“We don’t have to, no, but that’s not the point of a date. I mean, yes, spending time together is the goal… but getting dressed up, the anticipation of where I’m going to take you, driving with your hand in mine, wondering how the night will end. That’s what a date is really about.
“Plus, I want to show you off. I’ve got the prettiest woman in the county as mine and only mine. Everyone needs to see me put my claim on you.”
Lani laughs. “Caveman!”
I shrug. “Gotta make sure there’s no confusion.”
“I doubt that will happen. I’ve managed for twenty-five years without anyone laying a claim on me, I think you’re safe,” she says with a roll of her eyes.
“What’s that saying? Better safe than sorry.” I smirk. “Let me take you out, sweetheart. You deserve to be treated like a queen, and the first step of that is to give you the perfect date.”
She thinks it over for a few seconds before agreeing. “But nothing fancy, my nice clothes are in my apartment and probably stink like smoke.”
I make a non-committal sound. We’ll see about that.
11 Lani
Ana answers on the first ring, thank goodness. “Ana help! Torin is taking me on a date tonight, and I don’t know what to wear… I’m freaking out here.”
She laughs. “Calm down, did he tell you where you’re going?”
“No! Do you think I would be freaking out if I knew? You know how bad I hate surprises anyway; this is like triple the stress. It’s not like I have any experience in this whole dating thing.” The doorbell rings, distracting me from my tirade. I curse because I’m standing here naked save for a thin robe. “Shoot, someone’s at the door.”
“Just calm down. I’m sure whatever you wear will be fine. Torin wouldn’t take you anywhere that would make you uncomfortable. Just relax and go open the door.”
“You’re right. Thanks for talking me down. You’re the best.”
Ana laughs. “I know. Have fun tonight.”
“Bye.”
I run to the door when whoever it is lays on the doorbell. “I’m coming!” I shout.
I throw the door open and blink up at Amos in confusion. He’s Torin’s best friend and knows he’s at the fire station so why on earth is he here?
“Hey, Amos. Torin is still at the fire station…”
“I know,” he says in that gruff way of his. “He sent me to give this to you.”
He shoves a box towards me. It takes me a second to get over my confusion before I grab the box. “What is it?”
He shrugs. I’m just the delivery guy.
“Oh, well… thanks for bringing it.”
“He also gave me a message for you. ‘Relax, sweetheart.’” If someone like Amos could blush, he’s definitely doing that right now. I almost giggle at how uncomfortable he is right now. It has me wondering if this is how he acts when he’s talking to Margo… Is he this gruff and unsure of himself? It could explain why she thinks he doesn’t feel the same thing for her.
Interesting, I’ll have to explore that later when I’m not freaking out over my own problems. Sheesh, no wonder I’m so stressed. Thinking about our date as a problem to solve is definitely the wrong way to think about it. I take a deep breath, doing exactly what Torin requested: relax.
“Thanks for bringing this.”
“You’re welcome. Have fun tonight.” Amos turns and quickly walks to his truck.
A quick look at the clock tells me I have less than an hour before Torin gets home. Crap, I need to hurry. Once I’m back in the bedroom I’m now sharing with Torin—a fact that makes me ridiculously happy—I rip open the package and gasp at the beautiful dress inside. I pull it out and hold it up to myself in front of the mirror.
It’s perfect. Definitely something I would buy for myself—a knee-length emerald green halter that nips in at my waist and flares out. It’s amazing. How did he know? He knows me so well it’s almost scary. I love it though.
With renewed excitement, I get dressed. I twist my hair up and apply some mascara and lip gloss… I’m not a makeup person, but I have great eyelashes and mascara accentuates them in a way that makes me feel beautiful. I look at myself in the mirror and hardly recognize the woman looking back at me. She’s practically glowing with happiness. I definitely like what I’m seeing.
I frown when my attention turns to my bare feet.
Double crap, I don’t have any shoes to wear with the amazing dress. I bite my lip, looking at the three pairs I grabbed the night of the fire. Brown sandals, tennis shoes, and hot pink flip flops. Yeah, none of these will even sort of match the dress.
“You look amazing, beautiful.”
I jump at the sound of Torin’s voice from right behind me. I turn and give him a shy smile. “Thank you.” I look him up and down. “You’re looking pretty amazing yourself.” For the first time ever, I’m seeing him in a suit and tie. If it were possible, my ovaries would’ve just exploded. He gives me that sexy half-smile of his, and I melt. God, I love this man.
He crosses the room and takes me in his arms, kissing me soundly. I melt into him, my core clenching at his closeness. He takes a step back far too quickly. I giggle when I see my pink lip gloss smeared on his lips.
“What’s so funny?”
“Oh, just thinking that pink really isn’t your color.”
He takes a look at himself in the mirror and turns to look at me with hungry eyes. “I think you look good on me.”
My cheeks heat in a deep blush at the implication in his eyes. It’s obvious he’s not just talking about my lip gloss. I whimper when he licks his lips, cleaning off the pink smudge. My core
