for her bra and a lace thong. Finding them on the bottom of the pile, she tossed them onto the bed. Her drawer leaned precariously out of the dresser, offering up an explosion of cotton, satin and lace. Dig through that pile for nylons? No way. Sexier to go barelegged.
Donning her underwear, she headed into the bathroom to do her makeup. Smokey eyes would be perfect. Butterflies danced in her belly as she dabbed gloss over her nude lips. When was the last time she had a date?
She rolled her eyes. Oh yeah, that meet-and-greet for graduate and post-doc students back in September. She’d met one guy, a Ph.D. candidate in physics, and they’d had one date, but things just fizzled. No chemistry—hah! She giggled.
Mathias has chemistry to spare. She held up a portion of her hair and frowned, debating whether to pin it up. Was it good luck or bad luck that she’d met him as she was finishing up here and preparing to move on with her career?
Releasing her hair, she decided to leave it long and loose, and slid into her dress. She was transferring her essentials to her little black evening bag, when a buzz from her living room made her jump. She glanced at her phone. Hot date, right on time!
Darting to the front of her apartment, she mentally chided herself. You don’t have to run. But breathless anticipation drove her feet. She pressed the little white button. “Hello?”
“Hi, Gin.” Mathias sounded seductive even through the crappy speakers.
“I’ll buzz you in.” She waited by the front door, listening for his heavy footsteps on the stairs. She heard him walking down the hallway, and then he knocked.
Out of habit she checked in the peephole. All she saw was …black. He took a step back as if he knew she was there, trying to get a better look. Yep. That was him all right. And even through the cheap distorting lens, he looked good enough to eat.
She stepped back and opened the door.
Oh, yum .
He’d slung his leather jacket over one shoulder. He wore black pants and a deep burgundy silk dress shirt. His tie was a unique mix of charcoal gray and burgundy squares, pulled together with black diagonal lines. The color of his shirt brought out the rich brown tones within his eyes, but her eyes were drawn to what he held in his hand…daffodils.
She blinked, feeling a huge smile spreading across her face. Her eyes left the bright gold blooms and flicked up to his. “Thank you. You look great.”
He leaned down to press a feather-soft kiss to her cheek, and his eyes dropped to her chest and legs. “You look beautiful.”
The subtle fragrance of his cologne swirled around her, his breath was warm against her skin, and the butterflies in her belly amped up to warp speed. His roaming gaze didn’t bother her one bit. She liked his eyes on her. “Thank you. Come on in, I’m almost ready.” She took the flowers and brought them to her nose, but nothing dampened his inviting scent. “Mmm. Yellow is my favorite color.”
“I had a hunch about that.”
She walked to the kitchen for a vase, her cheek tingling from his lips and her mouth wanting more. Calm down, Gin, he just got here . Finding what she needed, she filled it and snuck a glance at Mathias.
He wandered around her living room, looking things over. He stopped at the table where she had framed photos of her sisters. “There’s a definite family resemblance, but you don’t look exactly like them.”
She carried the now-full vase into the room and set it on the coffee table. “I know. Brooke and I got the dark hair, while Nicole and I got the green eyes.” She paused. “Well, actually, Alina had green eyes and blond hair like Nicole.”
The wall clock ticked in the quiet room. She’d explained it all to him yesterday, but still… People just didn’t know what to say when she mentioned Alina. She looked at Mathias and saw in his eyes not the usual pity. She saw acceptance.
“It’s just that sometimes I feel like…” She shook her head.
Donning her underwear, she headed into the bathroom to do her makeup. Smokey eyes would be perfect. Butterflies danced in her belly as she dabbed gloss over her nude lips. When was the last time she had a date?
She rolled her eyes. Oh yeah, that meet-and-greet for graduate and post-doc students back in September. She’d met one guy, a Ph.D. candidate in physics, and they’d had one date, but things just fizzled. No chemistry—hah! She giggled.
Mathias has chemistry to spare. She held up a portion of her hair and frowned, debating whether to pin it up. Was it good luck or bad luck that she’d met him as she was finishing up here and preparing to move on with her career?
Releasing her hair, she decided to leave it long and loose, and slid into her dress. She was transferring her essentials to her little black evening bag, when a buzz from her living room made her jump. She glanced at her phone. Hot date, right on time!
Darting to the front of her apartment, she mentally chided herself. You don’t have to run. But breathless anticipation drove her feet. She pressed the little white button. “Hello?”
“Hi, Gin.” Mathias sounded seductive even through the crappy speakers.
“I’ll buzz you in.” She waited by the front door, listening for his heavy footsteps on the stairs. She heard him walking down the hallway, and then he knocked.
Out of habit she checked in the peephole. All she saw was …black. He took a step back as if he knew she was there, trying to get a better look. Yep. That was him all right. And even through the cheap distorting lens, he looked good enough to eat.
She stepped back and opened the door.
Oh, yum .
He’d slung his leather jacket over one shoulder. He wore black pants and a deep burgundy silk dress shirt. His tie was a unique mix of charcoal gray and burgundy squares, pulled together with black diagonal lines. The color of his shirt brought out the rich brown tones within his eyes, but her eyes were drawn to what he held in his hand…daffodils.
She blinked, feeling a huge smile spreading across her face. Her eyes left the bright gold blooms and flicked up to his. “Thank you. You look great.”
He leaned down to press a feather-soft kiss to her cheek, and his eyes dropped to her chest and legs. “You look beautiful.”
The subtle fragrance of his cologne swirled around her, his breath was warm against her skin, and the butterflies in her belly amped up to warp speed. His roaming gaze didn’t bother her one bit. She liked his eyes on her. “Thank you. Come on in, I’m almost ready.” She took the flowers and brought them to her nose, but nothing dampened his inviting scent. “Mmm. Yellow is my favorite color.”
“I had a hunch about that.”
She walked to the kitchen for a vase, her cheek tingling from his lips and her mouth wanting more. Calm down, Gin, he just got here . Finding what she needed, she filled it and snuck a glance at Mathias.
He wandered around her living room, looking things over. He stopped at the table where she had framed photos of her sisters. “There’s a definite family resemblance, but you don’t look exactly like them.”
She carried the now-full vase into the room and set it on the coffee table. “I know. Brooke and I got the dark hair, while Nicole and I got the green eyes.” She paused. “Well, actually, Alina had green eyes and blond hair like Nicole.”
The wall clock ticked in the quiet room. She’d explained it all to him yesterday, but still… People just didn’t know what to say when she mentioned Alina. She looked at Mathias and saw in his eyes not the usual pity. She saw acceptance.
“It’s just that sometimes I feel like…” She shook her head.
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