Chapter 15 - Showroom

Leisurely, Alexandre stripped off his black pea coat and sat next to Lily on the white suede couch. "Can you show us some basic shirts and some sweaters?"

"Alright, give me a moment. Do you want something to drink while you wait? "Asked the sales assistant.

"Do you want something?" Alexander asked Lily. She only shook her head. "I don't need anything, thanks." She hoped to speed things up a bit. She felt visibly uncomfortable, as Alexandre pressed against her. He held her tightly in his arms. She felt his body heat drift toward her. Escaping through the openings of his clothes and slowly closing around her. Even his scent of sea and sandalwood wrapped her like a soft blanket. Lily felt dizzy of his closeness. Since the early morning he pulled her back in his arms. Again and again. Because of him, her blood boiled until she could no longer think clearly.

"We do not need anything, thanks." He signaled the shop assistant before shop assistant quickly left the room.

"Help me pick." He calmly stroked a fold out of her moss-green skirt of er swing dress. Alexandre felt how Lily stiffen.

It took her breath away. He was close to her. Again. Way too close. Again and again he broke her protective distance. Shamelessly.

There was a spark in her eyes. Warning. When she looked up at him. A thick wreath of black eyelashes framed her beautiful cat- like eyes. She wore no makeup and yet she was so much more beautiful than any other women he knew.

He leaned toward her. His smile wider. Complacent. "You also need a dress for the dinner with my family." His breath touched her ear, sending a shiver down her spine.

"Don't I have enough?" Lily mumbled discontentedly, thinking of the room in his house filled with glamorous clothes, accessories, jewelry and shoes. All for her alone. She did not need a new dress, she had a room full of new clothes! What does this nonsense mean?

"Not at all." Lily rolled her eyes. "I definitely did not eat enough cookies for this." It burst out of her foggy brain. She had got too much Alexandre for today, but he just did not stop.

Alexandre threw his head back in his neck, loud laughing. He had not laughed so much for a long time. She amused him, was like an ongoing catastrophe. A cute, innocent catastrophe. And that's what he liked about her. She never tried to get his attention. She just took it. Even if she did not want it most of the time. He shook his head sighing, amused, but also a little desperate.

The door swung open and a man with a youthful face stepped into the showroom. He was wearing a mouse-gray pair of chinos, a loose-fitting white shirt and a gray vest on it. He looked elegant and fashionable. The man looked familiar. The blond shoulder-length hair and the boyish face that barely betrayed his age. He could swear he had seen him before. But Alexandre could not assign him.

The man introduced himself as George Blair, chief designer and store manager for Paradise Kiss. His name did not tell him anything. Alexandre shook his hand and introduced himself. Meanwhile, the sales assistants rolled in with three clothes trolleys. It featured various types of men's shirts in a variety of colors and fabrics. But also pants, jackets, vests, sweaters, polo shirts, ties and bow ties. And an extra wagon with men's shoes was rolled in.

"Could you please show my wife some dresses?" Alexandre said satisfied with the selection. He did not miss it when Lily blinked several times in rapidly. Her mouth slightly open. She still was not enthusiastic about his idea. That amused him. This expression and her naivety.

He was able to play with her and never got tired of her. With the other women he dated. After a few hours he usually gets bored. Everyone had fascinated him in the beginning. But after a short while he gets bored. He did not know what was so different about Lily. She was beautiful. But that was the others too. She was naive. But she was not the first naive woman he had met. A little strange. Crazy. In her own way. She was not the sweet little lady she pretended to be in public. Time after time he saw her façade crumble. She was from a difficult nature. And she could not hide this for a long time. If you only watched her over a little while, you could see the girl behind the mask. The true Lily, who simply did not live up to her reputation.

It did not take long for Alexandre to find out.