Keep Coming Back To Love. Christa Maurice

Чтение книги онлайн.

СКАЧАТЬ card out of his pocket and flashed it before stuffing it back in.

      Credit card. Maybe he could help out her sales. Company policy required the cardholder be present, but he did have the number. “No offense, but I don’t think your mom is going to help you look good enough to front a band. I bet I can.”

      His gaze ran over her. Male hormones were her greatest sales aid. A low-cut top and a skirt that was really an inch too short for the store’s dress code, but her manager wasn’t complaining. Neither was this victim. “Great.”

      “First, I’ve got to get you out of those shitty jeans.”

      He grinned. “Best thing I’ve heard all day, uh—” He leaned down and looked at her badge. “Candy.”

      “All right rock star, let’s start with these.” She handed him a pair of jeans that would accent his long skinny legs in all the right ways and headed toward the shirts.

      “How do you know this is my size?”

      “I measured you with my eyes.” She sent him a flirty grin over her shoulder. Three months ago the store had gotten a shipment of button-down shirts, some with pinstripes, some solid. The solids had flown out the door, but the stripes were piled at the edge of the sale table in the back of the section. Their time had come. A cotton button-down shirt would look striking. Something to show off what body he did have instead of drowning it in flannel. Nice vertical stripes with the narrow-legged jeans would make him look taller, too. Kind of early David Bowie. “You need something a little more impressive on top, too. This flannel thing is so yuck.”

      “Really? All the big bands dress like this.” He plucked at his shirt.

      “It doesn’t do you any favors. Let’s try you in this.” She shook the wrinkles from a dark blue shirt with mint green pinstripes. A little odd or distinctive? If his hair was colored to a decent blond, it would be perfect. Jody was working at the store’s salon tonight. “How long do you have before the audition?”

      “I have to be there at seven.”

      Candy made a show of checking her watch. “How much of a makeover do you want to do today?”

      His eyes narrowed on her. “Whatever it’s gonna take to get into this band.”

      “Do you trust me?”

      “I just met you.”

      Candy shrugged. “Do you trust me?”

      For a long time, he stared at her. She could see the calculations running through his head. How much he needed to win this audition. How little he knew about dressing himself to look good enough to front a hot band. How cute she was. If he had any chance of getting in her pants. That was always a factor. “I trust you. If you get me into this band, I’ll take you out.”

      Yep, how cute she was. That little glimmer of swagger could be nursed to a full-blown inferno if she played him right. “It’s a date. You go try that stuff on and I’ll call my friend at the salon.”

      “This isn’t gonna cost a lot, is it? My mom will shit if I run up her bill.”

      So much for improving her sales. “Don’t worry. Jody will give you the friend-of-a-friend discount.”

      “Super.” The guy bounded off toward the dressing rooms. Lots of potential.

      Once he’d turned through the door, she went to the cash desk and called Jody. “Hey, what are you doing this afternoon?”

      “Fuck all. Literally, right now there’s a blue-haired old lady getting a perm and three empty chairs. As soon as I’m done with cosmetology school, I am outta here. What about you?”

      Candy stared in the direction of the dressing rooms. “I have a challenge for you.”

      “Really?”

      “This guy walked into my section. He’s auditioning for Touchstone tonight.”

      “No way! I love them. He trying out for Max Terry’s spot?”

      “I don’t know.”

      “What’s this guy look like?”

      Candy frowned. “That’s kinda the problem. The potential is there, but he’s screwed up his hair and he looks like he buys his clothes from the Salvation Army while wearing a blindfold.”

      “He’s auditioning tonight?”

      “Seven o’clock.”

      “Plenty of time. You get him dressed and I’ll sort out the hair. Can he sing?”

      “I have no idea.”

      “Send him over anyway. I’m bored.”

      The guy stepped out of the dressing room. Her breath caught. Day for night difference. Tall, lean. Suddenly he had enough presence to walk in front of an audience armed with nothing but a microphone and attitude. Talk about hiding a light under a bushel. He scanned the section. When he saw her, his face brightened and he headed toward her. “You’ll need to do something about his face, too. His skin’s screwed up way beyond what a little foundation will fix.”

      “That’s not going to happen by seven o’clock.”

      “I know, but you can start him in the right direction. We want him to look good when he hits the stage with the band.”

      “Gina’s good at that.”

      “Great. I told him you’d cut him a break on the price.”

      “He gets in this band, I’ll cut his fucking hair for free.”

      “I’ll send him along when I’m done. See ya.” Candy hung up the phone. “That looks great.”

      “Really? I thought it looked fruity.” He tugged at the sleeves.

      “First of all, you don’t tuck it in.” She pulled the tails of the shirt out of his pants, letting her fingers brush against his skin. Nice. “These colors are dramatic and bring out your eyes. If you’re going to be the lead singer, you have to command people’s attention so you have to look good.”

      He smoothed his hands over the shirt. “It fits.”

      Candy led him to a mirror and stood behind him. “It would be better if it were taken in a little on the sides.” She gathered the material between her fingers. Gawd, he was hot. “You probably don’t have time to get to a tailor.”

      “A tailor?” His eyes went wide.

      “Clothes always look better when they’re fitted to you.”

      He turned around and slid his hands down her arms, studying her face. “Is that why yours look so great?”

      “Yeah. I tailor all my own clothes.”

      “And I thought it was the amazing body in them.”

      Candy curled one side of СКАЧАТЬ