In Good Company: Chapter 40

Lucy and I are walking hand in hand down the sidewalk when I come to a stop.

“Let’s go in here,” I offer, gesturing toward the house to our right.

Lucy looks at the house with the gray shingles. “Cal, you’re joking.”

I shake my head as a slow smile spreads over my lips. “I’m not joking. Let’s go inside.”

“That’s the Chanel house. I don’t need anything from Chanel.”

“Does anyone really need anything from Chanel?” I counter, lifting an eyebrow. “I want to get you something.”

Her jaw falls open. She looks adorable standing on the sidewalk, her hair pulled back in some sort of clip she had in her bag, her mouth hanging open in disbelief. Her wide eyes stay pinned on me, no words leaving her mouth for a bit, as if she’s waiting for me to tell her it’s a joke.

It isn’t.

I’ve had the best afternoon helping her pick out an outfit for dinner tonight with some of our friends, and I don’t want it to stop. I’ve quickly learned how much I enjoy buying her things. I want to buy her anything she shows even the slightest interest in, just because I can. I’m still waiting for her to open up to me more about her life before this summer, but from what I’ve gathered, she hasn’t ever had anyone spoil her the way she deserves. Knowing that makes me want to be the man to do it.

Lucy gestures to the bags I’m holding in the hand not holding hers. “Cal, you’ve already bought me plenty. You don’t need to buy me anything else, even if it is something as special as a Chanel bag.”

I take a step toward the landmark house. You typically need an appointment to get a private shopping experience, but last time I came here with my mom to pick out a gift for her, they gave us the private experience upstairs with no need for an appointment. I doubt today will be any different.

“I want to,” I tell her, tugging on her hand to pull her closer to the store. “Let me.”

Lucy shakes her head. “You already bought me an outfit for tonight, plus three new pairs of shoes, and let’s not forget the cooking set you insisted I needed.”

I squeeze her hand while lifting my shoulder in a casual shrug. “You did need the set. The green matches the apron from your mom perfectly. It was kismet we found them since they were limited edition and all.”

“And it was so thoughtful of you to get them for me, Cal. Truly.” She takes a step closer to me and cups my cheek in the hand that isn’t intertwined with mine. “You’ve already spoiled me more today than I’ve ever been spoiled. I don’t want you to think you have to buy me anything else.”

I lean into her touch. Feeling her skin against mine is now something I crave. Even when she stepped away from me this afternoon to try on clothes or when she was sitting across from me at the restaurant, I hated every second our bodies didn’t have some sort of connection.

I’ve never felt like this about someone. I’ve never even come close. It’s so new and foreign to me I can’t even fight it. I don’t want to fight it, despite all the reasons I know I probably should. She’s my brother’s ex-girlfriend, she’s under my employment, and she hasn’t shied away from the fact she’s leaving at the end of this summer and isn’t interested in anything more than a fling.

It’d be best for me to fight the feelings I’m developing for her, but I can’t bring myself to do it. I think it’s too late, anyway.

“Do you want a Chanel bag?” I ask, savoring the feeling of her fingertips against my skin.

She sighs and gives me a timid smile. “That’s a silly question. Everyone wants a Chanel like everyone wants to win the lottery. Of course I want it, but it’s not something I ever actually saw myself having. And I’m okay with that.”

“Then let me buy one for you. We have time to kill before we need to get ready for tonight, and buying you something here is the perfect way to do it.”

She laughs and shakes her head at me. “I can’t believe you just said that. You don’t just kill time by shopping at Chanel.”

“Today, we can. C’mon, baby.” I drop her hand and point to the purse she’s always carrying around. “You’ve retied the strap of this one because it keeps breaking.”

She raises her eyebrows defiantly and gives me a sly smile. “Maybe I did it on purpose.”

“It wasn’t broken at the start of the summer.”

Her lips part in shock. “How do you know that?”

I don’t tell her I’ve noticed everything about her for a while now. She lays her purse on the corner of the counter every morning before bringing the farmer’s market bags to the island and taking out the contents. Twice, I’ve seen her fuss over retying the strap of her purse together so she can still use it.

I’ve also noticed that every time she unloads her farmer’s market haul from the mesh bags, she narrates everything she’s doing. It’s like she’s recording a video that isn’t even there. I could go on about the things I know about her, but I choose to not go into detail at the moment.

I lift a corner of my mouth in a side smile. “I just noticed your purse was broken. It’s probably a sign you need a new one.”

Lucy huffs as she dramatically rolls her eyes at me. “You know you really don’t have to do this, right? I don’t even want to know the price tag on them, and I really am happy with the bag that I have.” She lets out the most adorably nervous laugh. “Can you tell I’m not used to expensive things?”

“I know I don’t have to do anything. But I want to, baby. I like buying you expensive things.”

She shakes her head. The movement causes a stray piece of hair to fall from the clip and into her eyes. “You’re ridiculous, Callahan Hastings. You know that, right? I don’t think anyone else but you would ever insist on spending this much money on me.”

