Page 87 of Crossing Lines

“But there has to be another way. You don’t deserve for Mick to use you like this.”

She gives me a soft smile. “But I won’t let him take away your sponsorship. What if I make a jacket exactly like the one I made but replace Stella with something from Glam Pop?”

“But he wants to keep Stella on the jacket.”

“So?” she asks. “Tell them I’ll make them a betterjacket and we can always ask Stella if she’d be willing to wear it to one of the games.”

“Hmm. That might work as a good compromise.” And it’ll give me something to use as leverage in negotiations.

“Work your magic and get him to accept, and then we can all move on from this.”

“Speaking of magic… Are you ready for round two?”

Chapter 23

Nina

“Get ready,” Evren says, my head on his arm, both of us naked and still in bed even if it’s eight a.m. I didn’t think it was possible for him to sleep in, but apparently it is. “I have somewhere special I want to take you today.”

“But shouldn’t we be working on the line and all the issues with Mick and Ben?”

“No,” Evren says, “leaving them to stew and not responding quickly is a good tactic to use. As for the line itself, we still have time; one day won’t hurt.”

“Never thought you, Mr. Workaholic, would willingly take a day off.”

He laughs before kissing me quickly. “Don’t you get it? You’re more important than work.”

His words pierce my heart like a needle and thread,creating a new pattern, one where I’m starting to believe that he’s telling the truth. That Iamimportant,that I deserve to be taken care of. That’s something I’ve never felt before.

I grab the back of his head and pull him down for another kiss, my way of saying I agree, of thanking him, of just showing him that I’m falling for him even if I’m not ready to say those three little words yet.

“Should I dress for comfort or to wow?” I ask.

“Both? But we’re going somewhere where you’ll want to wear one of your fabulous designs.”

That’s the thing with Evren. He keeps complimenting me and the words are starting to penetrate. Each time he praises my designs, whether it’s my clothes or how I decorate Stella’s house, I believe him.

“Go get ready,” he says, “because if you stay in bed with me, we’re going to be late.”

“I don’t mind being late.”

“You will when you see what the surprise is.” He slaps my ass. “Go.”

Excited, not used to happy surprises, I rush to the bathroom to get ready. When I’m done, my hair is in perfectly loose curls, and I’m wearing one of my favorite jumpsuits. The bottom is a mix between sky-blue, neon-pink, and canary-yellow stripes and the top is emerald green with polka dots in the same blue, pink, and yellow as the bottom half. My emerald-green heels go perfectly with it. It’s fun, bold, and comfortable. Basically, the trifecta when it comes to my style.

When Evren sees me, he immediately takes my hands in his and stares at me so intently, it’s like he’s ableto pierce through skin, muscles, tendons, bones, and straight into my soul.

“I don’t know what I did in my life to deserve you,” Evren says, “but I’ll thank every star in every universe for the rest of my life. I thought I knew what beauty was, but then you walked in, and everything I thought before was wrong. Nothing and no one will ever be as beautiful as you. You lookbreathtaking.”

His words wrap around me like the most expensive and lush fabric in the world, cocooning around me and repairing all the cracks that have formed over the years.

“That’s the best compliment I’ve ever received,” I say quietly.

“Don’t worry, I have more where that came from.”

I swat his shoulder. “And then you ruined it.”

He grins and slides his hand to my waist. “I’ll make it up to you.”

---