I waited in my room until I was certain that Lucas had left for work before making my way to the kitchen in an effort to grab a muffin and a glass of milk before anyone noticed. Unfortunately, this house was crawling with servants and Luisa caught me immediately. I made some excuse about sleeping in, tired from the flight and the time change, and slunk back to my room to be alone.
But being alone had meant a night full of no sleep and thoughts about my husband that had me questioning my own rules already. I needed to get out of my head and, maybe, out of this house. But first, I needed to call Leah.
She answered on the second ring.
"Girl, spill," she snapped the second her face popped onto my screen.
"We have been staring at your gorgeous hunk of a husband for twenty four hours now," Connor added from nearby and Leah turned the phone to show an image of Lucas filling the screen of her Macbook.
"I'm here too!" a familiar voice shouted from off screen and Leah adjusted the camera so I could see Vince as well. "And not at all threatened by Connor referring to another man as a gorgeous hunk."
"I'm sorry but you do have eyeballs, yes?" Connor queried.
"Great, you've called the council together," I groaned from my end and Leah turned the camera back onto her.
"Sorry babes but this is some serious shit you're in. We just want to help."
"I know," I told her and I did.
"So... how was night one in the Malibu Barbie dreamhouse?" Connor gushed, leaning into the frame.
"It was... unexpected."
"How?"
"I didn't think things would be so... easy. I mean, I was intimidated. I scrolled through news article after news article about the sexy self-made billionaire all the way here and got myself worked up into a panic attack. But then, actually seeing him, and talking to him, I realized he's still a person, you know? And not just a person but the same person that I married six years ago. I mean, not the same. He's... definitely different. But he's still Lucas. Our friendship is still there. Like it never stopped. Sure, it has some added complications now–"
"Like the sexual tension you can literally cut with a knife?" Connor asked.
"Yes," I replied with a grimace. "That."
"What are you going to do about that?" Leah asked.
"I might have... made my stance on the matter uncomfortably clear at dinner last night," I confessed and she raised a brow. I sighed and continued. "I made him agree to some ground rules."
"That's good. Ground rules are good. What are we talking here?"
"No talking to the agent without informing the other person. No making arrangements for me without my knowledge. He already had everything planned out when I got here. My day was scheduled the moment I stepped off that plane, it was ridiculous. Also, no dating other people. I don't want to look like a fool, you know. And, er, no sex."
I said the last part quietly, hoping they wouldn't catch it. But they did.
"What?" Connor exploded. "You said that to the man's face on day one? You just looked him dead in the eyes and said 'no sex' just like that? To your husband?"
I winced. When he said it like that...
"I want to set firm boundaries. I don't want his expectations to differ from mine. This is what's right, Connor. It's what's fair," I told him.
"I don't disagree," Leah said carefully. "And generally I would be all for setting firm boundaries with men but... babes, he's your husband. Would it... really be so bad to sleep with the man you've been married to for six years? Especially if you... well, do you want to?"
I blinked at her. Did I want to? Did it matter? Because none of it mattered if he didn't want to. And why would he? It had never been that way between us before. But then, he'd never flirted with me before like he did last night. And I hated to admit it but I'd enjoyed it much more than I should have.
"Uh, okay, I'm going to take this hauntingly long silence as a yes," Connor interrupted and I sighed, leaning back on my bed with a groan. Why was this happening to me?
"Señora Vega," Luisa called suddenly from the hall outside my room. She was still calling me that despite the countless times I'd asked for her to call me Piper. "Señor Vega has left a message for you. Would you like me to read it?"
"Yes," Connor said.
"Um, hold on, Luisa," I called back. "Guys, I've got to go."
Without waiting to hear their disappointed pleading, I tapped the end button and stood from my bed. I walked over and swung open my door to a waiting Luisa.
"He wishes for you to know that his company is having a launch party tonight. It is an important event, very exclusive, and he wants you to go with him," she said. I just blinked at her, processing the information embarrassingly slowly.
"A party," I repeated. "Tonight."
Luisa nodded.
"I don't have anything to wear," I told her.
Without hesitation, she handed over a black credit card. I stared down at it in awe.
"Señor Vega says to get whatever you need," she replied. "Kevin will pick you up at eight."
