Page 69 of The Perfect Spiral
“I didn’t mean you buy it, I’ll get it for you,” he shrugged, his earsturning a light shade of pink.
I noticed the redhead glaring at me with envy. I raised an eyebrow at her, daring her to say something.
“Eh, no, Knox! You’re not buying me the bag. Don’t be silly. I’d be in debt to you for years trying to pay you back, so... no,” I insisted, still in disbelief at his offer.
The only thing I needed was for the press to catch a glimpse of him buying me a bag—an expensive one at that. They’d have a field day with that. I sauntered away from the stand, pretending to browse the rest of the store as if I could actually afford anything in here.
Maybe the receipt paper, I thought, if I stretch my budget. As I passed the counter displaying purses and belts, the screams from outside the doors intensified, and the flashes of cameras became more frequent.
“I can’t go anywhere with him,” I muttered to myself, catching the sound of laughter from the doorman—or was he a security guard?—beside me. I shot him a knowing smile. “You get what I’m saying,” I whispered, a smirk playing on my lips. I glanced up to see him entertaining the five women behind the counter, who were hanging on his every word.
Why am I even here? I wondered. He could’ve picked out the damn bag himself. Why did he need me?
The women were all batting their eyelashes and smiling flirtatiously at him. He was paying for the bag with his card. Suddenly, he turned to me, as if sensing my gaze, and smirked.
Shit! He caught me staring.
I quickly averted my gaze back to the purses, waiting until I heard the soft shuffle of footsteps on the patterned carpet approaching me.
Without looking up, I felt his hands on my back and waist. I snapped my eyes up to him in shock. What the hell is he doing?
“Ready to go, baby doll?” he asked in his low, husky voice. Unable to trust my voice, I simply nodded. We began to walk away, and I watched him wave goodbye to the women behind the counter.
“Where’s the bag? Didn’t you like it?” I asked when I noticed his hands were empty.
“No, I bought it. It’s just going to be delivered to my apartment. I don’t want it to look like we bought anything here. She reads the tabloids, and I don’t want her to think I bought something. I want to surprise her.”
He beamed down at me. Shrugging, we continued our walk out of the store. I slipped my sunglasses back on to shield my face from the cameras as much as possible, walking alongside Knox.
His arm came up to rest across my shoulders, pulling me closer to his body as we navigated through the crowd. The screams of his adoring fans and the incessant clicking of photographers’ cameras filled the air.
“Knox, I want your babies!”
“Marry me, Knox! I want to be your Mrs. Carter!” The absurd declarations made me laugh into him, my hand covering my face as much as possible.
Some people are way too obsessed with him. As we neared the end of the crowd, I started to hear my own name being called.
“Alex! I love your top! Where did you get it?” a young girl asked.I stopped in front of her, smiling at her genuine kindness. Her eyes widened at my response.
“Um, thanks... what’s your name?”
“S-Sarah,” she stammered.
I gave her a soft smile. “Thanks, Sarah. It’s from Zara! It’s super comfy too! Nice to meet you.” I was about to continue when Knox pulled me back to continue our walk to the car.
He opened the door for me and I slipped inside. As I waited for him, he began to answer questions and talk to fans and reporters.
“Is she your childhood sweetheart, Carter?”
“When are you popping the question?”
“How long have you been together?”
He ignored the questions, signing a few autographs and taking a few pictures with fans. Suddenly, I heard a knock on the window beside me. I looked out to see a young girl waving at me.
I smiled at her and pushed open the car door. “Step back, she’s just a young girl, you’re all crushing her!” I crouched down to her level and the screaming died down a bit.
“Hey there! What’s your name, sweetheart?”
