Page 19 of Her Intense Protector

Sam nodded.

“How do you feel about jewel tones?”

Sam sighed with relief that somebody was listening to her. “I love them. I’m also looking for something a little fitted, but not so that I feel on display, does that make sense?”

“Bold, sexy, yet demure. I think I’ve got a handle on this. Let’s get you set up in a dressing room. Would you like a glass of wine?”

“Pardon?”

“This might take a little bit of time because we might want to do alterations in here in the store. So, would you like red or white wine?”

“White,” Sam said with a smile.

She was feeling much better about this whole experience. Amy, the manager, only needed to bring her four dresses until they hit gold. It was a fitted red coat dress that ended just above her knees, but when she sat down and crossed her legs, it showed enough upper leg to be tantalizing. The black buttons that went up the front matched the ones that went down the arms to the vee-tipped sleeves. Not too long on the sleeves, since they wouldn’t like that as she played poker.

“Can I make a suggestion?” Amy asked as she rang Sam up.

“Absolutely.”

“Wear stockings and garters. Occasionally when you cross your legs, whoever sees you wearing the dress might see a garter. It’s usually a show-stopper.”

“Oh, you’re good at this,” Sam exclaimed.

“I’d also go with black patent leather stilettos. It’ll go with the buttons. Red wouldn’t be right for the look.” Amy handed her the store garment bag with the dress. “Enjoy.”

“I think I just might,” Sam said.

Until she ended up at her favorite department store looking for shoes to go with the dress and bumped into Eden.

“Hey, Sam. I called you earlier to see if you wanted to go shopping, but it went straight to voicemail. But looks like fate stepped in. Whatchya shopping for?” Eden asked as she eyed Sam’s boutique bag.

“Shoes and some lingerie.”

Eden eyed her quizzically. “Got a hot date with Ezio?”

“No, nothing like that. Just a work event,” Samantha lied quickly.

“Pretty fancy if you were shopping at Ellie’s Boutique. Can I see what you bought?”

Samantha hesitated, but realized she was caught, so she unzipped the garment bag and showed Eden.

“This is gorgeous. Besides your wedding dress I’ve never seen you in something so fancy. Are you angling for a promotion?” Eden teased.

“Uhm, no. Are you up for helping me buy some shoes?” Sam asked as she tried to change the subject.

“Absolutely. So where is the party?”

“The shoe department is downstairs, right?” Sam asked.

Eden nodded then pointed to the escalator. “So where is it being held?”

God, she was relentless.

“Uhm, the Jefferson,” Sam lied again.

“That sounds great. When is it?”

Well, that was easy; the card game was the day after tomorrow, so she’d stick with that.