As I Once Knew

Chapter 16

Lydia

The Hummer pulls up to a small strip mall, Maverick guiding the large vehicle into the spot with ease. Maverick looks around the parking lot. It's mostly empty, only one or two cars around. The store in front of us has a glowing neon sign that says "Serendipity Styles" in flashing purple letters.

The sign on the door is flipped to closed, but inside I could see the silhouette of someone walking around the store.

"Ready?" Maverick asks, pulling his coat over his shoulders, concealing the gun he has strapped to his side.

"Yeah," I smile. "Are you?"

Maverick gives me a huge smile, his white teeth sparkling. "To see you try on clothes? Hell yeah, especially if it means I get to see your sweet body in something other than t-shirts and threadbare pants."

"Well who am I to keep you waiting?" I laugh, pulling my own coat tightly around me. The wind whips by outside, sending the top layer of fluffy snow up into the air.

Maverick turns the car off and hops out, I watch as his long legs make short work of walking around the front of his car and to my door. He pulls it open, offering my hand to help me down. His large hand is warm in mine, a stark contrast to the bitter cold of winter in Minnesota.

He leads me into the store, his hand still firmly in mine, as the bell above the door jingles with our arrival. The store is on the smaller side, but still hosts a reasonable amount of clothes. Clothes of all sorts, all neatly hanging on metal hangers, a wall of pants lines one wall, the various pants all folded and stacked neatly.

"Mav!" A tall brunette woman shrieks.

She walks towards Maverick, her hands outstretched as she goes for a hug. My eyes travel down her model-like body. A light blue flowy blouse with white buttons is neatly tucked into a pair of white dress pants that hug her curves perfectly. Her brown hair is styled in loose curls that fall effortlessly over her shoulder.

"Cora, it's good to see you again," Maverick smiles at her, giving her a small side hug.

"This must be the girl you were telling me about, Lydia right?" She looks me over, her nose crinkles slightly as she takes in my worn shirt and pants.

I nod slightly, tightening my hold on Mavericks hand "yeah i'm Lydia, nice to meet you."

"Likewise," her brown eyes rake over me once more.

"Well, Lydia needs a whole new wardrobe," Mavericks voice breaks Cora from her stare. "Pick anything you want, Sweet Girl, don't worry about the price."

I gently pull my hand from Mavericks, and slowly walk around the store, I run my hands along a light purple chunky knit sweater and flip the tag, my face falls, $125 for a sweater?!

"Are you sure?" I spin around to see Maverick lowering his large frame into a small red cushioned chair by a door that's labeled 'Dressing Rooms'.

"Of course, you never need to worry about the price when you're with any of us, but I will say, Lucas has the deepest pockets so make sure you make him pay for anything over a few hundred thousand. Buying your clothing isn't going to hurt my wallet."

"A few hundred thousand? What on earth could I possibly need that's that expensive..." My eyes widen as I stare at Maverick, he pulls his phone out of his pocket and starts to scroll. His eyes never leave the phone as he shrugs.

"A car? A vacation house? Honestly whatever you could want I'm sure he would buy for you. Especially if you ask him nicely."

My mouth fell open in shock, the way he was talking about buying things I could only dream of astonished me. Mavericks brown eyes lock with mine, and a frown plays on his lips.