“No!” Lily barked. She surreptitiously looked up and checked to see if anyone had heard her. “We need to work things out before any of that goes down. As I said, I don’t need another dad.”

“Or that is exactly what you need,” Angelina scoffed. “It’s not like your parents are stellar. You have always done what you wanted. Maybe you need someone breathing down your neck to really see that they love you.” Made sense. Sometimes Angelina’s skewed ideas were of use.

“I don’t think it works that way,” Lily grumbled.

“Okay, I am bored. I can’t find anything I like,” Angelina commented. Katherine was more interested in underwear, so she had simply browsed through the clothes with no intention to buy anything. Lily, on the other hand, went to the counter and bought a top that she thought looked flattering. Neither of the two others disputed what she said.

“Two hundred dollars for a pair of panties?” Katherine hissed. The price was unbelievable. There was no way she was going to buy these without going broke. They had gone to many of the other lingerie stores in the shopping mall before finally entering the stupidly priced store. Angelina loved this store and Lily had done a photoshoot for the brand. Yes, their products were stellar but Katherine would rather not wear underwear than spend a month’s worth of groceries on something she wouldn’t wear often.

So far, she had gotten an olive green bra and matching panties that complimented her skin, an orange night set that made her look like a goddess and some complicated black lingerie that should have probably come with instructions. She hoped that they had tutorials online because otherwise, all that money would go down the drain.

Angelina had somehow put together a schoolgirl outfit from some of the other shops, pairing a pristine white shirt that fit her too snugly and showed off the black bra she had brought. She also got a black plaid skirt and a blazer with golden buttons. When asked why she was buying this, she shrugged and said, “It shows off my thighs and hints at my other private bits wonderfully. It’s bound to drive Stephen crazy.” During their vacation? How was that even feasible?

“One good lingerie piece is always an asset in your wardrobe. Think about the pictures you can take in them and send them to Cage when he is weary and just wants to see his girlfriend.” Katherine sighed. Lily was right. She felt powerful in pretty lingerie, but she was also buying it for his pleasure. Nothing wrong with that.

But Katherine also doubted that Cage would care. He would probably have no clue what the difference between the high end and cheaper ones was.

“I already bought a lot today. I don’t need to buy anymore,” Katherine responded. The two friends looked up disapprovingly.

“You’re buying this,” Lily said.

“I’m footing the bill,” Angelina commented. Mindboggling. “Once you have the star in your grasp, you need to do everything in your power to keep him there. You might not be a fan of games, but I am not letting you lose to the other women who are pursuing him.” Katherine blinked.

“There are women pursuing him?” she asked in a small voice.

“He’s Cage Cavanaugh,” she whispered and looked around. “He must have supermodels falling all over him. I trust him not to look elsewhere, but love is not always forever. You need to keep it spicy and step up your game.” Lily seemed to agree to this.

“Cage might not care but there is nothing wrong with buying something sexy. You deserve to feel like the best,” Lily said with a wink.

“I feel like this is the beginning of a lesbian party. Are we going to wash our naked bodies and sing kumbaya?” Katherine commented with a snort.

Lily rolled her eyes. Suddenly, her eyes lit up and she scurried away in the opposite direction. She was eyeing a hot pink babydoll and soon picked it out and searched for her size. “Jared will love this.”

‘Are you sure he won’t go blind? Why is this so fluorescent?’

As they paid, Katherine’s phone started to buzz. She quickly took it out and smiled as she picked up the phone.

“Hello.” She sounded all breathy.

“Hi, love,” he said, his voice all smooth and honeylike, making her shiver.

“How was the meeting?” she asked, watching her friends pay. Lily turned to her in that moment and smiled. The corner of her eyes crinkled as she mouthed, ‘Cage?’ Katherine nodded and turned to walk out of the store. She stood at the entrance, waiting for them to join her when they were done. In the meantime, she could talk to her boyfriend.

“Mm. We discussed a lot of things…” he trailed off. “I need to discuss some things with you but I can hear that you are outside. How was your day?”

She laughed, looking at the bag in her hand. She definitely couldn’t let him know in advance. This would have to be a surprise. She wanted to see his face. “I worked after you left and made progress on some pending projects. Apart from that, she just came out to shop. It’s getting really late now, so we will probably grab dinner outside before heading home.”

He must have caught the promiscuity in her voice. “Oh? Shopping for what?” He sounded excited like he actually had a clue what she was doing. She hoped not!

She giggled as she pictured his face when he saw her in the contraptions she had bought. “Nothing exciting. You will find out soon enough.”

She heard him groan. “Are you teasing me? Is it a gift for me?” he asked, his voice deeper and rougher. If she wasn’t out and about, she would have rubbed her thighs together for good measure. Just his voice was enough to melt her into a puddle of goo and his body? Don’t get her started on that.