Page 17 of In Too Deep

ChapterFive

It had been a few days since Rose had proposed a shopping trip with Katie and Cara, so she reached out that morning to see if they wanted a girls’ day with the hope that they might also be able to keep her mind off of the eldest Blake. One of the perks of not having to work consistently was that when you needed a mental health day, you could take one and boy did Rose need one. For some reason, the press showing up at the hotel last night had really thrown her for a loop and as hard as she tried, she couldn’t think of a way they could be trailing her so accurately unless they were getting frequent tips.

So even if he had been playing nice – or what passed for it with Blake – it seemed that he still wasn’t above ratting her out to the paps to annoy her. And while shewasannoyed, she actually felt more… rattled than anything.

Shopping in privacy could be difficult, even without a trail of cameras and microphones, but Rose was hoping she could sneak out the back of the hotel and make it to the mall without being photographed. Of course, once she was there it wouldn’t be long before the press turned up at the rate they were going. In fact, going there with Blake’s sister would likely only fan the flames of the ridiculous engagement rumors, but she’d decided a long time ago that you couldn’t control what other people said about you, only how you reacted to it. So for now, Rose was choosing denial. Nothing was wrong, she felt fine, shehadn’tslept with Blake.

Well, one of those things wasn’t quite like the others, but she was denying it to herself all the same. Temporary insanity. Or maybe the slightly more permanent kind because as she’d lain awake in her bed, their encounter was all she could think about. Several times her hand had coasted down her stomach only to pause at the waistband of her sleep shorts, unwilling to give in and knowing she wouldn't be able to look at Blake the same way – or herself – if she got off while thinking about him.

Denial wasn’t as satisfying as the other D she’d spent a lot of time fantasizing about yesterday evening while Maia called her name several times from in front of the TV, sending her a curious look when Rose blinked herself out of the trance she’d fallen into, but it was by far the more sensible option.

Katie and Cara had been more than happy to join her and even travel a little way out of town to Kenwood in the hopes of losing the press and as she was about to leave, Maia opened her door dressed in a chic halter top and jeans.

“Mind if I join you guys? Thierre canceled on me, and I thought it might be a good chance to look at some fabric swatches for the gala.” Her tone was calm and even, but Maia lacked her usual bounce and cheer as she tugged on a red leather jacket.

“Of course! I’m sneaking out from downstairs though. I don’t understand how the press keeps finding me. It has to be Blake, right?” Maia hummed noncommittally as they stepped into the elevator and headed down to the basement level parking lot. “So Thierre canceled brunch?”

Maia frowned as she nodded. “He said he had a meeting, but it’s okay, I’ll see him tomorrow anyway.”

“I’m sorry, sweetie. But hey, at least you get to come shopping now, huh?” That coaxed out a small smile and Rose laughed lightly as she raised her hand in the air to her driver across the way from them as they walked over.

“Thank god for Henry,” Maia sighed as they settled into their seats and Rose shot her a confused look. “Henry,” Maia repeated before her mouth dropped open. “Yourdriver.Oh my god, Rose.” She started to laugh as Rose tugged on the end of her hair in embarrassment. “You’re such a brat.”

“Good thing you love me,” she said, and Maia laughed again.

Henryclimbed into the car and Rose ducked down as they drove up and out of the parking lot, passing the paparazzi that were spread out in groups in the above ground parking lot to the side of the hotel. Though the crowd had thinned out a little, Rose didn’t relax until they were fully on the road and she could see there weren't any news vans following them.

“So far so good,” she breathed and then jumped when a horn blasted somewhere on their left. “I’ve been thinking,” she said to Maia, who looked away from the window as Rose continued, “I think silk will be too heavy for the drapery, I don’t want the room to feel too heavy. It should be light and gauzy but still feel rich. I think silk will be too oppressive.”

Maia nodded slowly and Rose could practically see her mind working. They’d decided to dress Blake’s ballroom in gauzy draping fabrics that would cascade from the ceiling in sweeping arches of material in various shades of green – it would look decadent but elegant.

“How about we do both?” Maia said thoughtfully. “We could have a deeper green tone as the silk and have the paler colors in the lighter material, twined around.”

Rose grinned. “You’re a genius. We could string the lights through the gauzy material too, maybe in a gold so that the room still feels warm.”

Maia had fully perked up now as they chattered on about their plans. While Rose was happy doing some of the more boring aspects of event coordination, it was the design that really sent clients her way. She wanted guests to walk in and gasp. So long as the clients had the budget, her imagination was really her limit and she and Maia had always worked well together – it was, after all, how they’d met.

The more they spoke, the more Rose felt like she could visualize the room in her mind and that was always a good sign. When she couldn’t picture what she wanted… that was usually when things started to go south.

They arrived at the mall relatively quickly. It was still early and the usual traffic had been light, Katie had texted her that she was with Cara in one of the bigger department stores already.

“You’ve met Katie, right?” Rose murmured to Maia as they walked into the mall and Maia bit her lip thoughtfully, not even smearing the expensive red lipstick that emphasized her full mouth.

“In passing, mostly, I think. Anyone is better than Sam though.” Maia grimaced and a tinkling laugh drew both their gazes to the left where Sam stood with Cara, looking at a window display.

“Oh, you and I will get on just fine.” Katie grinned and slid an arm through Maia’s as Rose smiled her greeting to the two women. “Any trouble sneaking away?”

“No, I think it was fine. Thanks again for agreeing to come a little farther out.”

Cara smiled and Katie waved a hand airily. “Not at all, I haven’t come out here in so long. It’ll make a nice change.”

“If we see a fabric store, I want to go in and check out some swatches for the gala,” Maia said and they nodded.

“Sounds good.” Cara moved closer to Rose as they began to stroll through the mall. It was bright and airy but tried to be a little arty like most modern malls nowadays, and had odd circular lights that hung low from the ceiling in a deep blue and silver but mostly just ended up looking a little cheap. “How is the planning going?” Cara grinned. “You haven’t murdered my brother yet, have you?”

“Blake lives as of yet,” Rose said with a sniff but winked at the younger Blake before her mind, unbidden, flashed back to the feeling of her skin against the hardwood desk, Blake’s hand in her hair keeping her bent and powerless beneath him.

“You okay?” Maia asked, and Rose jumped guiltily. “You look a little flushed.”

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