I drew her head down and kissed it. “It won’t be forever.”
“No, it won’t, but maybe the middle wasn’t the right place to start.”
Lifting her head, I said, “I told you, Tori. There is no starting at the beginning with you. It’s impossible.”
Her fingers draped over my jaw. “I’m not asking for the beginning.”
My heart raced, but I tempered it. “If there’s any chance of losing you again, then I’m sticking to the middle.”
I drew a lock of her hair forward and ran it through my fingers, relishing the soft texture. Scooting from my hold, she stood and turned off the television before extending her hand to me.
“I need to show you something.”
The arch of my brow had her giggling. “Not that.”
I let her lead us up the stairs to her room, hating how clammy my hands were growing. Nerves were fighting for dominance as they careened through me for the second time this day. Dresses lay in disheveled piles around the room, streaming from the closet.
“Is there a prom dress fetish I should know about?”
She laughed and picked up a particularly sexy floor-length one with a slit down the leg. “This is the prom dress. The rest are from homecomings and college events.”
Imagining her in the dress was a mistake. “Damn, I’m glad we didn’t go to school together because I would have fought off every other guy in that school to have you on my arm.” A blush climbed her cheeks, and I had the urge to kiss them. “I think I need to attend those black-tie charity events I always make Liv go to. Seeing you in something like that would make them tolerable.”
“Taking your CFO as your date might raise some eyebrows,” she said, hanging the dress in her closet.
“Not if she’s my girlfriend.”
She froze, her head slowly turning to me. My chest tightened. Had I moved too fast when I’d just told her we needed to slow down? A tug at the corner of her mouth had me relaxing, especially when it formed a complete smile.
“Is that still middle ground?” she asked.
Shrugging, I replied, “Closer to the end, but somewhere in the middle.”
“I like being back in that spot,” she said, hanging the dress.
My smile relieved the rest of my tension, and I felt like I’d moved one step closer to finally having her completely. She gestured for me to come into the closet, and memories of the day I’d made love to her in our Jacksonville closet returned. I pausedmy step, seeing recognition in her eyes accompanied by another flush of her cheeks.
“I want to show you something.”
I remained where I was, afraid that if I walked any further, I wouldn’t be able to control myself. “That’s not convincing me any better.”
With the shake of her head, she turned and dug behind the few dresses that remained in her closet.
“How many formals did you attend?” I asked, a streak of unreasonable jealousy striking me.
“I was popular in school,” she said.
And that hadn’t helped either, but then again, I hadn’t been a wallflower. Looking over at me, she grinned. “Just get in here and stop thinking about my past boyfriends. You’re included on that list, you know.”
With my lips pursed, I tried to give her one of my glares, but she softened me too much when I was with her, and so my look only caused her to giggle. Walking into the closet, my step faltered when I saw what she wanted me to see. Her wedding dress. Someone, most likely the kids, had pulled the zipper of the bag down, and the bottom half of the dress cascaded out of it.
I swallowed, unsure of the emotions that were barraging me. She had kept it just like I’d kept her ring.
“I couldn’t bring myself to give it up,” she admitted as if she had heard my thoughts. “Cindy told me to sell it, but I couldn’t open it. I never wanted to look at it again because I knew it would re-open the wounds. But I couldn’t let it go. I almost donated it, but after sitting in the parking lot of the donation center and crying for thirty minutes, I drove it back home.” She sniffled, and I hated that she was crying again because of me. “It was one of the last pieces I had of you. That and Reid…and that stupid paper flower.”
My eyes flew from the dress to her. “You kept that?”
“I… Yes, it’s in Reid’s baby book.”
