and dating. Now Lucy was nearly due and Jen was alight with nuptial plans and she couldn’t escape Noah even when she tried. Not that she’d tried very hard.
A few hours driving in a truck with Noah, away from white dresses and shower leftovers sounded very nearly like a perfect way to spend an afternoon.
“Just let me change,” she replied softly. The sooner this gown was off and put away, the better. It had been a stupid thing to do, to take it out and try it on in the first place. Even if she did now remember how to fix the skirt.
“I’ll wait, then,” he answered.
Lily inhaled and exhaled twice, trying to calm her nerves as Noah’s steps sounded on the stairs. He’d sought her out, as a friend. As someone to spend some time with. That was all.
She had to remember that he had apologized for making the mistake of kissing her. She was the one making a lot of something out of nothing, only because she was attracted to him. She stared at her reflection one last time.
Maybe she should simply relax. What was the harm in spending time, enjoying his company? She didn’t have to worry about him falling in love or wanting anything more permanent that she wasn’t capable of. It seemed pretty clear that he didn’t think of her in that way .
And maybe she should just stop thinking, full stop. She pulled at the zipper and it slid down a few inches before getting jammed. Lily closed her eyes, told herself to relax and tried jiggling it up and down. How could it be stuck? It might have something to do with the fact that it was slightly too tight, she grimaced. She sucked everything in as best she could, but nothing. It was well and truly caught.
She went to the door and called downstairs. “Noah? You still there?”
“Yeah.” She heard his voice come from the kitchen and she sighed.
“I seem to have run into a snag.”
He came to the bottom of the stairs and looked up. He wore a plain T-shirt today in black, a pair of faded jeans hugging his lower body. Her eyes fell on his stump sock and she realized that working a zipper wasn’t going to be easy for him, either.
“I’ve caught the zip.”
He grinned. “Oh, dear.”
Now he was teasing! Infernal man. And when had he developed dimples? She didn’t seem to remember that detail before, but as he grinned up at her she saw two subtle indentations mocking her.
“Could you help? Please?”
“Since you asked so nicely…”
He came up the stairs toward her and she got a warm curl right in the center of her belly. He was coming to help with the dress, nothing more, but seeing him take the stairs one at a time, coming to her bedroom, seemed very intimate indeed. Her tongue darted out and wet her lips.
Noah reached the top step, stopping directly in front of her. She tilted her chin up to see his face. There was something in his eyes she hadn’t seen before. The blue was deeper, the pupils larger, drawing her into the dark shadows, making her wonder what was behind them. Desire pulsed through her, shocking her with its potency as her well-intentioned self-talk went flying off on the summer breeze.
“Turn around,” he commanded, the words soft but an order just the same, and she obeyed, giving her back to him, reaching behind and pulling her hair over her shoulder. His fingers toyed with the clasp and she realized that she was very happy for the fact that this dress, unlike Jen’s, wasn’t strapless. She wasn’t wearing a bra underneath. All she was wearing was a pair of plain white bikini panties.
Each breath going into her lungs was torture as his warm fingertips played with the mechanism.
“It’s stuck in the lining.” Frustration rippled in his voice. “I can’t get a good enough hold on it with one hand, and I don’t want it to tear.”
She nearly told him it didn’t matter, but then she wouldhave to explain it was not Jen’s dress and she didn’t want to open that particular can of worms. “What if you held the lining back and I tried
A few hours driving in a truck with Noah, away from white dresses and shower leftovers sounded very nearly like a perfect way to spend an afternoon.
“Just let me change,” she replied softly. The sooner this gown was off and put away, the better. It had been a stupid thing to do, to take it out and try it on in the first place. Even if she did now remember how to fix the skirt.
“I’ll wait, then,” he answered.
Lily inhaled and exhaled twice, trying to calm her nerves as Noah’s steps sounded on the stairs. He’d sought her out, as a friend. As someone to spend some time with. That was all.
She had to remember that he had apologized for making the mistake of kissing her. She was the one making a lot of something out of nothing, only because she was attracted to him. She stared at her reflection one last time.
Maybe she should simply relax. What was the harm in spending time, enjoying his company? She didn’t have to worry about him falling in love or wanting anything more permanent that she wasn’t capable of. It seemed pretty clear that he didn’t think of her in that way .
And maybe she should just stop thinking, full stop. She pulled at the zipper and it slid down a few inches before getting jammed. Lily closed her eyes, told herself to relax and tried jiggling it up and down. How could it be stuck? It might have something to do with the fact that it was slightly too tight, she grimaced. She sucked everything in as best she could, but nothing. It was well and truly caught.
She went to the door and called downstairs. “Noah? You still there?”
“Yeah.” She heard his voice come from the kitchen and she sighed.
“I seem to have run into a snag.”
He came to the bottom of the stairs and looked up. He wore a plain T-shirt today in black, a pair of faded jeans hugging his lower body. Her eyes fell on his stump sock and she realized that working a zipper wasn’t going to be easy for him, either.
“I’ve caught the zip.”
He grinned. “Oh, dear.”
Now he was teasing! Infernal man. And when had he developed dimples? She didn’t seem to remember that detail before, but as he grinned up at her she saw two subtle indentations mocking her.
“Could you help? Please?”
“Since you asked so nicely…”
He came up the stairs toward her and she got a warm curl right in the center of her belly. He was coming to help with the dress, nothing more, but seeing him take the stairs one at a time, coming to her bedroom, seemed very intimate indeed. Her tongue darted out and wet her lips.
Noah reached the top step, stopping directly in front of her. She tilted her chin up to see his face. There was something in his eyes she hadn’t seen before. The blue was deeper, the pupils larger, drawing her into the dark shadows, making her wonder what was behind them. Desire pulsed through her, shocking her with its potency as her well-intentioned self-talk went flying off on the summer breeze.
“Turn around,” he commanded, the words soft but an order just the same, and she obeyed, giving her back to him, reaching behind and pulling her hair over her shoulder. His fingers toyed with the clasp and she realized that she was very happy for the fact that this dress, unlike Jen’s, wasn’t strapless. She wasn’t wearing a bra underneath. All she was wearing was a pair of plain white bikini panties.
Each breath going into her lungs was torture as his warm fingertips played with the mechanism.
“It’s stuck in the lining.” Frustration rippled in his voice. “I can’t get a good enough hold on it with one hand, and I don’t want it to tear.”
She nearly told him it didn’t matter, but then she wouldhave to explain it was not Jen’s dress and she didn’t want to open that particular can of worms. “What if you held the lining back and I tried
Similar Books
