Bad Romeo Christmas: A Starcrossed Anthology (Starcrossed #4)(32)

"Noted." Cassie runs her fingers through his hair and leans in to whisper, "And, as a reward, you can pick up something up for me."

Ethan's whole posture changes. "Seriously? My ban is lifted?"

"One item," Cassie clarifies. "Not the whole store. Our credit cards are still recovering from the last time you went on a binge."

Ethan grips the back of her neck. "Yeah, but it was worth it, right?"

"Maybe." Cassie presses again him, and my disgusting brother kisses her so passionately, I get full visible tongue. God, he's gross.

When he's done violating his wife's mouth, he grabs the box of tinsel from my hands and drops it onto the couch.

"Okay, let's go. We've got an hour before Mom serves dinner and I want to have my brain bleached of the whole experience by then."

I turn to Josh. "Want to come?"

"Where are you going?"

"Lingerie store."

"Will you model stuff for me?"

"Nope."

"Then I'm out. Have fun, though."

I grab my purse, and after Ethan throws my coat at me, we head outside to grab a cab.

???

Considering it's the holiday season, we make good time, and fifteen minutes later, we're walking into La Perla on 5th avenue.

I gape as I take in the opulent store. My God, I've never seen underwear this pretty. All of the mannequins are like lady-shaped presents, waiting to be unwrapped.

As soon as we enter, both ladies behind the counter spot Ethan and light up like Times Square, before nearly tripping over each other to get to him.

"Mr. Holt! Welcome back."

"We haven't seen you for a while."

"Please let us know if you need any help."

"Anything at all."

I don't know if they're eager because they usually earn a crapload of commission from his epic purchases, or because he's tall, semi-famous, and according to most women, handsome. Either way, I roll my eyes.

Ethan acknowledges the women with a wave and a smile before turning to me and giving me his serious face.

"Okay, listen up, short one. This is how it's going to work. I'll choose a bunch of stuff for you. At no time will you question my choices, comment on how they’ll look on your body, tell me your actual bra size, or describe how Quinn will react when he sees you in them. When I'm done choosing, I'm gone. If you want to try on stuff, that's your business. I don't want to know what you buy. In fact, as far as I'm concerned, you leave without buying anything and spend your entire vacation wearing a chastity belt and a turtleneck. Are we clear?"

I put my hands on my hips. "You do realize I'm not thrilled about this, either, right? But at least you know what you're doing. I have no clue."

"Yeah, I'm used to that. Let's go." He stalks up and down the racks of lacy, frilly, delicate garments, and it looks utterly bizarre to see my giant, macho brother surrounded by such delicate prettiness. Every now and then he stops and grabs something before shoving it at me, and after ten minutes my arms are overflowing. When I start struggling, one of the hovering assistants takes everything and places it into a dressing room. By the time Ethan's done, the dressing room is overflowing with bras, underpants, bustiers, slips, and super-flimsy bodysuits.

He hold onto a beautiful navy bra and panty set with matching garter belt and pantyhose.

I give him the side eye. "Cassie said one item, Ethan."

He hands everything to the clerk, along with his credit card. "Semantics. It's one outfit. Not my fault it contains four items." The woman carefully wraps everything in layers of tissue paper before placing it into a fancy cardboard bag and handing it to him. "Now, if you'll excuse me, I have a wife to dress up and then strip bare."

"First of all ... ew. Remember what you said about me and Liam? I also don't want the mental image of you defiling my friend. And second, have you forgotten that Mom will be serving dinner in ..." I check my watch, "half an hour? So, unless you and Cassie intend on doing the dirty upstairs again, any ravaging will have to wait until you get back to your place."

Ethan scowls. "I hate waiting."

"Hey, you have nothing to complain about. For you it's a few hours. I've been waiting three months to be with Liam."

He gives me his most sarcastic expression. "You're right. I have no idea what it's like to have to wait for sex. Oh, except for those three years I waited for Cassie." He raises an eyebrow at me.

I grunt in defeat. "Fine. You win. This time."

"And every time, little sister. How do you not know that by now?" He gives me a quick peck on the cheek. "Okay, this has been fun, in a twisted kind of way, but now, I'm leaving. I'll see you back at Mom and Dad's."

"Yep. See you then."

I watch the two clerks physically deflate as he leaves. I don't think I'll truly ever understand what women see in my brother. I mean, I love him, but if they had to put up with an 11-year-old Ethan farting into their pillow every night before bed, there'd be no way they'd look at him with those sappy heart-eyes.

With my brother out of the way, I head into the dressing room and grab the nearest bra to examine it. God, these things are flimsy. There's absolutely no support. If I wore this under a T-shirt, my boobs would jiggle like water balloons.