“Can you be ready by seven?”
“Tonight?” My eyes grow wide.
“I figured it’s easier for you to take a few hours off in the middle of the week, since you start getting busier on Thursday. Correct?” He arches a brow, and I nod. “Then tonight it is.”
He rakes his eyes down my frame. Not in a creepy way. In a way that makes me feel more appreciated than I have in a while.
“I’ll meet you in the lobby?”
“See you there,” I respond quickly.
“Can’t wait.” He treats me to that breathtaking smile once more. “Oh, and Parker?”
“Yes?”
“Wear a dress.”
“Is there a reason for that?”
“Your legs are a work of art and shouldn’t be hidden underneath pants.” He holds my gaze for a beat, then continues out of the barn.
What the hell did I just agree to?
CHAPTERTWELVE
PARKER
“So, it’s a date then,” Haley remarks after I finish telling her all about Callum’s proposition as she lounges on the couch in my living room, a glass of wine in her hand.
“It’s a business dinner.” I straighten my spine, but don’t look directly at my friend. “He said he wants to listen to my reservations about his proposal and see if we can reach a compromise in the event I’m unable to come up with the funds I need.”
“Is that what they’re calling it these days?” She waggles her brows.
“I need to do something, Haley.” I swallow hard through the ball of desperation forming in my throat. “Sure, we were booked solid for the tree lighting ceremony. And I’m almost full the next few weekends. But it won’t be enough. I should at least listen to what he has to say in the event the universe is all out of miracles right now.”
I slip inside my bedroom and grab the two dresses I’m debating between, holding them up to me as I return to the living room. “Now, which one should I wear?”
“You sure this isn’t a date? Because neither of those scream business meeting.”
I frown, looking down at the dresses. “They don’t?”
“They scream ‘you’ll be ripping this off me in a few hours.’”
The dresses aren’t that sexy. One’s a fitted black dress that falls right above my knee with a slit running up one side. The other is a plum wrap dress that hits at my mid-thigh. It’s shorter than my little black dress, but is probably a bit more fun.
“I’ll go with the plum,” I announce, turning from her and disappearing into my bedroom, shedding my robe.
“Did you shave?” Haley calls out.
“It’s a business meeting,” I reply as I slip my arms through the sleeves of the dress. “But yes. I shaved.”
“Everywhere?”
“That’s none of your business.”
There’s no way I’m going to tell her the truth. That, yes, I did spend some time catching up on my personal grooming.
“It’s totally a date.”
