Unraveled (Guzzi Duet Book 1)(43)

There was no way she could take the boxes and maintain her modesty by holding up her towel. Chris kept his eyes above her chest as he maneuvered through her apartment to set the boxes down on the kitchen table.

“Early gifts, he said,” Chris told her. “Something he thought you might like to have for the trip, and the ballet tonight.”

“Oh?”

“That’s what was told to me. I’ll be waiting outside to drive you to the private air strip when you’re ready, miss. Do you want me to take the bags at the door down for you?”

Cara gave the guy a smile. “You can call me Cara.”

Chris shrugged. “I could, but I won’t. At least, not yet. The bags?”

“They’re only small. I can do—”

“I’ll take them, no worries. Finish getting ready.”

Chris gave a two-finger wave as his goodbye, and exited the apartment with Cara’s small, overnight bags slung over his shoulder. Once the front door was shut, she turned back to the waiting boxes with their pink bows on the table.

“What did you do now, Gian?” Cara wondered out loud.

She thought it was time to find out. She set each of the three boxes side by side, and started with the middle one first, carefully untying the box and pulling off the top. Patent leather, pristine, white pumps rested inside white tissue paper. Pointed toes and six-inch stiletto heels. Vibrant red soles painted the bottom of each shoe.

Cara knew that signature red sole without even having to look inside the heels to check.

Every girl did.

Louboutin.

A small note rested alongside the shoes, and Cara picked it up to read.

Because beautiful legs deserve to be shown off, birthday girl. –Gian

She reached for the largest box, then, wondering what on earth he had stuffed inside that thing, too. It was a good two feet in length and width. She wasted no time getting the bow and top off, only to find more tissue paper this time covering the item inside.

Her hands shook as she removed the tissue paper to pull the white and silver dress out from within the box. White silk, and silver lace and fringe, covered the form-fitting, sleeveless, knee-high dress. There was no flair to the skirt; it was pencil thin, with the same silver lace fringe along the bottom that decorated the sides and bodice. Sparkling beadwork and crystals had been carefully sewn in to the fringe.

A matching clutch also sat inside the box, waiting to be appreciated.

There was no note in this box, but Cara wondered if that was because Gian intended to let the tag on the dress speak for him.

Dolce & Gabbana.

Already, there was a small fortune sitting on her table in a single pair of shoes and a dress. She was reaching for the third, final, and smallest box of the bunch before she even realized it.

Inside, she found a thin, white lace choker. Maybe an inch wide, the delicate lace was soft against her fingertips, and clasped at the back with a small chain with a single, dangling white pearl.

A note rested underneath the choker.

All white, as angels should wear, mon ange. You’re only missing the wings, now. Happy birthday, Cara. –Gian

Gian had forewarned her during the lead up to her birthday that she would need something appropriate to wear for the ballet in Quebec, but that she wasn’t to worry about it. Cara had packed something in her overnight bags, which was why she needed two instead of only one, just in case.

Apparently, she wouldn’t be needing it after all.

She looked over the items spread across her table, overwhelmed and happy, all at the same time. Gian was smart, though. He had sent the gifts over late, when he likely knew she would be rushing to finish getting ready, and couldn’t overthink the gifts or call him on them. It wasn’t that she didn’t like them—oh, she loved them—but she knew what these items cost, too.

She couldn’t help but wonder why a man like Gian had no problem with spending this kind of money on a woman like her.

And for her birthday, no less.

These were the kinds of gifts that were meant for the queens of men—women they loved and adored, whom they cherished enough to treat as the royalty in their lives that they truly were.

Was Cara becoming that to Gian?

Maybe that scared her a little.

And Cara didn’t have time to think on it.

Which she was sure Gian had known, sending the items over at this time.

Cara backed away from the gifts and headed for the bathroom. She spent the next half hour getting her hair dried into manageable, free curls and putting on a quick bit of makeup to color her eyes and lips. She had managed to clasp the choker on after slipping into the dress and pumps, when a knock beat on her door, and Chris’s voice filtered in.

“We do have to leave soon, miss.”

“Coming,” Cara shouted back.

She grabbed the white tweed coat she had pulled from Lea’s closet when she couldn’t find something suitable in her own to wear over the white and silver dress. Her sister had owned far too many clothes, and while Cara had slowly started to go through Lea’s things to get rid of what she didn’t want to keep, she had barely touched the clothes.

Cara pulled the door open to find Chris waiting on the other side.

His gaze fell down over the dress to the shoes and then back up just as fast. He hadn’t lingered, and his expression remained neutral. “Gian will be pleased. You look wonderful, miss.”