Page 69 of Rating the Book Boyfriend

“Libby, this is Devereaux, Bouvier’s head designer, and his assistant, Tora,” I explain.

The latter lets out a squeal and dashes toward Libby, squeezing her in an overly enthusiastic hug. “Look at you, you gorgeous thing. You look so much like your cousin. The cheekbones, the adorable little nose.” He boops Libby’s nose, and she laughs.

“Thank you. That’s quite a compliment.”

Tora holds her at arm’s length. “And your shoulders. Look, Dev! Libby has our Gianna’s shoulders.”

Devereaux gives her a deferential nod. “You are stunning, Libby. I’ve brought something for you as well.” He snaps his fingers twice. “Tora! The dress!”

Tora hops to attention and pulls another bag off the rack. “Gianna picked this out for you, Libby. It’s to wear to your event tomorrow.”

“No, I couldn’t,” Libby demurs, and Dev levels her with a glare.

“You’ll have to take that up with your cousin, but I’m certainly not leaving here with that dress. What Gianna Moschella wants, Gianna Moschella gets. Mr. Bouvier would fire me on the spot if I displeased his bride-to-be.”

“Oh, well. I wouldn’t want to get you in trouble.”

By the time the designers leave two hours later, I have a bespoke navy suit and shoes for tomorrow, as well as a more casual black suit for this evening’s dinner with Gianna and Auburn. Dev and Tora hand-altered the cuffs of both suits for the perfect fit.

Libby is the proud new owner of a flirty red cocktail dress that looks amazing with her tan. She will wear it tomorrow to the book event.

“I can’t wait to see Gianna,” she says as we walk downstairs that evening. She’s vibrating with excitement, and I place my hand on her lower back when we enter the restaurant. It’s stunning, decked out in dark woods and red upholstered chairs.

“Hello, we are meeting Auburn Bouvier,” I tell the maître d', and he practically bows at the waist.

“Right this way. You’re in the private dining room.”

While we walk behind him, Libby looks up at me and mouths, “Ooooh, fancy-pants!”

As soon as we’re inside the large room, which is set with one intimate four-top table, Libby and her cousin squeal with delight, jumping and hugging each other.

I’ve seen pictures of Auburn Bouvier, and he’s just as impressive up close, tall and imposing, though his face is complete mush as he watches his fiancée’s happy reunion. He turns to me and holds out his hand. “Auburn Bouvier.”

“Riggs Romero,” I tell him, giving the man a firm shake.

“I figured these two would be loud as hell, so I got us a private dining room.”

I laugh, liking this guy already. “Thank you so much for saving the day,” I tell him, fingering the lapel of the jacket I’m wearing.

“No problem. My fiancée set it all up.” He beams at the F-word, obviously thrilled to be marrying Gianna. And who could blame him?

Though Gianna has dark hair and green eyes and Libby is blonde with hazel eyes, the relation between them is unmistakable. With similar facial features and builds, they’re both fucking knockouts.

The ladies finally make their way to us, and the rest of the introductions are made. “Gianna,” I say, lightly kissing her cheek, “it’s so nice to meet you. Thank you for handling the wardrobe issue. You have no idea how much I appreciate it. I’ll get the suits cleaned and shipped back to you next week.”

Auburn waves a hand at me. “Don’t worry about it. Just keep them.”

I shake my head. “I couldn’t do that.”

“You look great in a Bouvier suit. Very good advertisement for the brand.” He winks. “Maybe you could wear it on a book cover.”

“I’d love to, but are you sure?”

Gianna rolls her eyes. “Trust me, he won’t even miss them. Right now Auburn has eleven navy suits, seven gray, two ivory, three light-blue, and fourteen black ones in his closet. And that’s not even including the tuxes.”

I can’t help but laugh at the man’s chagrined smile. “Well, that’s very kind of you, Auburn. I’m going to take care of dinner tonight as a token of my appreciation.”

“I couldn’t let you do that,” he says with a frown, but I shake my head.

---