Page 32 of Playmaker

I paused on the greens. There were some really pretty shades. But that dress, the one that’d started this whole thing, was green. I headed to the blues. They should be safe, right? Despite the fact that so many of these pieces of clothing were bright, I didn’t want to attract a lot of attention. So I grabbed a powder blue top, with a skirt that mixed blues and yellows. I held them up together. Yeah, that should be good.

I turned around and refused to look at Cooper. Instead, I looked at Valerie. She was frowning.

Damn it.I’d gotten it wrong again? I flicked a glance at Cooper. He was smirking.

Obviously I didn’t have an eye for color. I knew some colors clashed, and avoided putting them together. But the other side, finding whatever color was supposed to make you look better? I’d never really tried. I’d been aiming for professional, respectable, maybe even trustworthy. Background clothes. Nothing here was that.

I put the top and skirt back. “Okay. I give up. You win.”

I waited for Cooper to gloat and tell me I wasn’t good enough to do this on my own. I’d had a lot of people tell me I wasn’t good enough, so I was braced and ready.

He dropped the smirk. But he didn’t sayI told you so. Instead, he headed to the racks and started pulling things out, holding them up to me. Sometimes he’d frown, or purse his lips. Other times he nodded and passed the item to Valerie. Most of the time there was a light in his eyes, his lips tilted up into a half smile. He liked this. Maybe he should have had a Barbie doll as a kid. Hell, maybe he had.

“What do you think, Val? Is this going to work better with her complexion, or this?” He was holding up two tops, in different shades of yellow. He didn’t sayfreckles, which was considerate. He waved me over and held them up against my face, and one top went into the reject pile.

I was sent into the dressing room with the clothing they’d settled on. I hated trying on clothes, but no way were they letting me go without seeing what this looked like on. I read the price on one of the tags and swallowed hard. Okay, I couldn’t afford to make a mistake with anything that cost that much.

I pulled on the first sleeveless collared shirt and a skirt/short combo. My hands smoothed over the fabric before I realized I was petting myself. The fabric was soft, with a thickness to it that wouldn’t stretch out or fade. I turned to check the fit in the mirror and stopped in surprise.

Was that me? My hair had always been a bright red, almost orange, and unlike Anne of Green Gables, it had never faded to auburn. But instead of glowing like a beacon, now it looked—kind of pretty. And my freckles didn’t overwhelm my face.

“You ready in there?” Valerie asked, and I realized I’d been staring at my reflection.

I never did that, unless I was checking for makeup smears. I didn’t like looking at myself. And yet…

I came out and stood in front of them. Cooper twirled a finger, so I did a 360 so they could see the whole effect.

“That’s pretty good, flatters her figure without being too much.”

Slutty. That was what they meant. When you had big boobs, that was always a problem. He paused, and I waited anxiously. I liked this. I wanted it. I wanted him to like it.

“I think the skirt is verging on too short. Can you try the next one, Callie? We don’t want to push the rules.”

Something inside me warmed. What he’d brought for that first lesson hadn’t been an outlier, as I’d suspected. I’d been worried he would pick tops with deep cleavage, too-tight skirts. Guys I’d dated in the past had always skewed that way. But he didn’t. Maybe the difference was that we weren’t dating. This wasn’t a sex thing. And I was not disappointed about that.

I could trust him. Forthis,I reminded myself. I could trust him to pick out clothes that would look good, so that I fit in. It was a hell of a lot more than I’d trust Benson.

* * *

They finally settledon three things to wear while golfing, and two more for the dining room. Only one was a sample item that had no price tag. They’d rejected things I’d have taken just because of the way they felt and how they made me look like someone different. But the final selections? I couldn’t argue with them. They did look and feel good. I didn’t want to get back into my old clothes.

The colors they chose made a huge difference. It was some kind of voodoo, and I didn’t understand it.

I left the store with things I loved. I wouldn’t waste this lesson. I’d use these clothes as a guide and buy more things in those shades. I might not have the perfect eye they did to pick colors out, but I could use the information they’d given me to my advantage in the future.

It would take some time to get used to the fit though. I’d learned that the looser the clothes, especially around my chest, the fewer the comments. I was trying to succeed in a competitive world as a woman with big breasts, and I didn’t want to accentuate them. I didn’t want anyone to credit my boobs for my success. Or to decide my IQ diminished as my cup size grew. My neutral colors and loose clothes did that. People noticed my work, not me.

I didn’t dare look at the receipt, just passed my credit card over. I’d open a bottle of wine back home to fortify myself for the ridiculous amount I was sure I’d spent. No, I’dinvested. This was an investment in my career. And Benson would not be able to criticize anything.

After my purchases were bagged up and Cooper had done the kissy face with Valerie, we went back through the storeroom and then into Cooper’s car. He carried out the bags for me, ignoring my rolled eyes, and stored them in his trunk after holding the passenger door for me. Despite my wine plan, I mentally added up my purchases. I didn’t remember how much that one skirt was, so I doubled the amount of the other one. Then add tax… When I turned, he was staring at me, the car quiet. Was there a problem with his expensive car?

“Are you okay? Did we push too hard?”

That was…sweet. “No. I actually enjoyed that more than any other shopping trip I’ve been on.”

“Really?”

I nodded.

---