Her lips quirked. “Yeah. You’ve done an amazing job with this place. Maybe we could come up with some kind of collaboration for your customers, like they buy one of those hot as fuck numbers out front and then we do a photo shoot of them wearing it.”
“Holy shit,” I breathed. “That’s an amazing idea.”
The woman on the other side of Simone leaned forward and raised her hand. “I volunteer as tribute.”
That got the attention of the rest of the circle, which meant Simone and I ended up with an entire lineup of interested women who had killer suggestions for how to promote these photo sessions.
Even though Addie and Aunt Jocelyn had done their best to give me the education and support my parents denied me, being so enthusiastically included by this new community who celebrated my passions instead of smothering them was like taking flight for the first time—terrifying and thrilling, poignant and astounding. My heart soared, even if I still couldn’t shake the fear of an eventual crash landing.
It felt like the dawn of a new era. I hadn’t smiled so much in years.
I wasn’t sure how to handle going from zero friends to a room full of them, but if I’d learned anything from my relationship with Milo, it was that opening myself up to new experiences could lead to beautiful things.
And I did, in fact, pick out a few extra special items to surprise him with.
Chapter Nineteen
Milo
KeepingmyselfbusywhileEden was shut away in a room full of sex toys proved nearly impossible. Every time I got a handle on my imagination, a new fantasy would pop up and I’d have to distract myself all over again.
Jiji watched with casual disdain as I cleaned the entire house, washed and dried my bedding, and baked a batch of Eden’s favorite cookies.
“You like her just as much as I do,” I muttered at the cat, then shook my head. “No, probably not quite as much, but whatever.”
Eden would be coming over after the party and her store was closed the next day—she’d decided to take off Sundays as well as Mondays, now that she had a clearer view of her customers’shopping habits. Since that would give us a day off together, I was in full support of that prospect.
I paced the living room like I was waiting for my prom date to show before finally collapsing onto the couch.
Just before eleven, her car pulled into my driveway and I jumped to my feet, displacing an aggravated Jiji so I could throw open the front door. Eden grinned at me, lugging a backpack so she could stay until Monday. She was wearing a polka-dot dress that flared out from her hips and swished around her thighs.
“Hey, you.”
“Hey,” I replied, as enchanted by the cheeky look on her face as by the thought of bunching that skirt up around her waist and bending her over the couch. “Did you have fun?”
“I did, in fact. Unfortunately, the surprises I got for us have to be shipped and won’t be here for a week or so.”
“Surprises? What kind of surprises?”
She rose up on tiptoe to kiss me before passing through the doorway. “The kind of surprises that you’ll learn about when the package arrives.”
“I have to wait a whole week? Not even a hint?” I asked, closing the door and taking the bag from her shoulder so I could tug her against me.
“Not. Even. A. Hint.” She punctuated each word with a kiss. “But I promise you’ll like all of my choices. Will that satisfy you?”
I brushed my cheek along her throat until she shivered at the sensation. “Not even close, but I’ll let you make it up to me.”
“Oh? And how will I do that?”
With one hand at her waist and the other inching up under the full skirt of her dress, I leaned in and whispered in her ear, “Maybe I’ll tease you the way you’re teasing me, spend all night edging you until you beg me to let you come, and then fuck you until you come so many times, you’re begging for mercy.”
“I think I could get on board with that,” she replied with a grin, tangling her fingers in my hair. “By the way, what are your thoughts on boudoir photos?”
I blinked at her, images of Eden modeling every sexy item in her shop playing rapidfire through my mind. “Favorable. Very favorable.”
“Good. One of the guests at the party, Simone, is a photographer who’s looking to branch out a bit. She suggested we could work together on creating some photo packages—clients could come to the shop to pick out some items, maybe at a discount, then do a photo shoot with Simone and I’d get a cut of each session.”
“That’s an amazing idea,” I said, realizing just how many connections Eden had made in the short time since her store opened.
