Merry chattering filled the market around us and the intoxicating scent of spicy meat pies and freshly baked bread hung in the air. I slid my arm through Callan’s as we strolled between the colorful stalls.
“What are you doing?” he grumbled down at me while keeping his gaze sweeping across the crowd.
“We need to look like a happy couple.”
“As opposed to you, I’m not nearly good enough at faking it in order to pull off that massive lie.”
While keeping a blissful smile on my lips, I discreetly jabbed a vicious elbow into his side. “Just do as I say.”
He didn’t even wince at the strike. Instead, he just tightened his grip on my arm until it almost hurt. I shot him a pointed look. After holding my gaze for another few seconds, he relaxed his grip slightly.
A woman with loose blond curls suddenly appeared on the other side of the stall we were passing. She had an entourage of chatting women trailing along after her. Their voices cut through the rest of the murmur and people turned their heads to look at them. Even if I hadn’t gotten a description of what she looked like, I would have recognized someone like her from miles away. This was Elise Dawson.
“That’s her, isn’t it?” Callan said, which was surprisingly perceptive coming from him.
“Yes.” I nodded towards the booth with a bright yellow awning on our left. “Quick. Buy us something to drink.”
He blew out an amused snort. “I paid for the house. You can pay for the drinks.”
Suppressing a snarl, I pulled him with me towards the lemonade stand and bought us one each. While I paid the round-cheeked woman who owned the stall, Callan nudged my back and spoke in a low voice.
“They’re coming this way.”
I thanked the woman for the lemonade before turning to press one of the cups into his hands, and then briskly moved us away. There was a sharp corner in the path between the market stalls up ahead which would work perfectly for our scheme. We slid in behind a red and white striped cloth wall right as Elise Dawson and her friends rounded the corner at the far end.
Since they were speaking so loudly, we didn’t need to peek out from behind the wall to see where they were. We could hear them getting closer.
“Ready?” I whispered when they were almost upon us.
Callan nodded.
We took a confident step around the corner right as Elise Dawson rounded it from the other side. Startled yelps rang out as we bumped right into each other. I made sure to spill my drink all over my stunning dress.
“Oh, by the Current,” Elise exclaimed as she stumbled backwards.
While doing the same, I looked up at her with worried eyes. “I’m so sorry. It was completely my fault. I wasn’t looking where I was…” My gaze drifted down to my empty cup and then flashed to the big wet stain right across my chest. I let a hint of dread seep into my voice as I finished with a sad, “Oh.”
Elise pressed a hand to her mouth as she looked down at the stain while the rest of her group sucked in a gasp. “Oh no.”
“It’s fine.” I waved my hand in front of my face as if to brush off the embarrassment. “I can just… It’s fine.”
Callan shook his head at me while a very convincing look of concern descended on his face. “But wasn’t this the dress you were supposed to wear tonight when we—”
“It’s all fine,” I interrupted while turning back to Elise. “It was entirely my fault.”
“No, not at all,” she said. Leaning forward, she ran her fingers over my ruined dress and pulled slightly at the fabric of the skirt. “And it was such a gorgeous dress too. You really have exquisite taste.” Her blue eyes met mine. “And you were supposed to wear this to some kind of event tonight?”
“Yes, but I’m sure I can find a dressmaker somewhere to purchase another one.”
“Oh, then I absolutely recommend Wendy’s boutique.”
“I’m sorry, I’m not sure where that is. My husband and I just moved here from Castlebourne.”
Elise, along with every woman in her little entourage, turned towards Callan as if truly noticing his presence for the first time. Several pairs of eyes flicked up and down his lean muscled body, and the dark-haired woman behind Elise’s left shoulder bit her lip. It made a flash of annoyance shoot through me.
“How lovely,” Elise answered, and exchanged a conspiratorial look with her friends before dragging her gaze back to me. A glittering smile spread across her lips. “We could accompany you to Wendy’s if you want?”
“I don’t want to cause you any inconvenience.”
“Not at all.” She flicked her gaze to the dark-haired woman. “Lisa was thinking about getting a dress too. Weren’t you, Lisa?”
She nodded. “I was.”
Elise clapped her hands and made a shooing motion. “Then it’s settled. We’ll accompany you to Wendy’s to make up for spilling your drink all over you.”
“How kind of you.”
Victory sparkled in my chest as Callan and I fell in beside the chatting group while they led us towards this dressmaker. We had established a connection. Now, we just needed to let it mature a little before we could make our offer.
The smugness inside me was dampened a little as I glanced over at Callan. It annoyed me that his presence had been important for the success of this scheme. Especially when all he had done was stand there and look hot.
A smirk tugged at Callan’s lips as he briefly met my gaze. Of course the bastard knew it too.
Cheerful tinkling from a small metal bell filled the air as Elise pushed open the door to a light and airy shop. Excited giggling followed it as the rest of her friends strolled inside after her. Callan motioned for me to follow before he stepped in too and closed the door behind us.
I swept my gaze over the room as we moved farther inside. Gorgeous dresses were displayed on long wooden racks that ran the length of the room. They glittered in the bright sunlight that fell in through the windows.
“Elise,” said a woman with graying hair as she appeared from a room at the back. “How good to see you again so soon.”
“Wendy,” she replied. “I’m not here for me this time. I accidentally bumped into…” Trailing off, she looked over at me as she realized that she had never bothered to ask for my name.
“Audrey,” I filled in.
“Audrey. And…” She turned her blue eyes to Callan.
“Callan,” he said.
She smiled at him before turning back to Wendy. “And Audrey spilled her drink all over her dress. Can you help her out? You do have something for her, don’t you?”
“Of course.” Wendy’s kind brown eyes shifted to me as she motioned towards the rooms at the back. “Please, this way.”
