Page 52 of Fashionista's Playbook

“I’ll take it.”

“Sir, this piece has natural red diamonds. They are unique and—”

“Amy. Open the case and show the necklace.” The little asshole who’d given Moriah a hard time stepped from the back with a look of apologetic horror on his face. “A wonderful choice, Mr. Madera. And I found that watch. We’ve had it cleaned and the diamonds graded.”

“I’ll take them both.”

“Of course.” He nudged Amy to the side.

I caught her gaze and held it as the little cogs went to work. Her dark eyes slid up and down my body, taking in that the way I was built fit with who she thought I was. When it did, she retreated. The punch of satisfaction was petty, but I didn’t care.

“My apologies, Mr. Madera. But she’s new, we are still training her.” He said after packaging both and sliding my credit card.

I took everything from him and grinned. “What wasyourexcuse, when the young lady who sold you this, helped me pick out a watch?”

It didn’t say much about my maturity that I smiled all the way out the door.

****

Moriah was a Siren sent to lure me into…whatever she wanted.

The swishing blues and greens danced across the fabric of her off-the-shoulder dress like a mermaid. The material hugged tight across her breasts and slipped down over her hips to the high cut up her left leg. Every angle caught my attention and left me itching to run my hands up the material.

I ran my hand over my face and gulped in a breath. She made my chest tight, hard to breathe.

Her blonde hair was down, pinned to one side and draped elegantly over her bare shoulder, leaving the pale, smooth column of her throat bare. The urge to lick the spot where her pulse beat, then kiss my way up to her lips hit me square in the groin.

When my pants tightened, I focused on other things, like how important this night was for Travis’ kids. And how I knew just the thing to place on her neck.

“Here, I have something for you.” My fingers shook a bit as I pulled a long, velvet box from my pocket. Yeah, it was a hellishly expensive gift. But she’d worked so hard on this project for me. She deserved something special. I’d planned to give her the watch tonight, but this… I couldn’t resist.

When she glanced down, befuddled surprise etched on her pretty face, I flipped it open.

“Oh Travis, no, I can’t—”

The multi-colored butterfly pendant twinkled in the light cast from the chandelier in the foyer, giving the effect that the wings were fluttering.

“Yeah, you can. Without you, I couldn’t have made it happen. This is my way of saying thanks.” I couldn’t help but smile as she softened, her eyes trained on the sparkling piece. “I saw it and thought of you.”

For me, things with Moriah weren’t just about sex. I’d slowed down from our first night. Taking it slow, flirting—courting her. The way my father treated my mother. Moriah deserved that.

The hollow spot in my chest ached, but I pushed it away. Being with Moriah made everything feel right. I didn’t want to ruin it by letting in all thewhat ifs.

With a deft touch, I slipped the necklace from the case and deposited the case on the table by the door. My fingers had stopped shaking by the time I draped the piece around her neck.

Demurely, to my pleasure, she held her hair up and let me fasten the pendant.

It shimmered and dangled against the hollow of her throat.

“It’s amazing,” she whispered with a touch of awe.

“Yeah, really something.” But I wasn’t talking about the necklace. My gaze was trained on the beautiful woman in front of me. And not just because I wanted to spend the night lost inside of her. I was beginning to picture what it would be like to share my life with her.

I’d never done that, not with any woman. The unsettling nature of my thoughts forced me to shut them out and reach for her hand.

“Shall we, Mariposa?”

The smile she shot me made every bit of money I spent on the butterfly necklace worth it.

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