He lifted his head. "I have a better idea. Come with me."
"What?"
He spun around in his chair and faced me. "Come with me. It's only a matter of time before we tell the world about us, and at least we won't be the focus tonight. You'll get to see what you'll be facing from now on. I promise to even smile."
"The press will know for sure there's something going on if you smile, Tristan."
"Then it's settled," he said suddenly looking much happier.
I shook my head as the realization of what he wanted me to do settled into my brain. I had no dress to wear to an event like this. I had no practice dealing with the public or the press. My hair and makeup would need to be done.
Shaking my head, I backed away from him. "No, Tristan. I don't have anything I need to be able to go. I don't have anything to wear."
"No problem. Let me take care of that." Turning around toward his desk, he dialed the phone and said, "Angelo, it's Tristan Stone. I need a gown, red or black, for the same client you handled before and I want to see your choices at my house in Duchess County in an hour."
Angelo said something that pleased him because he smiled broadly as he hung up the phone. I walked to the side of the desk and folded my arms across my chest. "Same client you handled before? I thought you said you picked out all those clothes that day."
Turning on the charm, he pulled me back to sit on his lap. He traced the outline of my lips with his fingertip and said, "I'm guilty. It was a little white lie. I trust Angelo, so it's like I picked them out myself anyway."
"Actually, I think I'm okay with you not picking out my outfits. It has a weird vibe to it and there's something about you knowing that much about women's clothes that I'm not really feeling."
"That's good because other than wanting to tear them off you at times, I don't know much about them. But Angelo does, so don't worry. He'll make sure you have a dress worthy of you."
Worthy of me? Never before in my life had I thought of clothes in terms of anything being worthy of me. If something fit and I liked it, I bought it. Its worthiness or mine was never an issue. A dress worthy of me sounded like another sign that I wasn't ready for this party.
"Are you sure about this?" I asked quietly as he busied himself with shutting down his laptop.
He looked up with a quizzical expression on his face. "Sure about what?"
"Me going with you tonight. I don't want to ruin anything for you."
"Nina, you could never ruin anything for me. You're the woman I love and intend to marry in a few short weeks. Tonight is more for me than anything else. I don't want to go, but at least if you're with me, I'll be happy."
"It's just that..." I stopped myself and then said what was really on my mind. "No matter what Angelo brings for me to wear, I'm not going to look like the women you usually take to these kinds of affairs."
Tristan stood from his chair and wrapped his arms around me, pulling me close. "I don't have any interest in those women. I've told you that. They're picked because they look like the typical type of woman men like me date."
"But that's the point I'm trying to make. I don't look like that type of woman."
"You don't see many of those relationships lasting very long, do you? What kind of man wants to be with a woman who loves the way she looks more than she loves you?"
I looked down to avoid his stare, no matter how much love I knew was in it. "I just don't want to embarrass you."
He gently forced my head up with his hands on the sides of my face so I had no choice but to look at him. His caring eyes stared intently down into my eyes. "I don't ever want to hear you say that again, Nina. I love you for many reasons, but I won't lie. The way you look is one of those reasons. It may not be the only reason or the main reason, but I think you're beautiful. I don't want a stick woman who doesn't enjoy the food I want to buy her or who thinks spending hours doing her makeup and hair is important. I want you because you aren't like them. I can be myself with you. You don't know how much that means to me. I've spent years around women who I had to pretend with. From the first night we met, I didn't have to be anyone but myself. I love that in you."