I Love How You Love Me (The Sullivans #13)(39)

“I’m glad he wants to fight to save the historic building. It’s a truly beautiful one. And it makes perfect sense that he’d want you there. But why would he want me to come?”

“You’re smart. You’re beautiful. And I’m guessing that, from the way you research the topics that you write about, you already know more about the history of Seattle sailing than anyone on the museum’s board.” He leaned forward to lick a drop of ice cream from her lips. “Come with me tomorrow night, Grace. We’ll do the rounds for my brother as fast as we can, then sneak off and have our own private night on the town without anyone from my family around this time.”

The brush of his tongue against her sensitive skin had knocked her brain cells off-balance, far enough that she couldn’t quite focus on what her answer to his question should be.

“Say yes,” he murmured against her lips as he leaned in again to kiss her this time.

Spinning even faster now, she said, “You’re doing this on purpose. Making it hard for me to think.”

He nuzzled her earlobe. “Is it working?”

“Almost.”

But what he was asking her was too important to be decided on a dizzy, aroused whim.

A date.

She hadn’t been on one of those in a really long time. Dinner at his parents’ house had been an interview, though it had ended with a kiss. And the aquarium hadn’t started as a date, either, though it had ended with much more than just one kiss. Even this trip to the ice cream store could simply have been two friends and a baby out for an afternoon break. A fun break for sun and sugar in the middle of the day. Friends with benefits, but still nothing official. Not a date that could potentially lead to so much more.

“Tell me I’m going too fast, Grace, and I swear I’ll figure out a way to back off and give you more space.”

It should have been exactly the right thing for him to say. But she was shocked to realize that the thought of Dylan backing off had her gut clenching far tighter than did the risk of dating him.

Was she wary about going down that road with anyone again? Yes, and she’d be crazy not to be. But she had to start to live again at some point, didn’t she? And having a full life didn’t only mean stolen kisses and crazy hot orgasms.

“Yes,” she said, smiling up at the man who had been waiting none too patiently for her answer. “I’d love to go on a date with you tomorrow night.”

Dylan sealed her affirmative reply with a kiss that was hot enough to melt what was left of their ice cream. At least until Mason climbed between them, planting wet, sticky kisses on both of their cheeks.

* * *

Grace was still smiling ten minutes later as she headed for their apartment with Mason falling asleep in his stroller. Before they’d parted, Dylan had quickly pulled out his cell phone and checked in with his mother about babysitting both tomorrow night and then again during their sail when Dylan returned from Australia in a couple of weeks. If Grace’d had any doubt that Claudia would be excited to see Mason again, his mother’s happy exclamations—loud enough for Grace to hear from the other side of the bench—put them to rest.

After Dylan had left to meet with a potential new client, she’d been walking around with a silly smile on her face. At least until she realized that she had absolutely nothing to wear!

Grace had a few nice dresses from before she’d gotten pregnant, but even on the off chance that they still fit her new post-baby curves, all of them had been dresses she’d worn for Richard. Deciding to box them up to give away when she got back to their apartment, she accepted that she was going to have to make a dent in her savings with a new outfit. She’d put every spare penny into her just-in-case legal defense fund for the past year and a half. With the money coming in from the cover story, she could let herself spend a teeny bit on this special night with Dylan, couldn’t she?

Fashion was yet another thing she hadn’t given much thought to since having Mason. Grace looked down at her jeans and striped blue and white top and knew that she managed to look pretty or professional when she needed to. But she hadn’t gone for sexy in a very long time.

Making a slight detour from her apartment building toward the nearby shopping street, she reminded herself that while sexy would certainly be exciting, she really shouldn’t break the bank, because simple and pretty would be good enough, right? Of course, that was right when she caught sight of a beautifully dressed boutique window, one that had the most incredible dress on display. The color was what struck her first—not red, not pink, but the best of both hues. The straps were braided lace and silk, a delicate pattern that continued through the bodice. A slim, shiny belt the same color as the fabric wound around the waist, further emphasizing the floaty skirt of the dress, which ended just below the knee.

It probably cost a fortune, but in spite of that, she still couldn’t stop herself from pushing Mason’s stroller inside the store.

“Welcome to Indulgence.”

It was, Grace thought, the perfect name for a store in which every single item on display made her yearn.

The woman’s face lit up as she looked down at Mason strapped into his stroller, clutching his stuffed giraffe in his sticky little fist. His head was turned to the side in sleep, his eyes closed so that his lashes looked a mile long.

“Your son is absolutely gorgeous,” the woman whispered, clearly in an effort not to wake him up. “If you’re thinking about trying on the dress in the window, I already know you’re going to look amazing in it. And I swear I’m not just saying that because this is my store.”