Good. I hate the thought of anyone else seeing the way her entire face lights up when she’s getting spoiled.

I use my free hand to push the stray strand of hair from her eyes. Leaning in, I press a kiss to the tip of her nose. “I’m only ridiculous for you, Lucy Rae Owens.” I wink at her before grabbing her hand and leading her to the Chanel boutique house.

Lucy stares at me with a determined look in her eyes. Her eyebrows are drawn in, and her lips are puckered in the most adorable of scowls. “Absolutely not,” she clips, trying to keep her voice hushed.

“Absolutely,” I immediately respond.

“No.”

“Yes.”

The private shopping attendant clears her throat nervously from a few feet away as Lucy and I argue on the couches of the second-floor private shopping room.

“Cal, I said no,” Lucy mutters. She looks over at the attendant, Samantha, and gives her a tight smile. “Do you maybe have anything that doesn’t cost as much as a brand-new car?”

Samantha lifts an eyebrow and smiles at Lucy. “If a man is willing to buy you a purse, even with this price tag, you shouldn’t tell him no.”

I laugh at Samantha’s words. Immediately, I try to cover it up with a cough when I see the dirty look that Lucy tosses my way. I haven’t had her look at me like that in a very long time. It’s as cute as ever.

“Ugh,” Lucy grumbles, twisting her hands in front of her. “You can’t buy me a purse that costs twenty thousand dollars.”

“It’s under twenty thousand,” I counter, fighting the smile threatening to take over my lips. “And yes, I can. It’s the purse you like and the purse you’re going to get.”

We’ve been shopping for about an hour. Samantha’s shown us multiple beautiful handbags, but I could tell that the one sitting on the table in front of us was Lucy’s favorite. She gasped when Samantha brought it out. The moment I saw her eyes go wide and her lips part in awe, I knew I had to get the bag for her. She looked at the purse like it was a prized possession. I want to buy it for her.

I just need her to agree to it.

“Cal, it’s barely under twenty thousand. You can’t buy it for me. What if I ruin it? My job is messy. I’m messy. It’s not practical for me to have a purse worth this much.”

“You can always get it professionally cleaned. Just let your boyfriend buy you the purse,” Samantha adds at the last minute.

Lucy lets out a strangled noise as she looks at me wide-eyed. “Oh, he’s not my boyf⁠—”

“Yeah, Lucy, just let me buy it for you,” I cut her off with a smug grin. Being called her boyfriend made satisfaction wash over me. I realize I like the sound of it.

Lucy adjusts her position on the couch, crossing one leg over the other. “This isn’t fair. It’s two against one.”

I lift my shoulder in a casual shrug. “I guess you should just let me buy it, then.”

Lucy stares at me through narrowed eyelids. “What if that one isn’t my favorite?” She pulls her eyes from mine and points across the room, where a tiny purse sits by itself on a white shelf. “That one’s my favorite.” She pushes her shoulders back and sits up straighter, clearly proud of herself for lying and saying that her favorite bag is the one that’s a fraction of the price of the one I know she likes best.

I lick my lips as I form an idea. My eyes track over the private room as I remember the other items Lucy had her eye on while shopping. A wide smile spreads over my lips as my attention returns to Samantha.

“We will take the large bag, the small one my girlfriend just pointed out, and…” I point to a tan-colored crochet bag hanging across the room. It looks perfect for Lucy’s farmer’s market hauls. “We’ll also take that one as well.”

Lucy hits my thigh with the back of my hand. “No, we won’t,” she hurriedly gets out.

Samantha doesn’t listen to her. She places the bag I know is Lucy’s actual favorite back in its cloth dust bag and picks it up off the table.

“Wait,” Lucy calls after her, trying to get Samantha’s attention.

Instead, I place my hand on Lucy’s thigh and squeeze. “Baby, look at me.”

Lucy focuses on Samantha, who’s already made it across the room. “No, I need her to stop before she rings everything up and it’s too late. You’re spending way too much money on me.”

“Look at me,” I repeat, gently grabbing her chin and coaxing her to face me.

Lucy listens, her beautiful brown eyes connecting with mine.

Before she can protest me buying her things again, I clear my throat. “I know you’re not used to it, but I want to change that. You deserve to be spoiled, Lucy Rae. Will you do me a favor and let me be the one to do it?” My voice cracks a little at the end. I let it. I need her to know how badly I want to be the man to spoil her for as long as she’ll let me.

Her eyes soften as she leans deeper into my touch. I resist the urge to lean in and press a kiss to the freckles at the tip of her nose.

“Well, when you put it like that, how can I say no to you?” she asks, her voice soft.

I smile before leaning in and pressing a kiss to her lips. “Spoiling you is quickly becoming my favorite thing to do, so you don’t.”

“You’re spoiling me too much.”

I shake my head, kissing her again because I feel like it. My words are said against her lips. “There’s no such thing, Lucy baby.”