I took my place next to Gage in the mirror and whispered words of support. “The first test wasn’t so bad, was it? He seemed to believe we could be a couple.”
“He did. If he was paying attention to my face instead of the suit, he might not have, though. I need to work on that.”
“I thought you were experienced in this. Looks like you need to work on your gazing longingly technique.”
My joke made him laugh, easing the tension, thankfully. Phillip returned a moment later with a stunning black and turquoise swirl pattern tie that truly was the perfect tie for the suit. Placing it in my hand, he watched as I held it up against Gage’s chest, all the while staring into the mirror in an attempt to let him know now was the time to practice that gazing skill.
“Doesn’t it look great, dear?” I teased. “Perfect indeed.”
“Wonderful!” Extending his arm, Phillip pointed toward the register. “I’ll take you over here when you’re ready. Take your time.”
As he walked away, Gage looked at me in the mirror. “Laying it on a little thick there, weren’t you?”
“I was just practicing my doting girlfriend bit. Think I should dial it back a little?”
“Yeah. I think if we can find some happy medium between you and me, we might pull this off.”
“I don’t doubt it for a minute. Go get changed and I’ll deal with Phillip.”
Gage walked back into the dressing room while I paid for his new look, careful to drop heavy handed hints about how happy we were as a couple as the very nosy salesman hung on every word. Handing me back my credit card, he winked and leaned toward me. “You make a lovely couple.”
“Thank you. My fiancé thinks so too.”
Assuming I meant Gage was the man I planned to marry, he began to chatter on about how lucky he was to have me as his intended. I smiled, more at my cloaked reference than Phillip’s compliments. I had to find the bright spot in all this somehow.
With his new suit in hand, Gage escorted me to the front door of the store, stopping just before we stepped outside. Leaning down, he whispered, “Plans have changed. Daryl’s made sure we’re seen. He wants us to go to Malone’s a few blocks away for lunch instead of dinner. I’m assuming the men standing around outside are here for us, so be ready.”
I looked out the glass doors and saw the small crowd of men I recognized as photographers waiting for us. Daryl sure did know how to put on a show. Taking a deep breath, I walked past Gage as he held the door, very much like the boyfriend he was playacting but leaving me wide open for the throng of press to surge toward me. Instantly overwhelmed, I was surrounded by a sea of eager faces pushing toward me as their cameras flashed. I frantically looked around for Gage as I scrambled to make my way to the car, totally unprepared for how close they got to me. From all sides, they yelled for me to look their way, wanting to know how I was holding up with Tristan gone and presumed dead and how long I’d been with my bodyguard. The insinuation was clear—I was a heartless bitch who could forget one man easily and replace him with another even easier.
Something deep inside pushed me to answer that I still loved Tristan, but when I opened my mouth to speak, Gage inserted himself in between me and the men, shielding me from them and quickly getting the two of us into the car. “Jensen, we need to get to Malone’s. The quicker the better too,” he said calmly as I struggled to stop my hands from shaking.
Turning toward me, he frowned. “Are you okay? I’m sorry about that. I was so wrapped up in acting like a boyfriend that I didn’t do my job as your bodyguard. That’s always got to be my first concern, no matter what Daryl wants. I need to remember that.”
I heard in his voice the anger he was feeling. Trying to help, I rested my palm on his forearm. “It’s okay. Nothing bad happened. We’re good. I’m Jezebel and the press is eating it up like it’s candy.”
“Nina, although I’m not entirely clear on what danger you may be in, I do know a slip up like that could let someone close enough to really hurt you. My job is to make sure that never happens. We may be pretending to play house, but Tristan Stone expects me to keep you safe from every kind of danger, even one that only looks like a nuisance like those photographers.”
I hung my head, not caring about whatever danger there was around me. Those photographers had gotten to me, their words echoing in my mind. Who’s the new man, Nina? How long have you been together? What do you plan to do if Tristan Stone ever returns?
The mere thought of Tristan’s return as an if instead of a when hurt. I’d thought with Gage’s help I could do this pretending thing, but I didn’t realize it would be so hard. I didn’t want to be with anyone else, and making people think I did felt wrong.