Alexander is looking at the maître d’ with his eternally stern expression. His petrol-blue suit hugs him to perfection. His dress shirt is the same shade but lighter, and the first three buttons are undone. He’s magnificent.
I’m not ready when he looks down at me, and he isn’t either. Slight shock twists his features. Thanks to Tami’s makeup skills and Kate’s outfit styling, I look nothing like I usually do. Even my hair’s different,held up by pins in a purposefully loose way.
I tense under his stare as he rapidly analyzes me, dismissing my discomfort. There, he’s seeing me in my dress, and I’m ready to prove my point. I observe him back, waiting to see his reaction. There’s no way he ever eye-fucks me, as Kate so crudely put it.
Under his insistent stare, my nipples harden under the thin fabric of my dress, and I hope he won’t notice my body’s absurd reaction to him.
His gaze lingers on my silhouette, appraising me, and then his eyes meet mine. Unlike what my best friend predicted, Lex isn’t horny for me, but a somber expression shadows his face instead. His square jaw is clenched, and his eyes are two slits under his frowning eyebrows.
Ha! In your face, Kate! Lex isn’t eating me up. I knew it!
Weirdly enough, the realization doesn’t please me as much as it should.
Part of me wanted my best friend to be right. Just a little bit.
Ishould have mentally prepared myself for Andrea to come looking differently than she does at work. Maybe then I wouldn’t stand there like a moron, taking it all in.
She discarded her usual nerdy T-shirt and jeans, replacing them with a pretty little black dress. There’s more makeup on her face than usual, and I’m seeing her hair up for the first time. It allows me to discover that she has more than one earring per ear, with golden rings along their delicate arches.
Objectively, she’s prettier than I’ve ever seen her before. So much so, actually, that I feel like an idiot for not noticing her beauty when I saw her in the elevator on our very first encounter. But I think I prefer the everyday version of her, comfortable in her clothes and not looking so stiff, almost anxious. Still, she’s a sight to behold.
As I admire every last detail of her, I get the answer to a question I’ve been asking myself from day one. No, she doesn’t have more freckles dusting her shoulders. Only her nose and cheeks are adorned by them.
When my inspection lowers, I notice that her nipples, which have been haunting me all afternoon, are like two pearls poking against the thin fabric of her dress. I got a glimpse at their size earlier, but now I wonder just how small they can get, all pebbled and hard like they are now.
“Sir?” the maître d’ calls. I nearly glare at him for forcing me to look away from her. “As I was saying, your party is already seated. If you will come with me.”
Reminding myself of common courtesy, I step aside and invite Andrea to go first. She diligently complies, and the maître d’ leads us into the chic restaurant.
Fucking hell, the back of her dress isn’t as modest as the front, and I get a plunging view of her naked back. I already noticed she wasn’t wearing a bra, but knowing I could effortlessly reach her breasts from the side has my palms tingling. I distract myself with the beauty marks she has there and count all twenty-three of them.
Fuck Kevin for suggesting this dinner. The asshole knew what he was doing.
I thought I was being clever with the way I handled things, but my old friend saw right through me. He drilled me with questions as soon as Andrea and her lawyer friend left.How did she know how much she could ask for, Lex? You know, you could have just told me you liked her. I’m not that much of a dick when it comes to money.
But he was wrong. I don’t like her. I admire her intelligence and want to fuck her senseless, but I don’tlikeher.
The maître d’ guides us to a table in the corner, where Kev and his wife are already seated. After a quick look at Andrea, Michelle gives me a broad, knowing smile, her light green eyes sparkling with mischief. Fuck, of course her husband told her everything. He can’t keep secrets from her. They both stand to greet us as we arrive, with some difficulty for her, as she’s heavily pregnant.
“Andrea, this is my wife, Michelle,” Kevin introduces.
Everyone shakes hands, and I go around the table to give Shelly a brief, one-armed hug. “Behave,” I whisper into her ear before I let go.
Anticipating that the maître d’ will do it, I pull out a heavy chair for Andrea and then push it in as she sits. Kev asks for a bottle of champagne for the table. “To celebrate,” he tells me with a wink.
I wasn’t very enthusiastic about this dinner to start with, but this is ridiculous. With his wife here, it looks like a double date, making this even more uncomfortable.
“Isn’t it nice we were able to do this?” Kevin says with genuineness, opening the wine menu. Andrea and I nod, our eyes skimming through the beverages listed on our own menus.
In the corner of my eye, I see her peeking at my menu, and when I inquisitively turn to her, she whispers, “Does yours have prices on it?”
“Yes.”
“Can I see them?”
“No.”
She frowns at my rebuttal. “Why?”
