Ijust apologized tohim?! Is this a hallucination? What the hell did I sniff in that bouquet? I’m going to need to Google the side effects of those flowers.
In all seriousness, though—the man appears to be more than a little touchy about his ex-wife.Okay, got it.
But after Lincoln was really starting to open up on our date, I lost my filter and I took my questions too far. I just didn’t expect him to shut down like that. He’s been so open about his family. His parents. His son. The business drama.
I guess the ex is just one thing that’s off-limits. Duly noted. I have my own list of topics that are off-limits, so I should probably respect his boundaries, too.
I can hear Lincoln’s smile over the line. “I accept your apology, Jules.”
Damn. Now, I’m smiling, too. “Thank you.”
I’m a fighter to my core. I never shy away from a battle. But this—the making up part—actually feels good, too. It surprises me.
“So, can I pick you up at 8?” Lincoln is asking me now.
“Depends. Do you promise to be nice?” I challenge him.
“I’ll be nice.” His voice drops to a rumble, full of mischief. “I’ll be the nicest.”
My thighs squeeze together and I bite back another smile. “Good boy. See you at 8.”
17
LINCOLN
Jules steals my breath the second she swings her front door open.
“Wow…” is all I can say as I collapse against her doorframe and my eyes peruse up and down her figure.
Tonight, she’s wearing a knee-length leather dress. The skin-tight fabric dips and cinches in all the right places. It clings to every frigging curve of her body.
I am not okay.
I’m even less okay when she bends over in front of me to slip on her usual biker boots.
She straightens up and finds me gawking. “Calm down, Mr. Button Up. You act like you’ve never seen some tits and ass before.”
I drag a hand over my mouth. “With you in that dress, I—wow—you look hot as fuck, Jules.”
She plops against the other side of the doorframe, across from me. “Y’know what? This is a great start to the night. Keep praising me, Fiancée.” There’s a playful edge in her purr as it swirls in the air all around me.
“Complimenting you won’t be an issue, Julissa. You’re a gorgeous woman. Your hotness practically haunts me. Did you know that?”
“Oh, really?” she questions with a lifted brow and a lingering smile.
I step closer and drop my voice lower. The distinct scent of her perfume curls around me. “Your long legs, your soft skin, your delicate curves. Every inch of your sexy body is tattooed on my brain. Hell—that night we spent together still replays in my dreams.”
Usually, I’m not so forward. I usually keep my cards close to my chest.
But after I almost screwed things up between us, I think a little honesty is warranted. And the way Jules is reacting only prompts me to keep talking. I see the blush on her cheeks as those pretty brown eyes stare at me from beneath her long lashes.
Dragging my thumb along the edge of her bottom lip, I lean in and whisper by her ear. “We’ve still gotta work on fixing this sassy mouth, though.”
She chuckles, giving me a teasing shove backward. “Bad news, sweetie. The sassy mouth is part of the package.”
Jules grabs her jacket, drops her keys into her crossbody bag, and calls out a goodbye across the house to her roommate. Then we’re gone.
Looks like she really did forgive me.
