Page 64 of Playmaker

“The dress for the wedding. There are a couple of other events we can’t avoid. Family dinner when we arrive, the rehearsal dinner, and the wedding itself.”

“Fuck. Golf clothing won’t cut it, will it? My suits for work won’t either.”

“Men will be in suits. Women will not.”

She let out a long sigh, like she was expecting suicide drills rather than a shopping trip. “Okay, let’s check our schedules.”

Callie might be dreading this, but it would be one of the highlights of my summer. She was going to enjoy this, and I would prove to her how attractive and sexy she was.

* * *

Callie

I hada lot of reasons to be grateful to Cooper. I was getting pretty good at golf after our trips to Briarwood and the driving range. I wasn’t getting holes in one or even making par, but the balls were going in the right direction, I knew what I was doing, and I could eat dinner in the clubhouse without having to mentally go through the list of things to do and not do. There had been a couple of surprises: I hadn’t expected that I would enjoy myself. It was a beautiful place. I’d been busy enough that taking time to stop and smell the roses—or in this case, the grass—wasn’t something on my to-do list. The people…well, mostly they were the kind I felt uncomfortable around. People who’d grown up with things and knowing how to act in any situation. That was not me.

And Cooper and I had become more than just acquaintances who could attend a family event together. We’d become actual friends. I had few enough of those that I valued him.

But after that dinner with Faith and Seb Hunter, and the talk in the car on our way home after, I was too aware of Cooper as a man. For just a moment, the thought that he’d turned down that model because of me had thrilled me. Despite what I’d said the night I met him—that I wouldn’t have sex with him—I hadn’t thought he was interested. Not with the opportunities he had. But what he’d said in the car… He didn’t appear to have any red hair or big boob fetish, and other than that, what did I really have to offer other than my brain?

Now, I had to focus to keep from noticing how broad his shoulders were, and the grace of his movements. Men and women watched and admired him. And I was no fucking better. It was like I’d eaten Eve’s apple, and suddenly Cooper was a sexy man who thought I was attractive.

Today we were going dress shopping, and if anything could calm down my libido, that would do it. Darcy warned me not to fuss about the cost. I promised only to be reasonable. I wouldn’t put it past Cooper to come up with something more expensive than the private golf lessons I’d wanted to win at the charity thing. If I was spending a fortune on a dress, I needed it to be something I could get value from in future as well.

I went down to meet him full of good intentions. But fuck, he was driving the Ferrari. Did he do Ferrari ads? They could just take photos of him sitting there, white shirt showing off his blue eyes and bright smile. I almost tripped, missing the step staring at him.

This was why he got paid money to be photographed. I couldn’t let myself be sidetracked by blond hair and dimples. I drew in a breath and got myself under control. At least the sports car meant we weren’t going to have too much crap to put in it later.

I’d debated for too long about what to wear, hoping to catch that look of approval when he saw me. When I put on the country club clothing, I felt good, but outside of those outfits I’d become self-conscious, even at work. I’d done some online shopping, found tops and things that were in the same colors as that country club stuff, so I thought I was getting better? I’d received two compliments on my clothes at work, which was definitely a first.

Ugh.Why couldn’t I just study a textbook for this?

Anyway, I went with one of the sports dresses just to make life simple. But I was on edge. There was no golfing to distract us, and I felt unsettled.

Cooper smiled as I opened the door and slid down into the seat, watching my hemline carefully. “Good morning, Callie. You look lovely.”

I almost smiled.Gah!He was just pleased that he’d managed to fix how I dressed. “I finally met your high standards?”

He raised his eyebrows. “Maybe I’ve been too critical.”

“Maybe?”

He frowned, studying me and not moving the car. “Think of it this way—if new tax legislation was coming out that would affect how someone set up their corporation, wouldn’t you say something about it if that topic came up in conversation?”

“No.”

“No?” His eyebrows were getting a workout.

“If I give advice and they mess it up and make it worse, they’ll blame me. Also, if I give it out for free, people will ask for more.”

He laughed. “Well, I don’t get paid to dress people, but I have a good eye. And it’s a simple thing that can help.”

Remember Callie, it’s not personal. Just his weird pet project to dress people up. “It’s also an expensive thing.”

He signaled and slid out into traffic. “If it’s too much, I’m happy to pay.”

No.We had to keep our boundaries. “I can handle it. It’s an investment, right?”

He nodded in approval. “It is. Especially at your firm. Why did you want to work for them? I would have expected you to be more comfortable in a less…maybe stuffy office?”

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