I Love How You Love Me (The Sullivans #13)(40)

Grace knew what looked good on her. This dress would make Dylan’s eyes pop out of his head. That alone would be worth the dent it made in her savings.

The store owner, who introduced herself as Colbie, correctly guessed Grace’s size, and a very short while later was oohing and ahhing over how great she looked in the dress. “One more thing,” Colbie said, leaving the dressing room for a few moments and returning with what had to be the greatest pair of shoes ever made. The leather on the high-heeled sandals was a super-soft gold and braided in a pattern very similar to the bodice and straps of the dress. “You’re a size eight shoe, aren’t you?”

Grace was already reaching for the sexy sandals as she nodded. She felt like a princess straight out of a fairy tale in this dress, these shoes. She’d just close her eyes when she signed the credit card slip and wouldn’t let herself think about the bill until it came at the end of the month. She’d make it up by working doubly hard on the story about Dylan, doing such a great job with it that, hopefully, she’d turn this cover story into the first of many.

“I’ll take them both.”

Besides, even though being able to put money away for Mason was hugely important, wasn’t feeling like a sexy woman again—and proving to herself that her ex hadn’t stolen that from her—also something she should have prioritized long before now?

Which was why, when a luxurious lingerie set also caught her eye on her way to the register, she added it to her pile of goodies. Because really, what good were the gorgeous dress and perfect shoes if what Dylan found when he stripped her out of them at the end of their date wasn’t just as pretty?

Her entire body flamed at the thought, already revving with anticipation of her date with Dylan. A date that suddenly felt as though it couldn’t come soon enough.

CHAPTER SEVENTEEN

Dylan’s mind had been blown by Grace from the start, but when she opened the door for him the following night, he swore his remaining brain cells actually melted inside his skull. If he could have thought clearly, he might have been able to stop his hands from grabbing, his mouth from devouring. But he didn’t have a prayer of doing anything but kissing her until he’d managed to have at least a tiny part of his fill.

“I’m torn, Grace. So damned torn between staying right here to strip that beautiful dress off you and taking you out to show you off.”

The way she smiled up at him only made it harder to think straight. “You look really good in your suit, too.”

Mason crawled over then, grabbing fistfuls of Dylan’s dark slacks to pull himself up. “I didn’t forget about you, buddy,” Dylan said as he lifted Mason into his arms. “I’m just having a hard time dealing with how stunning your mommy is.” When Mason babbled something unintelligible, Dylan nodded. “You’re right, I don’t stand a chance of ever getting used to how beautiful she is, so I should stop trying.” He kissed Mason on the forehead. “And since my mom will never forgive me if we don’t bring you over, especially since she bought out the entire toy store downtown to spoil you rotten tonight, I guess that means we should head out.”

He grabbed Mason’s baby bag in his free hand and worked to get a grip on himself while Grace picked up her small gold purse from the entry table. She was halfway to the Jeep when she looked over her shoulder and said, “You should know that I was just as torn when I saw you standing on my front step.”

Just like that, any control he’d managed to regain shattered.

* * *

Adam’s date for the evening—a brunette that Dylan hadn’t seen before tonight—looked anything but pleased by the way his brother’s jaw dropped when the two of them walked in. Grace’s beauty was only more stunning because she didn’t seem to be aware that she turned heads everywhere she went. No wonder that prick who’d gotten her pregnant had wanted her. Rage wasn’t something that came easily to Dylan, but ever since she’d told him what her ex and his family had done, fury kept rising up in him again and again.

Grace turned to look at him with concern on her beautiful face. “Is everything okay?”

“Not just okay,” he told her as he cupped the nape of her neck and drew her mouth to his. “Perfect.”

Kissing her here, with everyone’s eyes on them, was a blatant signal to all the other men in the room. She’s mine, was what he was telling them all. All mine.

He loved that one kiss was all it took for her eyes to go hazy with desire. So much desire that she whispered, “How long do we have to stay?”

He brought her mouth to his again before saying, “Thirty minutes. Forty-five tops. We’ll do the rounds, make Adam’s restoration pitch, and then we’ll—”

His brother and his date interrupted them just then. After Adam made the introductions, he told Grace, “I hope you’re planning to stick around, because I’m not sure I’ll be able to scrape my brother off the floor if you don’t.” He didn’t give Grace time to adjust to the weight of his comment, just asked her what he could get her to drink from the bar.

“A glass of white wine would be lovely.”

“Your dress is gorgeous.” Adam’s date hadn’t been able to take her eyes off Grace, either. “So are your shoes. I’ve got to know, where did you pick them up?”

Grace smiled at the woman. Dylan didn’t get the sense that she noticed the other woman’s envy at all—probably because she didn’t see herself as someone of whom another woman would be jealous.