I knew where we were headed before we even got there. It was the same store James and I always came to whenever we had to attend a function together. And I wouldn't lie, they did have pretty cool stuff. I just wasn't an evening gown type of girl. More like a lose jean romper and tee type.

The ride to Sloan's was uncomfortably quiet with the only sounds being James's playlist. I'd tried to hold my breath and repeat to myself that everything was coincident. That James wasn't just trying to recreate everything we shared together. But still, I couldn't shake the nostalgia.

To say the least, I was elated when we got to the fashion house that James's parents took part in constructing. For the first time since this entire ride, I turned away from the glass of the window and actually looked at James.

He twisted the key to turn off the car's engine and then took off his tie. That move made me raise an eyebrow. Didn't he want to look all prim and proper? The guy was putting on a suit for the love of all things good!

A little feeling of uneasiness settled in my gut. The last time we'd been here was almost a year ago when his parents wanted to throw him a party for his birthday. And in turn, he wanted me to look so stunning that his parents would beg for us to get married. His words.

I mentally scoffed. His parents never even liked me so that plan flopped. Infact, his dad went the extra mile to ask me why I was trying too hard. The memory made my skin crawl. They'd never seen me as good enough for their son, even though my family owned the biggest gaming company in the state.

Talk about high standards.

A cold sweat broke out on my forehead when he began undoing his shirt buttons. One at a time. My eyes went wide as saucers and my jaw hit the ground.

"What do you think you're doing?" I half shrieked half panicked.

James turned to me with a grin on his lips, white teeth flashing. He stopped undoing the buttons at the second one and put his arm over the passenger seat where I was. In one absolutely terrifying moment, he swiped his thumb over my forehead and flicked away the sweat there.

"Why are you sweating?" he asked.

Son of a gun.

"The AC isn't getting to me," I quickly said. Before he could reply, I was already unlocking the door. "We should head in."

James pushed a button and the doors locked up again. "You're not still affected by me, are you?"

Slowly, I turned to face him, sucking in a sharp breath. The lie was bitter on my tongue so I spat it out. "of course not."

Something flashed in his eyes, but before I could identify it, he whipped out his cocky smirk and nodded. "Good. We can't let that ruin this arrangement, not after where it left us last time."

Tell me, why was I doing this again?

With the push of a button, the doors were unlocked again and I hurried out of the car. James got down after me, locking the vehicle and coming to my side.

"We have to make this as convincing as possible. The Sloans are pretty close friends of my family, one slip up, my dad would know this is all a sham and your business will crumble to nothing. We don't want that, do we?"

I frowned. I needed to remind myself that this wasn't my James. This James only wanted to play mind games with me and wreck my sanity. This James wanted revenge. My James had been crushed when I broke him.

Knowing that would get me out of this unscathed.

I exhaled and squared my shoulders, getting a grip of myself. "Fine."

"Fine," he replied with a finality to his tone. Then he offered me his hand and I took it. I could do this.

Ignore him as much as possible and smile. A lot.

James led me through the glass doors of the tall building that was Sloan's fashion house. The corridor of the building was lined with golden mannequins with lush dresses and suits. A red carpet began from the inner door and continued into somewhere at the other end.

Immediately we stepped in, a man standing at the door took James's suit jacket, casting me a look of disapproval before going to take care of the piece of clothing with his nose in the air.

James, who had previously let go of my hand to take off his jacket, took my hand and led me deeper into the room along the red carpet.

There were rows and rows of clothes on racks and mannequins. Different sections of the large space had boards hanging off the ceiling stating the kind of outfits you could find in them.

My gaze wandered around in awe, temporarily distracting me from the fact that I was holding James's hand. James led me towards the section that read evening gowns where we were greeted by a pale-looking woman with platinum blonde hair cut in a perfect bob. Her black suit and white dressing shirt were accentuated by the red tie she wore and her matching red heels.

I recognized her immediately.

"Ah, Mr Grant," she smiled at James who smiled back. Then she turned to me with the same stiff smile. I forced one back at her. "Miss Camden... It's been so long since you've paid us a visit together." She gave James a pointed look to which he whipped out on of his most dashing smiles.

"We've been so busy with family and school, we've barely had time to come shopping. Right, baby?" James asked me, eyes twinkling so much that you'd think the act was real.

I took a moment to reply, staring at him like I was in a daze. Raine lifted a brow in waiting.

"Uh... Yeah." I cleared my throat and turned to her. "So busy with school and family business."

With how fast my heart was beating, I prayed I wouldn't pass out or have a heart attack from all this.

Raine, the manager of Sloan's and Mr Sloan's second daughter, looked at the both of us questioningly before speaking. "It must be a hassle."

"Yes. It's really time consuming," interjected James. "Which is why we don't have any time to waste. Did you get my email?"

Raine nodded and motioned for us to follow her. "Right this way, I have a ton of dresses that'll surely meet your standards."

I didn't really know the Sloans, but I'd had a few encounters with their children, all at parties that James's parents threw. Noah was the first and only son, Raine here was second, Diana was last. And of all three children, Noah was the proudest. Raine came in close second.

James tugged at my hand to draw my attention back to reality. When I looked up at him, my breath caught in my throat to see how close together we were. I tried moving to the side, but he only pulled me back to him. "Why are you uneasy, baby?"

"Stop calling me that," I hissed under my breath.

James smiled, amused at my demeanor, but whispered back, "You had no problem with it when we were together."

"Yeah well, that was four months ago," I bit back.

"No, that is now. As far as anyone is to know, were foolishly in love." His grip on my hand had tightened but not enough to hurt me. Just enough to remind my body that he was within range.

I licked my lips just as we got to the section labeled evening gowns. "Whatever."

Raine came to a stop in front of a rack with beautiful evening dresses in different colours and shades. She smiled at us and clapped twice. In no time, one of the help had arrived, head bowed slightly. Raine took one look at my figure before grabbing clothes off the rack and handing them to the girl. I noticed that all of them were emerald green in colour. Probably the theme of the party then.

When she had finished ransacking the rack, she faced me and smiled curtly. "Gertrude here would show you to the changing rooms." Then she turned to James. "Would you like some coffee, Mr Grant."

And I tried really hard to convince myself that it was nothing. But it made my blood boil when she not-so-subtly touched James's arm. He maintained a straight face, but let go of me.

My body froze when he leaned down to plant a kiss on my cheek, dangerously close to my lips. Suddenly everything was in slow motion. And when he pulled away, all I wanted to do was yank him back and kiss him smack on the lips. I struggled to maintain my control.

"We'll be waiting for you in front of the dressing rooms," he said, then followed Raine away.