entire store to ourselves. “Did you rent this place out?”

“I assume so. Margot took care of it.”

Lisa took us to a cozy area near the back of the store, where a rack of clothes waited, along with two cushy chairs and a table with more champagne. If I kept drinking champagne every time it was offered to me, I’d get very drunk very soon. And I already felt semi-drunk just from how surreal this day was.

“I pulled some pieces in your size that I think you’ll love, Ms. O’Neal,” Lisa said. “But feel free to take a look around the store as well. Have fun. Please let me know when you need me.” She winked and smiled before disappearing.

Dane brought his lips to my ear. “Two rules. First, if you see anything that interests you, try it on. Even if you don’t think you’d want to buy it. Second, no looking at price tags.”

“I can’t not look.”

“But you’ll enjoy this more if you don’t. You trust me, right?” He pressed a soft kiss just behind my ear. I assumed a kiss there didn’t count under his “no kissing” prohibition. But given how kiss-starved I’d been this week, I still nearly melted into the floor. Good thing he had his arm around my waist.

“This is not the kind of thing that happens to me,” I said breathily.

“It does when you’re with me.”

* * *

I took a while picking through the items Lisa had put on the rack. I could admit to being skeptical at first. But there were a ton of cute things that fit my style and personality, except they happened to be made of the softest, most gorgeous fabrics ever invented. The designs leaned toward colder weather, since it was fall, and that was exactly what I needed for both New York and Colorado weather.

I was supposed to be shopping for this trip though, not for my future dream wardrobe back home. I needed something for tonight’s rehearsal dinner, which would be at an uber-upscale restaurant. Then the wedding tomorrow and a brunch on Sunday.

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