one pair.”
Winnie’s eyes lit up and the clerk looked at them with a confused expression.
“Show my girls anything they want,” he told the clerk. He then nudged Hazel toward the shoes. “All of my girls.”
Hazel looked over her shoulder and saw the clerk blush and nod before trailing after the three little girls. Hazel narrowed her eyes at Reyvor, but he just smiled at her, completely unrepentant. Although, she had to admit she wasn’t overly angry with him. His words had made her heart leap and for a moment she’d wished it was true, that they did belong to him.
With three girls, it took forever to find shoes that were practical and that the girls would like. Nikki was getting to the age where she wanted dress shoes or boots with high heels, but Hazel told her she had to wait a few more years. She thought her daughter was going to argue the matter until Reyvor showed her some cute boots with a flat sole. It seemed her daughters were just as smitten with him as she was.
An hour later, they had each purchased no less than two pair of shoes. Reyvor sent off a text and led them back to the mall entrance. Hazel thought her daughters were going to die from disappointment, until the limo driver stepped inside and retrieved the bags from Reyvor. They went to two popular clothing stores for little girls, each time returning to the entrance and handing off their bags. When it came time for Hazel to shop, the girls looked tired and she knew she would have to hurry, but Reyvor once more took charge. He contacted the limo driver, then handed off her daughters and some cash.
“Take them to that cookie shop in the food court and get them a treat while Hazel finds some clothes,” Reyvor said. “If you have any problems, call me.”
The driver nodded and gathered the girls, herding them further into the mall. Hazel opened her mouth to protest, then stopped. She trusted Reyvor’s judgment, but this was the first time in months she hadn’t had the girls attached to her. She looked around the department store and wasn’t quite sure what to do. There weren’t dirty hands reaching for her, no one dragging her in two different directions, and there was no squabbling.
“Are you all right?” he asked. “I shouldn’t have sent the girls off without your permission. If you want, I can have them brought back to you.”
She shook her head. “If you trust him, then I trust him.”
“Then what is it?”
“I’m not used to being alone.”
He smiled, reached for her hand, and then led her off toward the women’s clothes. She laughed when he stopped at a rack with pants that were miles too long for her and she dragged him to the petites section. At first, Reyvor hung back and let her browse, but after fifteen minutes when she hadn’t selected anything, he began pulling things off the racks and handing them to her. Hazel’s eyes grew wide as the mountain of clothes grew, and then he was pushing her toward the fitting room.
Hazel didn’t know how long she was in there, trying on one thing after another, but eventually he called out to her.
“Don’t I get to see any of them?”
Her face flushed as she thought of how intimate that would be. It wasn’t like they were dating, and yet he was spending his money to purchase a wardrobe for her. If he wanted to see the outfits before buying them, it was the least she could do. The floral print sundress she had clung to her understated curves, but she padded barefoot to the entrance of the fitting rooms and did a little twirl for him.
His eyes lit in appreciation and he walked around her, studying her from all angles. “I hope you plan to purchase this one. It’s most fetching on you.”
Who used the word fetching? Still, the compliment warmed her from the inside out and she decided yes, she would purchase the dress. She modeled a few more outfits for him then began the process of weeding out what she felt she couldn’t live without and what she thought cost too much. A