Chic Steel: A steamy age-gap novella (The Esplanade Book 4) by Ava St. James

Author:Ava St. James [James, Ava St.]
Language: eng
Format: epub
Publisher: Calliope Press
Published: 2024-11-29T00:00:00+00:00

I smooth my black satin top straight and check my phone. He’ll be here any minute.

I’m sitting in the back room waiting for him to arrive, waiting for Immy to send him back here when he shows up. Don’t think I’ve ever dressed so fancy in my store before. Not that dark jeans and a silky top are fancy, but pair it with red lipstick and bright red nails and I feel fancy. Special.

Isla convinced me to choose red. Something about confidence. I’m not sure it’s working, unless churning in my stomach is confidence?

She told me to trust her and Lily encouraged it, so I figured why not? Red is timeless. Or so I was told, numerous times, between their teasing. Like Isla can talk about having a long-time crush on someone.

I flex my fingers. Maybe I should have done something more natural? Or a blue, maybe. Red is quite…bright. But I have to admit, it looks good against the black. Hopefully, he likes it.

The door opens and my eyes jerk to the man walking through it and snicking it shut behind him.

“You’re gorgeous,” he says, eyes scanning me up and down and settling on my face with a small smile.

“Thank you.” My mouth’s dry, and my hands are damp. He’s wearing a suit—because apparently he doesn’t own anything else—and looks delicious. His blue eyes pop against the white shirt. “You look beautiful.” His eyes crinkle. “I mean pretty—no, handsome! You look handsome.” I close my eyes, mortified, and hope the makeup covers my blush.

Add red cheeks to the rest of my outfit.

Arms wrap around me and tug me into a hug. My face against his chest, the fabric cool on my hot cheeks, and I’m praying I don’t get makeup on it.

Oliver ducks his head to reach my ear. “Thank you, honey. I’m glad you like the suit.”

“I like you,” I mumble into his chest. My cheeks have cooled enough for me to lift my head and face him. “You always look good, but it’s you I like.”

“Good,” he whispers. “Did you have a good day?”

“I did. Thank you for the flowers.” I glance at the cup holding them in the middle of the table. “And for the nails. I hope you like red.” I lift my hand to show him, and he grasps my fingers and brushes a thumb across the colour.

“I do.” His eyes flick to my lips. “A lot.”

I swallow and imagine my red lipstick decorating his face.

“I have something for you.” He pulls away and reaches into his pocket, hand reappearing with a jewellery box.

“You didn’t need to get me anything. You already got me flowers and paid for the nails,” I say, despite my heart jumping into my throat knowing he was thinking of me. Like I was while Isla swiped colour on my nails.

“I wanted to.” He opens the box and tugs out a necklace that glints in the light.

“It’s lovely. Thank you.” I reach for it, but he holds it out of reach.

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