I followed her. As did everyone else. Lisa hooked her arm through Callan’s and led him towards the back rooms as well while Elise started up a conversation with Wendy about which kinds of dresses she thought might look good on me.
Some ushering later, I found myself in a changing room while the rest of them took a seat on the pristine white couches outside. Wendy handed me a stunning evening gown in black and gold before she pulled the pale fabric curtain closed. I looked between the garment and my body.
“I also want to try something on,” Lisa’s voice said from outside the changing room. “Something in blue, please.”
Rippling laughter followed as her friends no doubt encouraged her. I rolled my eyes but began stripping out of my lemonade-stained dress. After draping it over the hanger inside, I straightened and reached for the other dress.
The skin at the back of my neck prickled. I twisted slightly to look behind me. Through the small gap between the white curtain and the wall, Callan was visible where he sat at the edge of the couch. Three beautiful women were squeezed in next to him, but his eyes were locked on my changing room. Locked on the sliver of my body that he could see through the gap.
Smug satisfaction bloomed in my chest. Moving slightly, I made sure that my body was in the perfect position before I bent down to retrieve the other dress. While in that position, I took my time and ran my hands over the dress as if inspecting it. Then I abruptly looked straight out through the gap in the curtain.
Callan blinked in surprise. Drawing down his eyebrows in a scowl, he snapped his gaze away and stared towards the other side of the room. I stifled a laugh.
After shimmying into the black and gold dress, I turned towards the full-length mirror on the wall. It really was a gorgeous piece of clothing. I might actually buy it just because I wanted it and not only to help sell the ruse.
“How is it looking?” Elise called from somewhere outside the curtain.
“I’m not sure,” I said, because we still needed to spend a little more time with these people.
“What does the husband think?” someone else called.
That unleashed a wave of giggles. I let out a silent huff of laughter. Oh, I had already seen exactly how he reacted to me in this changing room. But they of course didn’t know that.
“Yes, Callan,” Elise picked up. “Why don’t you go and help your wife decide whether to buy that dress or not?”
Since I had moved away from the small gap, I could no longer see him, but I had no trouble imagining the irritated scowl on his face. He would never agree to that. Especially not after I had already caught him stealing glances at me through the curtain.
Fabric rustled as the white drape was shoved aside to allow a muscled force mage inside. I blinked at him in surprise. The curtain fluttered closed behind him again as he took a step forward, forcing me to press myself against the wall for us both to fit. He raked his eyes up and down my body.
“Well?” I said as I gave him a sly smile.
“It’s fine,” he answered in a gruff voice, but it was low enough that I knew none of the others would have heard it from the couch.
“Fine?” I arched a dark eyebrow at him. “I don’t do fine. I do perfect, or nothing at all.”
He opened his mouth, but before he could reply, I reached up and pushed the dress off my shoulder, letting it slip down to reveal more of my skin. The fingers of his right hand curled into a fist.
“Maybe I should try on something else then,” I continued as I lifted my hand to slide the dress off my other shoulder as well. I raised my eyebrow in challenge. “What do you think?”
His hand shot out and grabbed my wrist before I could push the dress off my shoulder. Holding it in a firm grip, he closed the final distance between us. He planted his other palm against my collarbones so that he could pin me to the wall. I raised my chin and smirked up at him in challenge while he pressed his honed body into mine and leaned down to place his lips next to my ear. My skin prickled as his hot breath danced over my neck.
“I think you need to stop being so cocky,” he whispered against the shell of my ear. “I can make you beg for mercy anytime I want. So unless that is something you’re secretly craving, I suggest you stop playing this game with me.”
“Oh I suspected that I was getting under your skin.” A grin stretched my lips. “But now I know for certain.”
“So?” Elise called from outside. “What does the husband think?”
Callan straightened again, but kept his hand against my collarbones, pushing me into the wall. Releasing my wrist, he used his other hand to draw the dress back up over my shoulder while his eyes stayed locked on mine. Even though he hadn’t touched his palms together, he must have somehow been using his force magic because a tremor coursed through my body when his fingers brushed against my skin.
A smile that promised sweet revenge curled Callan’s lips as he dragged his gaze over my body before finally replying, “The husband thinks it’s perfect.”
I matched the smirk on his face.
Outside the white curtain, Elise and the others laughed and hooted in excitement.
After Callan had disappeared back out again, I tried on a few more pieces of clothing to help sell our scheme before we all finally returned to the front of the shop. Since I had only been able to bring what could fit in my pack, I took the opportunity to actually purchase a few garments.
Once I had paid Wendy, I turned to face Elise Dawson. “Thank you so much for all your help. Please, let me make it up to you by inviting you to dinner.” I swept my gaze over the rest of her friends. “You are of course also welcome.”
“That would be lovely,” she answered.
“How’s the day after tomorrow?”
Some of Elise’s friends already had previous commitments, but Elise herself, along with Lisa and another blond woman whose name I didn’t know, said that they would be happy to come.
“We will bring our husbands too,” Elise said with a wink at Callan. “So that you won’t be lonely.”
“Of course,” I said. “Please do.”
The small bell tinkled merrily as our whole group walked back out into the bright sunlight. I waved at the group of excited women as they disappeared down the street before I heaved a deep sigh and let the cheerful mask fall from my face.
“Alright, we have our dinner with the social elite,” I said as Callan and I started back towards our house.
“Yeah. Now we just need a cook skilled enough to pull off a dinner for eight in two days.”
I drew my fingers through my hair, letting it flutter down my back, while I blew out another long breath. “Yes.”
Callan glanced down at me for a few seconds before giving me a businesslike nod. “I’ll reach out to Violet.”
I nodded back.
One step closer to our goal.
