AllFreeNovel
Share Us
‘What do you mean, not appropriate? All your clothes are appropriate.’
‘Not for a black tie event.’ She whirled to face him, her golden eyes glittering—killing him. ‘I don’t have a fairy godmother. There’s no one to give me a makeover to go to the ball.’
‘You don’t need a makeover,’ he said automatically, still stunned by her eyes. ‘You’re perfect as you are.’
But now those eyes filled again. ‘Don’t say that.’
‘It’s true.’ He stood, needing to get it through to her somehow—like with a battering ram or something. ‘I’m not making it up, Kelsi. I’d be proud to have you walk in with me.’
She stared at him as if he was a lunatic. The ants danced down his spine some more. And his instinct told him he needed to get her out of there, that he needed to take her with him. ‘Just go and get dressed. Wear any of your dresses—all of them at once if you want,’ he joked lightly. ‘Just come out and have some fun.’
He breathed in, waiting. But she seemed to be waiting, too.
‘Please.’ Did the sound come out on that or had he just thought he’d said it? He really wasn’t sure because his mouth had all dried up.
But she’d turned. She’d walked.
And he was waiting.
Kelsi went back to the bathroom and breathed in deep. Jack wasn’t going without her. That was clear. But she didn’t have a ball gown and there’d be all those amazing sportswomen there with their strong, fit bodies and their tanned skin and their glamorous hair and make-up. And she just couldn’t believe his ‘you’re perfect’ line. Too smooth.
Too tempting.
And worse still, she couldn’t put in any contacts now. Her eyes were sore and red from crying and they’d only water more if she tried to put them in. She was going to have to go out with naked eyes. She hadn’t done that in such a long time.
She should feign illness. Plead exhaustion.
Except there was that yearning—reaching up from her most secret self. She really did want to go. To go out with him just the once. To be the one on his arm even for only one night. To be the one he wanted to be with.
And she was too tired to fight the fantasy.
She turned the shower on and jumped in, quickly washing away the stains of the day. She twisted her hair up, hiding the worst of it and skimming some make-up over her face. Then she went in search of a frock.
He was standing at the lounge window when she emerged from her bedroom. And, yeah, it was the fantasist in her that saw his whole face light up.
He held the door open for her. ‘What do you call this?’ He brushed the feather she’d pinned in to half hide the mess of hair exploding from her high ponytail as she walked past him.
‘A fascinator.’
‘Very appropriate.’
See—his charm would see him win every time.
He’d called a cab and it was already outside. Nervously, she tucked her dress in close so its skirt wouldn’t get caught in the door. It was one of her long ones, of course. But she’d skipped a few layers—including her bra—because it had a peephole in the centre of her back. For once she let it peep all the way to skin, not another layer. And her arms were bare. She basically felt naked.
‘You’re going to meet some of the guys. I have to warn you they can be a bit extreme,’ he said as he joined her in the back seat.
‘In what way?’ She tried to keep her breathing regular.
‘Oh, you know, a bit crazy.’
‘You have to be crazy to do what you do.’
‘Yeah, the snowboarding table is always at the back of the room.’
‘So if you make too much noise it’s not so far to throw you out?’
‘Not me.’ He laughed. ‘Them.’
