"You look beautiful," Everett told her. He put his hands on her waist and inspected her from head to toe. "I can't believe you're my little sister. My little Bug is all grown up."
Bailey glanced toward the glass doors at the front of the small bridal shop. Keeping her focus on the job was harder than she thought it would be. Even she was getting caught up in the moment. You're not really his girlfriend, she repeated to herself for the umpteenth time. It would be so easy to lose herself in the role. At least right now in this quiet town with his family. He seemed so … normal. Not the arrogant, self-assured billionaire she knew he really was.
Even though Bailey didn't think there would be any threats against Everett in the store, she tried to remain vigilant while Sarah changed and Everett settled the bill.
Sarah grabbed her elbow and steered her away from the cash register while Everett finished. "So?"
Bailey raised an eyebrow in question. "So what?"
"Tell me about you guys. I want to know everything-are you happy, is he treating you right?"
Bailey stopped her. "Why wouldn't he be treating me right?"
"I know how he is. I grew up with him; I've heard all the stories, and I've seen a lot of it firsthand." She tossed her hair over one shoulder. "Everett uses woman. Stays with them until he's tired of their games and then tosses them out the door. But you-you're different."
"Different? How?"
"In every single way. You have a real job, you're not a stuck-up rich snob, and you're not dating Everett for his money. Plus, he actually brought you home with him."
"It's your wedding. Wouldn't he have brought any girlfriend home with him?"
Sarah burst out in a peal of laughter just as Everett rejoined them. "Ladies, glad to see you're getting along so well. Do I dare ask what's so funny?"
Sarah caught her breath enough to gasp out, "Bailey thought you'd have brought any girlfriend to my wedding." She started laughing again, and Everett too chuckled.
"I don't get it." Bay looked back and forth between the two.
"Hun, this is my home, and I like to keep my private life private. I don't trust most women to do that." He pulled her to him and ran his fingertips down her cheek. "You, I trust," he said, his voice low and rumbling.
Bay felt his warmth seep into her, and she couldn't pull her eyes from his. His brow wrinkled in thought as they stood there in silence.
"Okay you two. We can't stand here all day while you make eyes at each other." Sarah opened the shop door and headed out into the sunshine.
Bay stood rooted to the spot as Everett pulled away to follow his sister. Her pulse pounded through her veins, and her thoughts raced. What was happening to her? What was she doing here? She had to keep her head together. She came back to the present when the door dinged as Everett exited after his sister. Bay reached up to tuck some loose hair behind her ears and noticed her hands were shaking. How could the man affect her so much when she hated him? Jerking back to life, she jogged to catch up with Everett, not believing she'd let him leave her sight even for a moment.
*
Everett followed a step behind Sarah, ruminating over the expression he'd seen on Bailey's face. If it had been any other woman, he'd have sworn that expression showed adoration. Or at least infatuation. But this was Bailey. She'd made it clear she didn't like him. She only took the job because he'd guilted and pressured her into it.
Sarah turned around and walked backward. "Bay, you wanted a dress, right?"
"Yes," her breathless voice said from beside him. He glanced over to see her flushed face come into view.
"Let's try here. Marsha always has the best clothes." She gestured to the next store along the storefronts. Everett caught her glance at him before dropping her gaze again.
"Sure," she agreed, but Everett could hear the hesitation in her voice in spite of the smile on her face.
As they entered the store, he noticed Bay's eyes widen. He glanced around at the designer fashion, and it dawned on him that she might not be able to afford a dress here. He put a reassuring hand on her back while Sarah spoke excitedly to a saleswoman. Before he could say anything to Bailey, Sarah had pulled her to the formal dresses and was handing dresses to the saleswoman.
As the women disappeared into the dressing rooms, Everett lowered himself into a plush chair near the mirrors. Something was bothering him, but he couldn't for the life of him figure out what it was. There was something about Bailey he just couldn't get a handle on. She intrigued him. Perhaps that was what puzzled him. Why would a woman like her stay on his mind? She was short, tough, and avoided the spotlight. Totally not his type. She was nothing like the tall, ultra-feminine, wannabe celebs who usually graced his arm.
He checked his phone for the fifth time in as many minutes. The women had been in the back for twenty minutes, although it had felt like hours. He sighed and was about to stand up to get the circulation moving in his legs when Sarah's voice came floating out of the dressing room.
"This is definitely the one."
"Are you sure?" Bay's more quiet voice asked. "I feel kind of … exposed."
"I'm positive. C'mon, let's see what Everett thinks."
Everett stilled in the chair. He couldn't imagine the stiff Ms. Lennox in any kind of formal wear. Hell, he hadn't even been able to imagine her in a simple skirt until he'd seen it for himself. A vision of blue exited the dressing room, followed by his little sister.
The woman before him couldn't be Bailey, he thought. There was no resemblance between the feminine figure draped in some dark blue fabric and the tough-as-nails ex-soldier Bay. He scanned upwards from her tiny bare feet. The full skirt stopped right above her knees, and the gentle folds softened the contours of her muscled calves. The halter-style top exposed the smooth skin of her shoulders. The contours of the fabric visually enhanced the look of her bust, and Everett had the sudden urge to measure their real size with his hands.
"Well? Whaddya think?" Sarah asked. She pursed her lips critically before stepping back to Everett's vantage point.
Everett drew himself out of his shock. "Yes, very nice," he managed to say before clearing his throat.
"Turn around," Sarah instructed, still contemplating something. Bay turned, and Everett's heart stopped at the expanse of bare flesh revealed by the backless dress. He could imagine his lips tracing her spine all the way down to where the material rested low on her ass. "Something's still not right," Sarah complained. "Let's try this." She moved back to Bailey and reached to remove the band holding her hair in a ponytail.
Bay stopped her. "What are you doing?"
Sarah looked exasperated. "The dress is great, but you need something else to pull it off. I'm just trying to figure out what that is."
"And you think my hair is really going to make a difference?"
She shrugged. "It might. Why do you always wear it up anyway?" she complained.
Reluctantly, Bailey gave in and let Sarah pull her hair loose. "Just a bad habit from the military," she mumbled. She wasn't completely lying. She had been required to wear it up while in the Army. But the real reason went much deeper than that. Her father had wanted a son and had never gotten one. Bailey had tried all her life to fill that nonexistent role, to the extent that she'd actively started hiding any signs of her femininity in order to try to feel closer to her father. Not that any of it had worked, not even her Army career. Sure, he was obviously proud of her, but he'd never given her the affection she'd craved.
Her dark brown hair cascaded down past her shoulders as the band came loose. Sarah put her fingers at Bay's scalp and fluffed the strands before arranging it to her satisfaction. Stepping back, she tilted her head in contemplation. "I think that's it. You need to wear your hair down. You look too stiff with it up. Everett? What do you think?"
"Ah, it's your wedding, Bug. Besides, you spend more of my money on clothes than I do." He smiled to let her know he was teasing. In his head though, he couldn't think of anything other than the changed woman before him. This was the woman sworn to protect him? Had he been crazy? This woman, with her soft skin, bare feet, and flowing curves, was made for loving, not fighting.
"All right then. We'll take it." Sarah nodded at the saleswoman who was standing unobtrusively to the side.
Everett couldn't take his eyes off Bailey. Every movement she made seemed smooth and graceful under the flowing lines of the dress. He watched as she looked at the price tag and sucked in a breath. Knowing she couldn't afford the garment, he finally rose to his feet and approached her. He approached slowly, warily, not sure how to deal with this new Bay.