hanger that looked far too small. Without disappearing upstairs to the privacy of the dressing room, he removed his jacket and then pulled his white polo shirt over his head, exposing his ripped stomach.
‘What are you doing?’ she whispered, turning her back to him as heat flushed into her cheeks. She caught the gaping eyes of the other customers. ‘You’re supposed to be acting low-key.’
‘I’m trying on a shirt,’ he said, his tone suggesting what he was doing constituted reasonable behaviour.
‘People can see .’ The whole shop could, and Alicia was sure the sales assistant in the far corner had drool on her chin.
‘So what? They’ve seen it all before if they saw me at Wimbledon last year.’
She whirled on him, ignoring the tanned flesh on display as he buttoned up the shirt. ‘You’re not playing tennis and, in case you hadn’t noticed, people use the changing rooms to try on clothes.’
He rolled his eyes. Actually rolled his eyes at her.
‘Relax, you’re too uptight. No one here cares where I try on the shirt.’
‘You should! You should care about what people think, how your actions speak for you. It isn’t just your reputation on the line now, Sebastian.’
‘I know,’ he said, focusing on buttoning the cuffs. ‘But the only one causing a scene here is you. You’re totally overreacting.’
There was absolutely no talking to the man. She gritted her teeth as annoyance burned into something else. Something that made her want to raise her voice and really cause a scene. She knew he was going to be hard work, had known from the second he riled her at the pitch, but the new Alicia could handle him. She just had to figure out how.
‘So,’ he said, holding his arms out for inspection. ‘What do you think?’
With an orange cap from one of his sponsors, the too-tight shirt that clung to every delicious inch of his torso, and a pair of well-worn jeans, there was only one word she could use to describe him.
‘You look ridiculous.’ But still sexy, dammit.
His grin was swift and dragged out hers. He winked. ‘Perfect.’
He started unbuttoning the shirt but she dove forward and grabbed his wrists. She could smell his expensive cologne mixed with the unique hint of him that had made her body react at the gym. The effect was no different now, but she pushed on past the haze her mind was suddenly clouded in.
‘ Please use the dressing room, Sebastian. I’ve told my father you’ve turned over a new leaf, and he’s already mad that I’m dating you. Pictures in the papers tomorrow of you trying on shirts in the storefront will make this a hundred times worse.’
His hands wound around her wrists until her pulse hammered out a mamba. ‘He’s mad at you for dating me?’
Alicia bit her lip and focused on the collar of his open shirt. ‘Mad’ was the understatement of the century, but it wasn’t as bad as before. Back then, he’d made her do something so terrible that some nights she woke up in tears. He’d never shown any compassion either, insisting it was for her own good and one day she’d thank him for it. She was still waiting for that day.
The worst part wasn’t even that he’d grounded her afterwards for three months until she learned what being respectable meant. She’d been happy to hide away from the world while her heart had time to heal. Her hands trembled against the awful memories and the pain threatened to break her in two all over again.
Sebastian let go of her wrist and tilted her chin.
‘Is he always so uptight?’
She forced a small smile.
‘You could say that.’ Ruthless, brutal, and fiercely protective – of himself – were better ways to describe him.
‘Then I’ll try to not make this worse for you.’
Sebastian grabbed his polo and headed for the staircase, leaving her blinking at his retreating back. She’d never expected him to be understanding or care about anyone else except himself. Could some of what she’d found be made up,
‘What are you doing?’ she whispered, turning her back to him as heat flushed into her cheeks. She caught the gaping eyes of the other customers. ‘You’re supposed to be acting low-key.’
‘I’m trying on a shirt,’ he said, his tone suggesting what he was doing constituted reasonable behaviour.
‘People can see .’ The whole shop could, and Alicia was sure the sales assistant in the far corner had drool on her chin.
‘So what? They’ve seen it all before if they saw me at Wimbledon last year.’
She whirled on him, ignoring the tanned flesh on display as he buttoned up the shirt. ‘You’re not playing tennis and, in case you hadn’t noticed, people use the changing rooms to try on clothes.’
He rolled his eyes. Actually rolled his eyes at her.
‘Relax, you’re too uptight. No one here cares where I try on the shirt.’
‘You should! You should care about what people think, how your actions speak for you. It isn’t just your reputation on the line now, Sebastian.’
‘I know,’ he said, focusing on buttoning the cuffs. ‘But the only one causing a scene here is you. You’re totally overreacting.’
There was absolutely no talking to the man. She gritted her teeth as annoyance burned into something else. Something that made her want to raise her voice and really cause a scene. She knew he was going to be hard work, had known from the second he riled her at the pitch, but the new Alicia could handle him. She just had to figure out how.
‘So,’ he said, holding his arms out for inspection. ‘What do you think?’
With an orange cap from one of his sponsors, the too-tight shirt that clung to every delicious inch of his torso, and a pair of well-worn jeans, there was only one word she could use to describe him.
‘You look ridiculous.’ But still sexy, dammit.
His grin was swift and dragged out hers. He winked. ‘Perfect.’
He started unbuttoning the shirt but she dove forward and grabbed his wrists. She could smell his expensive cologne mixed with the unique hint of him that had made her body react at the gym. The effect was no different now, but she pushed on past the haze her mind was suddenly clouded in.
‘ Please use the dressing room, Sebastian. I’ve told my father you’ve turned over a new leaf, and he’s already mad that I’m dating you. Pictures in the papers tomorrow of you trying on shirts in the storefront will make this a hundred times worse.’
His hands wound around her wrists until her pulse hammered out a mamba. ‘He’s mad at you for dating me?’
Alicia bit her lip and focused on the collar of his open shirt. ‘Mad’ was the understatement of the century, but it wasn’t as bad as before. Back then, he’d made her do something so terrible that some nights she woke up in tears. He’d never shown any compassion either, insisting it was for her own good and one day she’d thank him for it. She was still waiting for that day.
The worst part wasn’t even that he’d grounded her afterwards for three months until she learned what being respectable meant. She’d been happy to hide away from the world while her heart had time to heal. Her hands trembled against the awful memories and the pain threatened to break her in two all over again.
Sebastian let go of her wrist and tilted her chin.
‘Is he always so uptight?’
She forced a small smile.
‘You could say that.’ Ruthless, brutal, and fiercely protective – of himself – were better ways to describe him.
‘Then I’ll try to not make this worse for you.’
Sebastian grabbed his polo and headed for the staircase, leaving her blinking at his retreating back. She’d never expected him to be understanding or care about anyone else except himself. Could some of what she’d found be made up,
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