Page 15 of The Don's Prisoner

He shook his head and pinched the bridge of his nose.

“So, you haven't actually dated anyone since the eighth grade?”

“No,” I admitted and leaned on the counter too, mirroring Felix. “Is that bad?”

“Well, if you want to go into a marriage and make it work… yeah, kinda,” he answered and took a swig from his own crystal glass. “Women, strong women, don’t exactly appreciate being told what to do.”

“Well... we will just have to see about that,” I said and finished my drink.

Two hours later, I was sitting in my Lamborghini outside of a wedding dress shop called Happily Ever After. Funny enough, her telling me she had to work made things a lot easier for me. All I had to do was ask Derek and Sawyer where they had picked her up the other day, as they had mentioned that they were heading to her work. However, I also could have easily tracked down where she lived, if I had needed to.

The front of the store was lined with windows displaying mannequins dressed in elegant gowns and tuxedos. Above the main door was a neon pink sign with elegant letters forming the name of the store. As I watched, I could see many people walking around inside, which meant that at least some of the cars in the parking lot, if not most, were for that store.

It’s always good to know that a business that rents from us is doing well.

I got out of the car and walked to the front door, straightening my suit. I loved my black Lambo, but when I got in and out of the thing too many times, it had a habit of causing creases in my suits. It was totally worth it, though. I wouldn’t trade in my car for anything. My father gave it to me when I graduated high school.

I entered the building and looked around at the racks upon racks of white fluff and silky fabric. Everything was white and soft-looking except for the far corner where the black and white of men’s suits accompanied bored-looking grooms lounging on the couches there while their brides shopped.

Directly ahead were the fitting rooms. I knew this because there was a sign hanging from the ceiling that pointed at a fake living room setup with a series of doors surrounding it in a horseshoe pattern. There were white and pink rugs on the floors with light gray couches facing each other so that everyone sitting could see the pedestal in the center. Each door had a mirror on it so that if someone were standing on the pedestal, they could see their reflection from any angle.

It was an interesting setup, not that I knew anything about weddings or wedding dress shopping.

A woman approached me with a sweet cherub-like face that was framed by light pink hair. She wore a blue dress that went past her knees, and she was holding a tablet in front of her like it was her lifeline.

“Good afternoon! May I help you with anything?” she asked in a very nice but strong voice. Not what I had expected from her. It must be her customer service mask.

“Actually, I think you can…” I looked at the name tag pinned to her chest. “Caroline. See, I’m looking for my fiancée.”

“Oh!” she squeaked and looked around the room as if she would be able to find her without asking anything else about her. “Umm… What's her name? I can look her up and see if she is in a dressing room or something.”

I smiled my best smile at her and leaned forward, putting my hands in my pockets. I could feel a lock of hair come loose from my carefully gelled coiffure and fall to just above my eyes. It drove me nuts, but apparently, chicks dug it. And Caroline was no exception because I could see her breath physically catch in her chest as her eyes darted to the movement.

“Well, actually I believe she works here. Maybe you know her? Victoria?”

Caroline blinked and looked at the tablet.

“Umm… we don’t have a…” she started, then she looked back up at me with wide eyes. “You mean Victoria Aldi? The owner and designer?”

Designer, huh? Well, then. She was beautiful, business-minded, and creative. She just kept getting better and better.

“Yes! Where is my little cupcake this afternoon? I am here to whisk her away to on lunch date.” I told Caroline and her wide eyes went a little smaller with her smile.

“Oh, that sounds so romantic! I am so glad she dumped Rex. I thought he was a tool, always telling people online that he was single even after they agreed to be exclusive. Wow, I can’t believe you guys are getting married already! That was fast!” she blurted, then immediately backtracked, waving her hands as if it would help stave off my dislike of what she had just said. “Not… that… it’s a bad thing… I only mean…”

“No worries, Caroline,” I stopped her. “I know it’s fast, but I’m just one of those people who knows what they want and goes after it without hesitation. I guess Victoria liked that in me, which was why she said ‘yes’.”

“You must be some guy to get her to say ‘yes’! I was under the impression that she was going to stay single forever. She always said that her career came first, and she had no time for relationships. I always thought it was sad, you know? Being the owner and designer of so many happy endings for others, and not ending up with one of her own? That just didn’t seem fair.”

“It’s not,” I agreed, loving how easily Caroline was sharing this information with me. I really needed to thank her some time. But not now, because that would give away too much of the actual situation. But soon. She deserved it.

“Well, I’ll stop talking your ear off now. I’m just so happy for her. She’s in her office,” she pointed to the left. “Down the hall around the racks of dresses. It’s a glass box, you can’t miss it.”

“Thank you,” I said and reached for her hand. She was startled when I pulled it to my lips, and I watched her expression as I gently kissed the top of it. Caroline was putty in my hands.

Now if only her boss could be as easy to entice.

“Can I ask you one more favor, Caroline?” I said, letting go of her hand and pretending I didn’t see the flush in her cheeks.

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