Page 30 of Close Protection

‘No, I’ll be too hot. Let me go and change into something more weather appropriate.’ I open my mouth to respond, but he beats me to it, dipping down to whisper into my ear. ‘Don’t worry, it’ll still be Daphne Green approved.’

He walks off just as the sales assistant comes back with the black version of his outfit. ‘Thank you. Could you add that to the yes pile, please, and wrap everything up?’

‘Of course, madam,’ she replies, walking off but stopping midway to the till and turning back. ‘I just haveto say, you and your partner make such a lovely couple! I wish someone looked at me the way he looks at you and I wish I could look at someone with the same amount of love that’s in your eyes.’

‘Oh… thank… thank you,’ I manage to squeeze out with a strangled smile. ‘That’s very kind!’

The way he looks at me?

Love in my eyes?

I’m sorry, did I miss something?

We haven’t even officially started this whole pretend-boyfriend thing yet, but I’m glad to know we’re really selling it.

‘Oh, no problem at all,’ the sales associate rattles on. It’s actually rather endearing. ‘I just think, you’re so pretty and he’s so handsome. And he speaks to you so gently. It’s like a beautiful fairy tale come to life!’ she finishes, turning back round and continuing to the till.

Huh.

She bought it.

Me and Milosh.

Milosh and I.

Daphne and Mi— ‘Way to sell it,’ Milosh interrupts my thoughts, walking out of the dressing room. My eyes roam his body as I take in his outfit choice.

A black knitted polo with black chinos, paired with ablack belt with gold hardware and some black loafers.

It’s still him, but with a touch more… me.

The perfect mix.

‘What are you talking about?’ I respond, once my mind actually registers what he just said.

‘You’re the stiffest person I’ve met.’ He smirks, amusement dancing in his eyes.

‘No, I am not,’ comes my very reasonable answer.

‘Daphne, she complimented us as a couple and you froze up. You need to loosen up.’

‘Says you, Mr Be-downstairs-in-five and I-only-give-two-word-responses-because-I’m-Milosh.’ I use my best Bulgarian accent to really drive the point home.

He frowns, though that stupid smirk stays on his face. ‘I’m sorry, is that supposed to be me?’

‘Not supposed to be, is,’ I say as I start walking to the till. ‘You know what, let’s do a little test.’ I turn back to face him. ‘We’ll see who can be the least stiff. You want a fake girlfriend, well then you’re going to get the best fake girlfriend a man could ask for.’

He studies me for a moment before stepping forward and raising his hand to run two fingers along my jaw.

‘Sure,’ he murmurs into my ear. I’m enveloped in that clean, warm scent of his before he steps away all too quickly, continuing the walk over to the till.

‘We’re gonna take these clothes too, please,’ I inform the sales assistant. She nods and smiles, handing me a pair of scissors to cut the tags off then holding up the card reader to me once I’ve done. I tap without bothering to look at the price, while Milosh takes the bags.

‘Where to next?’ Milosh asks, as we start walking out of the shop.

‘Well, we still need to get you a tux, and a dress and some shoes for me. Let’s start with the tux then we’ll go from there,’ I decide, leading him towards our next stop. ‘Now, ideally I would’ve taken you to Savile Row, but the purple label will have to do instead. If we don’t find anything there we’ll go to Cucinelli, as we—’

‘Daphne!’ someone calls. I turn around and spot Isabella walking towards us, bags and boyfriend in hand.

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