I groan and pull the "cheap" dress off the hanger and slide it on. It's pretty, gray and slinky with a plunging neckline. I'm not wearing heels so it drags on the floor. I pinch the fabric at mid-thigh with my fingertips to raise the hem and walk out to find Luke. He's texting but stops and frowns when he sees my face.

"What's wrong? You don't like this one?" His gaze runs up and down my form. "It fits you perfectly."

I shake my head no. "Can we leave?" I ask quietly. Luke examines my face, waiting for more from me, but it's not coming.

"Okay," he agrees, but I can tell he's confused.

I strip out of the dress and change back into my jeans and sweater as quickly as possible and sigh in relief.

We exit the shop and walk towards Market Street. We're meeting Boyd at the Capital Grille.

"Care to explain, Sophie?" Luke interrupts my thoughts as we walk. His eyes are focused ahead.

I shrug.

"Words, please."

"I don't want you to buy me a dress."

"Why not?"

I shrug again.

"Sophie." His tone indicates he's not amused.

"I just don't."

He's quiet then as we walk, our feet crunching over the shoveled sidewalks, cars swooshing past us on the street.

"Did you want me to find another date so you can stay home?"

"Like Gina?" I retort.

"What the hell does Gina have to do with this?" He sounds close to exhausted with me but I shrug again. I'm pretty sure based on the tick in his jaw that he'd be spanking my ass right now if we weren't in the middle of the street. I know I'm behaving like a brat, but I don't have any answers for Luke. I don't know how to express why the dress bothers me, but it does. Maybe it signifies how different we are. Buying expensive dresses and attending galas is not anything I see in my future, even after graduation.

"This is a black-tie event, Sophie, you need an appropriate dress if you're going to attend, and I'd like you to attend."

"I want to go with you." I trail off and then Luke gets a call, so I'm saved from elaborating. We've reached the Capital Grille on Chestnut, where we’re meeting Boyd for lunch. Luke indicates I should go in while he finishes his call and I gladly take the opportunity to postpone this conversation.

Lunch is slightly nerve-racking. Luke spends the hour interrogating Boyd, which Boyd seems oblivious to, thankfully.

I'm trying to get to know Boyd. I'm not sure that we have much in common, but he's family. I don't know why Luke joined us, as he seems more interested in finding a reason why I shouldn't associate with Boyd than in getting to know him.

We part ways outside and I give Boyd a hug. I watch him walk away for a moment then turn and start walking with Luke in the opposite direction.

"I thought you agreed to be nice to Boyd, Luke."

"I wasn't nice?"

I roll my eyes and Luke raises his eyebrows.

“You were a little aggressive.”

"Okay. I’ll work on that." He takes my hand and we walk on in silence.

"What if I can't find a job right away?" I blurt out. "After graduation."

"I'll help you."

"Luke, no! That's not what I meant. And you're a doctor, how are you going to help me find an accounting job?"

"I meant financially, but I'm sure I could line up some interviews for you as well. Hospitals have plenty of accounting work."

"I meant, what if I have to waitress until I find a job? Are you still going to want to take me to charity galas? I'm a barista now, it's not any different than waitressing, I just make less money."

Luke pulls me over against a building, out of the path of people walking past, and puts his hand under my chin, tilting my face up to his. "Sophie, what are you getting at?"

"Why do you love me? I'm a college student and you're… you! You're a doctor with a trust fund and a fancy penthouse. You're cultured and associate with people who host charity events or sit on boards of companies. You have a housekeeper, Luke. I do my laundry in a coin-operated machine that I share with a hundred other students."

He tilts his head a little as he listens to me, then backs me into the brick wall of the store we're standing in front of and drops his forehead to mine and shuts me up with a kiss.

Chapter 26

We finish our walk back to Luke's and he doesn't mention stopping anywhere to look at dresses. I'm not sure what to make of that, nor am I sure how to resolve my feelings about him paying for a dress, so I don't say anything. Entering the penthouse, I quickly realize we're not alone.

"Uncle Luke!" Bella comes tearing down the hallway and jumps onto Luke without slowing down. He laughs and tosses her in the air, which makes her squeal in delight. Seeing me she beams. "Soapy!" She wiggles her way back to the floor and grabs my hand. "We bring you Mommy's dresses!"

I let Bella lead me to Luke's bedroom, where I find Meredith hanging dresses in the empty walk-in closet closest to the door.

"Great, you're back from lunch." Meredith gives me a hug and Luke kisses her on the cheek. "Luke said you wanted to borrow a dress for the gala next weekend, so I brought over a bunch. I'll leave them all here as they won't fit me anytime soon," she says, patting her tiny baby bump. "If you don't like any of these I have tons more."

Luke is leaning against the door jamb. "You don't mind?" I ask Meredith.

She scoffs. "Of course not. I have more dresses than I will ever be able to wear. I wouldn't even notice if you didn't return these, trust me."

"Thank you, Meredith," I say as I take in the rack of dresses. She must have had the concierge help her up, because there are eight dresses hanging neatly in a row. At least two of them will work. "These are perfect. I really appreciate it."

"Luke would have been happy to buy you a dress, you know. He'd buy you anything you wanted."

"I know," I respond, meeting her curious gaze. "I'm just not ready for that."

Meredith smiles. "Let me know which dress you decide on and I'll send over the shoes, bag and wrap to match."

We exit the unused closet and find Bella jumping on the bed with Luke keeping a close eye on her.

"Five little monkeys jumped on a bed," Bella chants. "One fell off and bumped her head! Luke said no more jumping on the bed!" Bella giggles hysterically. "Seven little monkeys jumped on a bed!" She continues on in non-numerical order.

"Come on, monkey, it's time to go home."

"Catch me, Uncle Luke," Bella yells as she launches herself off the bed with no warning. Luke catches her, of course, and swings her around before placing her on her feet, where she takes off running for the front door. I wonder if my life would be different if I'd been as confident as Bella at her age, surrounded by people who would never let me fall.

The front door shuts behind Meredith and Bella, and Luke turns to me. "Is borrowing a dress agreeable?" He cocks one eyebrow.

"I love you back," I reply instead.

His eyes spark before his lips twitch in a grin. "The trick was borrowing things for you?"

"I'm curious about anal."

His eyes positively light up. "I can help you with that," he responds, picking me up by the waist so that I wrap my legs around him as he walks us back to the bedroom. "We can call it a loan from your pussy to your ass, if this borrowing thing is what gets you hot."