I miss hanging out, just us, too.
“Okay.” I smile.
His face lights up, and I like the way it makes me feel. I like making him happy.
“What time does it start?” I’m thinking of the practice sessions tomorrow—if I’ll be able to slip away for an hour to get an outfit and have time to get ready after.
“It starts at seven thirty. And don’t worry. I’ll speak with John, let him know you’re coming with me and get him to let you off early.”
Yeah, I’m sure that’ll go down well. “Let me talk to him.”
“You sure?”
I give him a look. “I’m sure.” I walk over to the basin to wash my hands. “So, what should I wear?”
“It’s black tie, so a dress.”
“Dress. Got it.”
Shit. I have nothing to wear and no clue what to buy. I’m a jeans-and-T-shirt kind of girl. I’ll have to ask Petra. I’m sure she’ll come shopping with me. She loves shopping.
Carrick reaches into his back pocket and pulls out a credit card. “Take this.”
Reaching for a paper towel, I dry my hands. “What is it?”
“What does it look like? It’s a credit card, you dope.” He chuckles.
“Your credit card?”
“Yeah.”
“And why are you giving it to me?”
“So you can buy a dress.” He shoves it into my hand.
“Erm, nope. No way am I taking your money.”
I push the card back at him, but he holds his hands up, refusing to take it.
“Take it. You’re doing me a favor by coming with me. You shouldn’t have to drop a shitload of money on a dress that you’re only buying to help me out.”
“How do you know I don’t own a dress already?”
He folds his arms. “Do you?”
I fold my arms, mirroring him. “No, but that’s beside the point.”
“It’s the only point, so take the fucking card and buy a dress.” He walks away before I can get another chance to give it back to him. “See you tomorrow.” He throws a wink back at me.
The minute he’s gone, panic mode sets in. How in the hell am I going to buy a dress and make myself look pretty by tomorrow night?
I’ve reached high-level dread, wondering why the hell I agreed to go to this event with Carrick by the time I get back to my room, and I’m surprised to find Petra here.
“I thought you were going out?”
“Changed my mind. Thought I’d have a night off and hang out here with you.”
I drop down on my bed and turn onto my side, facing Petra. “I need some help.”
“Okay.” She takes her eyes from the TV to look at me. “Is this about Carrick?”
My head jerks back. “What do you mean?”
“Come on. I know there’s been some weird tension thing going on between the two of you. You left China all weird, and you’ve been the same since.”
“No, I haven’t. And there’s no tension between me and Carrick.”
“Sure there isn’t.” She rolls her eyes.
I pretend not to have seen her, as I don’t want to get into my Carrick problems with anyone. I know Petra, and I like her, but I don’t know her well enough to trust her with my Carrick crap.
“Anyway, this is Carrick-related, kind of. He’s asked me to go with him to this event tomorrow night—as friends,” I add when I see her brow rising. “And I need a dress.” I won’t tell her that Carrick is paying for the dress because she’ll think for sure that something is going on. “But I have no clue what kind of dress to get or where to get it from here in Barcelona, and I need your help because I’m crap at shopping.”
She claps her hands together with glee. “Of course I’ll help.”
She glances at the clock, and I follow her gaze, seeing that it’s seven thirty.
“Lucky for you, we’re in one of the best cities for late-night shopping. The shops are open till nine.” She gets up off the bed. “What’s your budget? Because Passeig de Gràcia has the best designer shops, but they also have Zara and Mango.”
“Well, I don’t want to spend too much.” I can feel Carrick’s credit card burning a hole in my pocket. “But I want to look good.”
“Hot on a budget. Got it. Come on, chick.” She pats my leg as she passes by. “We’ve got some serious shopping to do and limited time to do it.”
And that’s how I find myself in the fitting room at Mango on Passeig de Gràcia.
Petra yells for me, “Have you got it on yet? You’ve been in there for ages!”
“Yes.”