“Makes sense.”
I pulled into my driveway and tapped the remote to open the garage.“I’m home, Mom.Is there anything else?”
“No, dear.Keep a hold of this young lady.She sounds interesting.Bye.”
The call ended, and all I could do was shake my head.Some people would’ve probably thought Mom was nosey, but I knew her questions were motivated by love.I sat in the car after the garage door came down.
I wondered how Emma would feel about my family.Mom’s a traditional homemaker who’d never wanted to work outside the home.My dad is a retired engineer.
My brother’s a doctor who enjoys working in the emergency room—something about organized chaos and no boredom, and my sister’s a lawyer, a public defender in the AG’s office for the Western District of Washington—lives the principle of fair and impartial justice.
Mom and Dad supported all three of us doing what we wanted and never held us back.Maybe that was why I had a hard time understanding Emma’s parents.Were they completely blind to what an amazing woman their daughter is?I was going to let my gut make the final call, but I was steadfast in one decision: I would have Emma’s back tomorrow night, no matter what
Once inside, I took a quick shower and then went through my closet.
Luckily, I still had a tux.I took it out of the garment bag and laid it on the bed.I checked it over, replaced it in the bag, and hung it up in the doorway.Didn’t even need to be pressed.Digging back into the closet, I finally found the black dress shoes and opened the box.They were in perfect condition; a quick brush up and they’d look brand new.Gold monogramed cufflinks (thanks again, Mom) and studs for the shirt, yep, right where I always kept them, the box now all the way in the back of the drawer.No surprise.
When was the last time I really dressed up?It had been a while.And I didn’t miss it one bit.But for Emma, yeah, I’d do the penguin suit.I wondered about the garment bag in her back seat.What kind of dress had she bought?
Is that why she took a long lunch?Dress shopping?I couldn’t picture Emma in anything too revealing, that wasn’t her, but the chance to see her in formal evening clothes was too good to pass up.I would have to wait until tomorrow.
I’d done some preliminary research on the occasion and the venue after she showed me the invitation, so I knew what we were getting into.I also did some research into her family.Not something I would normally do, but after everything Emma told me about her parents and how they’d used her and her sisters as props to give the impression of ‘the perfect family’, I wanted to know more.
I stood in front of the full length mirror on the closet door and thought through what I’d found out.
The Palmers didn’t run with ‘regular’ people.They hung out with what I called the MGZB crowd.Yeah,thatcrowd.Along with well known,verywell healed Wall Street types, and the cream of the business and technology fields.
The internet revealed everything, some of it unforgiving.I found pictures of a teenage Emma looking uncomfortable in clothes that didn’t fit her.In several family shots, she was leaning away from her family.My heart broke for her.
My rumbling stomach snapped me out of my musings.I’d only had an appetizer at the pub, so I made my way downstairs and called for pizza.
It was time to relax and plan.I wanted to make damn sure Emma had a good time.
Chapter Twenty-Three
Asher
At six the next evening, I pulled up to Emma’s place and parked in the short driveway.The cute cottage suited her.I knocked on the door, and it was immediately opened.My mouth dropped open, and I almost forgot to breathe.
“You look…” My mind shorted out.I tried to gather my scattered thoughts.“Fantastic, incredible.”
This vision was way, waaaaaay more than that.I was struck stupid.
Emma’s brown hair had been styled in what my sister called an up-do and pulled back from her face.The stray soft curls at her neck and around her ears seemed to dance in the draft through the open door.Her diamond studs flashed in the ambient light.The gown.Yeah.Perfection.Silver scrollwork and beading on a bodice that looked more like a corset and framed her full breasts perfectly.The black skirt was made of some kind of fabric that flowed over her curves and moved with her in a way that made my mouth water.
“Thank you.You look very handsome.”
“I’ve been told I clean up well.”I couldn’t take my eyes off her.Lust, desire, and heat roared through my body.How unfair was that?We were going to an event where her parents would be, and all I wanted to do was strip that dress off and ravish her.I sent up a silent prayer of thanks that I was wearing a double breasted jacket.
“That makes two of us.”She reached behind her and picked up a small black purse along with a shawl.“I’m ready.”She stepped outside, pulled the door shut, and locked it.
I held my arm out to her.“May I?”
She slipped her arm through mine.“Yes.These heels may not be high, but I’m a little unsteady in them.”
As I helped her into the car and watched her gather the skirt and arrange it over her legs, I gave myself a mental pat on the back for choosing the Beemer instead of the SUV.Unsteady?Her movements were fluid, graceful, and her dress accentuated them perfectly.Until tonight, it’d never occurred to me that a woman could make getting into a car look like foreplay.
Well, Ash, now you know.
