“I’m sure she would get over it,” Coco drawled.
“Oh, stop being so difficult. Even if you don’t find anything you like, it will get you off the palace grounds, and you shouldn’t miss Chantaine’s downtown area. Some find it quite quaint.”
Coco couldn’t disagree with the idea of escaping Benjamin for a while. “All right,” she said. “You’re very kind to invite me, but don’t count on coming back with anything for me.”
Soon enough, Coco learned that Bridget was one pushy princess. “Oh, please,” Bridget said after they’d cruised through the second boutique. “You’re making this miserable. There’s got to be something you like. There are so many dresses that would look wonderful on you.”
Coco shrugged. All the prices had been out of her range so far. “You know how it is when you can’t find exactly the right dress,” Coco said as she sifted through a rack of dresses. She wandered toward a sale rack in the back of the store.
“Trust me, there’s nothing there,” Bridget said. “Come back up front.”
Coco continued to flip through the rack and found a simple sapphire-blue full-length dress. The price was still a little high, but...
Bridget came to her side. “Lovely color. A little plain, but with a little jewelry, it would do.” She glanced at Coco and smiled. “You have Devereaux eyes, only a little sweeter.”
“You’re the sweet one,” Coco said. “Putting up with me to do all this shopping.”
“Oh, trust me,” Bridget said. “This is a pleasure after playing ranch frau this morning. Now try on your plain dress. I’m ready to disapprove and we’ll move on to the next shop.”
Coco tried on the dress and loved it. She loved that the color was vibrant and the design simple, a V-neck with an A-line that flattered her slim frame.
Bridget crossed her arms over her chest and shook her head. “I want to veto it, but something about it is perfect. We can do something with your hair, give you some jewelry, the right shoes.”
“Shoes?” Coco echoed. “I have black heels.”
“We can do better than that,” Bridget said.
Coco felt a sinking sensation. “Better than black heels?”
“Of course we can,” Bridget said.
Coco wrestled with Bridget to pay the bill. For a moment there, it could have gotten bloody, but Coco pulled out the guilt screws. “This is embarrassing me,” Coco said.
Bridget immediately backed off. For a full moment. “Fine,” she said. “But I’m still getting your shoes.”
Two nights later, Benjamin paced the front room, dressed in his suit, tugging at his shirt collar. What had possessed him to agree to go to this gala? He could have said no-how, no-way, but he’d thought his absence might look odd since he and Coco were supposed to be engaged.
Now he was stuck with what would likely be the most uncomfortable evening of his life. He took another gulp of water and paced the front room again.
Out of the corner of his eye, he spotted a vibrant blue color and he spun around. Coco entered the hallway, looking beautiful in a long evening gown with a sparkly headband and bracelet. Her hair was a mass of tousled waves, her face enhanced with a hint more makeup than usual. Her lips glistened and she licked them, making him wanting to kiss her.
“Do I look okay?” she asked.
He shook his head. “No. You look beautiful,” he said.
Relief smoothed out her features. “Thanks. You didn’t have to say that.”
“It’s true. That dress looks great on you. The color almost matches your eyes.”
“Thanks. I found it on the sale rack.”
“You didn’t have to get a clearance dress,” he said.
“I didn’t want to overspend. And I didn’t want the Devereaux to pay for it, even though Bridget insisted they would,” she said and fiddled with her wrap.
“I would have bought you a dress. Heaven knows you’re due a bonus after dealing with Emma nonstop,” he said, chuckling.
She met his gaze and smiled. “Maybe, but I wanted to pay for this myself.”
“You just didn’t want to be one of those illegitimate moochers,” he joked with her.
She laughed with him. “You’ve got that right. I know you can’t wait to go tonight.”
“Oh, I’ve been so excited all day that I can hardly stand it,” he said in a dry tone. “I haven’t been this excited since I went to the Super Bowl.”
She swatted his chest. “Liar, liar, pants on fire,” she said.
“Ouch, you have a mean right hook,” he said.
“Again, liar, liar—”
He held up his hands, enjoying the fact that she was acting relaxed with him. Since the night they’d almost had sex, she’d frozen him out. He knew he deserved it, but it sure as hell didn’t feel good.
“Okay, okay,” he said. “When is the babysitter supposed to get here?” he asked.
As if on cue, a knock sounded at the door. Benjamin answered and a young woman entered.
“Please forgive me. I’m Natalie and I’ve been helping Princess Bridget’s twins. I’m here to take care of your baby, Emma. Are there any specific instructions?” she asked.
“If the bottle doesn’t work, you can give her a small amount of cereal,” Coco said.
“She likes Cheerios, but hopefully she won’t be awake long enough for that,” Benjamin said. “If she wakes up after you’ve put her to bed, when all else fails, sing to her.”
“But she loves to be rocked,” Coco added.
And so it went for several moments. Natalie duly wrote down all of Benjamin and Coco’s instructions and suggestions, which, after all was said and done, could have been the first chapter of a book.
“You’ll call if you have any problems at all?” Coco asked, halfway wishing she could stay in the villa instead of going to the gala. She was growing more nervous with each passing moment.
“Enjoy the party,” Natalie said. “Your baby will probably sleep all the way through. If she doesn’t, I will rock her and sing to her.”
Coco felt a surge of relief. “Thank you. But you’ll call...”
“Yes, I will call. Please go and enjoy,” Natalie said. “Your car is waiting.”
Coco
