After the first time Evangeline had reached out to touch a shimmering dress right out of Cinderella’s ball and felt the sumptuous material between her fingertips, she’d been in love. Until she looked at the price tag and yanked her hand away as if it had burned her. Oh good God. Was everything in this place so exorbitantly expensive? One dress cost more than she made in a year!
She turned away, her bottom lip between her teeth in consternation. She didn’t belong here. This wasn’t her world. She didn’t fit and she was fooling herself if for a minute she thought she could become a part of it, if only for a little while.
Justice, however, saw her reaction to the dress and made eye contact with the saleslady, who was only too happy to wrap it and add it to the growing pile of purchases Justice was arranging for Evangeline.
At first he’d wondered just what in the hell he’d done to piss Drake off that he had drawn women’s shopping duty with a woman who didn’t seem to want or need anything. Hell, it wasn’t as if he hadn’t been wrangled into shopping with and for one of Drake’s women in the past, but all he’d had to do was stand back and watch the woman march through the store pointing indiscriminately, leaving Justice to pay the bill, and it was all over in a matter of minutes.#p#分页标题#e#
But Evangeline? She seemed absolutely mortified and horrified, especially after she’d looked at the price tag of the dress she’d looked at so longingly, caressing the silk material. For God’s sake, it wasn’t even one of the more expensive dresses in the shop, which was why he was glad Drake had called ahead with a detailed list of what he wanted the salesperson to have already out and ready for purchase. Evangeline would likely have a stroke if she caught sight of the prices of those dresses.
He sighed because this had the look of being one long-ass day, and shopping for women’s clothing was like a trip to hell. The things he did for the man he called partner and brother. But he couldn’t quite summon irritation at Evangeline because there was something different about her. Never before had Drake taken a woman like this, nor had he acted so forbiddingly possessive from the very first moment he’d laid eyes on her.
And in a way, Justice could see why. There was something about Evangeline, and it took him a while to put his finger on it, but when it hit he realized it immediately. This was no calculating, mercenary woman out to fleece Drake for all she could get in the short time he’d keep her around.
Evangeline was innocent, naïve, sweet to her bones and as genuine as they came. She had a gentle disposition and from all he’d heard from Thane, she was loyal and ferocious in her defense of others, even those she didn’t know. She’d dressed her friend down over her disdain of Maddox and Thane, which upped his respect for her tenfold. Women like her did not defend men like him. Especially to their best friends.
But according to Thane, she’d acted like a lioness protecting her cubs and had been furious at the judgment levied against Maddox and Thane by her friend, and she’d taken her down several notches and let her know in no uncertain terms what she thought of her opinion.
It was hard not to respect a sweet, gentle woman who looked like she could be easily intimidated and yet breathed fire when defending people she felt were being unfairly judged.
Justice hadn’t been impressed with the women Drake associated with in the past but had never concerned himself over the matter because he never kept a woman more than a few days at most, but Evangeline seemed to be, from all appearances, someone Drake intended to keep around for far longer. Never had he outfitted one of his women from head to toe. He normally gave them an expensive gift—usually jewelry—and then sent them on their way. Justice felt an unfamiliar protective instinct arising in his chest, tightening to the point of discomfort at the idea of Drake callously discarding her when he tired of her. If the man couldn’t tell the difference between Evangeline and the bitches he’d hooked up with in the past, then he was a stupid bastard, and if Drake tossed her, the thought crossed Justice’s mind that he would be more than willing to step in and give her the respect and care she deserved.
He’d taken her to one of his favorite restaurants before embarking on the shopping trip, and she’d seemed as uncomfortable in the expensive eatery as she did in the upscale designer shops. She’d studied the menu for several long minutes, concentrating so hard he thought her head might burst. When he realized she’d chosen the most inexpensive item on the menu, he’d ignored her request and ordered her a Wagyu steak. She’d immediately squeaked in horror and whispered that it cost two hundred dollars! For a steak! He’d merely smiled and told the waiter to serve him the same and then asked Evangeline how she liked her steak cooked. She looked so befuddled and appalled at the price that he’d gone the middle road and ordered medium for her and medium rare for himself.