Page 42 of The Geek and the Sheikh

Her lips twitched at Jameel’s low, terse response. She knew about Genevieve Dupont… and Krystal Wise, Flora del la Cruz, Harriet Marker, and the long list of Jameel’s companions. Between her online sleuthing and the tabloid magazines Midnight used to bring home to her, she knew that Jameel hadn't been celibate.

Hedefinitelywasn't afraid to live life… a love life, anyway.

The thought made her pause before she shrugged it off. She had lived, just differently. Now, she was expanding outside her comfort zone. She was proud of the fact that she hadn’t had a single panic attack… yet.

She pushed aside several dresses. They were beautiful… but not her style. She was ready to move on when soft feathers caressed her skin. Pushing aside several dresses, she realized there was a second rack pushed to the side.

“Now this is more like it,” she muttered with a grin.

She found a pair of lavender pants with tiny diamond sequins creating a pattern that ran down one leg all the way to the flared cuff. Giddy at finding such a prize, she pulled the first rack out of the way so she could get a better view. She pulled out the pants and held them up to her. They would be too long. Disappointment coursed through her. Even with a pair of high-heel boots, she would still be walking on the cuffs.

She placed the pants back on the rack, a little deflated at her loss. There was a bright pink, fuzzy waistcoat. She pulled it off the hanger and slid it on. It was a perfect fit! Bolstered by her find, she continued searching. She found a white Victorian corset style blouse that would go perfect with the lavender pants that didn’t fit. It had a scooped neck with a tiny row of pearl buttons down the front, a silk ribbon tie in the back, and delicate lace hanging in layers from the hem.

“I see that you have found something that you like?” Madame Monet said, startling her.

“Yes.”

“To go with it, perhaps you would like the lavender pants with nearly fifteen hundred Swarovski crystals handsewn to form intricate patterns,” Madame Monet said, pulling the lavender pants out and holding them up.

“They’re too long,” she mumbled, picking up a lime green blouse embroidered with flowers of every shape and color. She held it up in front of her and studied her reflection in the mirror. “I like this one.”

“Ah, yes, bright colors do go well with your coloring. If you would like to try on the lavender trousers, I can have them tailored to fit you within a few hours,” Madame Monet offered.

“For real?” she asked, almost afraid to hope.

"Yes," Madame Monet promised, her stern expression softening as her eyes crinkled with humor. “There is very little here that my husband cannot do his magic on.”

Junebug held a stunning sequined purple gown with a long streak of rainbow colors against her chest. The purple feathers lining the sleeveless dress tickled her nose.

“Oh, yes, please. Then, he can make this fit and this… and this,” Junebug said, piling all the pieces she had fallen in love with into the other woman’s arms. “Can you please let me know how much it is going to be?”

“Oh… I thought… Prince Jameel....” Madame Monet said, looking with confusion at the dressing room where Jameel had disappeared.

Junebug lifted her chin. “I pay for my own clothes. I don’t even let my sister do that. I’ve got some money stashed away,” she replied in a firm tone.

“If he tries to pay for them, I don’t want them,” she added for good measure.

She wasn’t going to start off this relationship with one of them at a disadvantage. If there was one thing her mom had always stood firm with Harlem on, it was not accepting gifts. Rainbow had been as fiercely independent as she had been unorthodox.

“But… what if you’re married? Can you accept gifts then?”she remembered asking.

Her mom had laughed and said that in that case, the rules changed. She didn't really understand what that meant, but it wasn’t like she had a lot of experience with people who were married.

“I’ll make sure that I keep them separate,” Madame Monet promised.

“Thank you. I’ll try these on, though I have no idea how I’m going to carry them with everything going on,” Junebug muttered.

“I can have them delivered,” Madame Monet said with a smile.

“Oh, okay. I’m not sure what the address is,” Junebug replied.

“I’ll ask his lordship,” Madame Monet said.

Junebug nodded, gathered the pile of clothing she had picked out, and stepped behind the curtain. Twenty minutes later, she returned, holding the items she wanted. Madame Monet had joined her twice to mark where alterations needed to be done. It was only the purple evening gown and lavender pants that required alterations. Madame Monet would send the outfits to Jawahir. The others fit her perfectly.

Junebug traced her fingers over her laptop that was lying on top of her pile of clothing. The laptop and her personal documents were the only thing they had taken from her backpack. Yahya and the other two men had taken everything else as part of the decoy.

She absently listened to Madame Monet and Jameel discuss a way to carry their new belongings. Madame Monet murmured that she would retrieve a suitable bag for them.

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