With that, she turned and disappeared down the hall. I stared down at the card in my hands, knowing I was currently holding the access to more money than I'd ever seen in my entire life, combined. Leah would have passed out at the thought of an unsupervised, unlimited shopping spree but all I was feeling was anxiety. A party, an important and exclusive party with some of America's richest people. If I were going to be prepared, I had to start now. I was already late.
"Maria!" I screamed at the top of my lungs, hoping I wouldn't frighten the poor girl.
She appeared a second later, eyes wide.
"I need your help," I told her, striding forward and grasping her hands in my own. "Desperately."
Without hesitation, she nodded.
Maria helped me find everything I needed to properly shower and dress. Then I asked her to call Kevin and, when he arrived, begged her to come with me for moral, emotional, and fashion-related support. She seemed surprised but agreed when I plead so much I embarrassed us both.
Kevin dropped us off in a wealthy shopping district and I found myself staring at golden window displays as toothpick thin women passed me by, bumping into me with their enormous shopping bags as they spoke in hushed tones about the latest gossip of the season. I pulled Maria into a nail salon and swiped Lucas' card to pay for mani-pedis for the both of us. Maria argued at first but I insisted and then watched as she stared down at the pedicure in awe, enjoying the small bit of luxury.
Then I pulled her towards a dress shop, the only one I'd ever heard of before. We browsed for a bit on our own but must have looked as lost at sea as we felt because a saleswoman found us soon enough and, as soon as she saw that bit of black plastic in my hands, started jetting around the room, pulling the most gorgeous gowns she could find. She settled a stunned Maria onto a puffed up armchair with a complimentary glass of rose and shoved me into the nearest dressing room with an arm full of silk, satin, and lace.
After trying on five of the most beautiful gowns I'd ever seen, Maria and I settled on a simple black slinky gown which was backless and had a delicious slit on the left side all the way to my thigh. Maria remarked, half drunk on rose, that it had the perfect balance of sexy and sophisticated and that was good enough to me. But the saleswoman tsked at my visible bra and assured me I'd need new lingerie to compliment the look, maybe new lingerie in general. Overwhelmed by the experience and wanting nothing more than to return home and not try on another garment for as long as I lived, I sent her off with Maria and instructed the maid to buy whatever she thought was necessary.
In the meantime, I collapsed onto one of the fluffy armchairs and pulled out my phone. A notification popped up immediately. I had a text from Lucas.
Hope Luisa told you about tonight. Looking forward to seeing you all dressed up.
I couldn't help but smile.
"All done," the saleswoman's cheery voice called out from the register. I looked up to see that she was already packing things away as Maria downed her fourth glass of rose. I joined them there, handing over the card while trying to slip my phone back into my purse, not paying too much attention to what the saleswoman was doing. But then, at the end, when Maria took my dress bag and I was handed the largest shopping bag I'd ever seen, I finally turned to Maria.
"Um, Maria," I said, staring down at the frilly tissue paper tucked into the top of the bag intended to discreetly hide the underthings underneath. "How much lingerie did you buy?"
She cocked her head to the side.
"What I thought was necessary for... oh no," Maria said, paling. "I thought you meant for... oh dear. You meant for the party tonight, didn't you? Just to go with this dress."
"Maria," I replied calmly. "What did you think I meant?"
Her cheeks tinged pink.
"I unpacked your suitcase," she blurted. "Two bras and a handful of panties. I thought you meant that you needed... more. Since you're staying longer than you thought and, now that you're back with Mr. Vega, I thought–"
My eyes widened when I realized what the miscommunication had been. I shoved a hand into the bag and pulled out a handful of mixed and matched lace thongs, panties, and bras, my jaw dropping.
"Ohmygoodness," Maria cried in a rush. "I'm so sorry, Mrs. Vega. I didn't mean- are you angry?"
"No, Maria," I told her, making an effort to stay calm to assuage her fears. "I'm not angry but let's not tell Mr. Vega that this particular purchase is what his card was used for, yes?"
She nodded emphatically, wide eyed.
"I think I've had too much rose," she said and I laughed.
"One can never have too much rose, Maria," I told her, leading her out of the store and toward the waiting limo. "But let's head home just the same."
Kevin drove us back to the mansion and I asked Luisa to make some coffee and then handed a mug to Maria and we spent the afternoon readying me for the party. I felt like a princess getting ready for a ball and, by the time I had the chance to look myself over in the mirror, a final, finished product, I couldn't help but beam at my own reflection.