I crawled into it right after I got back from the dry cleaner.
As soon as I took off my paint-stained dress, I knew it needed emergency intervention. Thankfully, the dry cleaner assured me it would be a breeze to clean.
Since it’s one of my favorite dresses, I was on cloud nine until I was on my way back up to my apartment. I took that elevator trip with a woman who was headed for Sean’s door.
I should have known that based on the fact that she applied an extra layer of lipstick during our journey, and spritzed some heavenly-smelling perfume on the base of her neck.
As she exited the elevator, I lingered in the hallway and got way more than I bargained for.
I saw Sean Wells half-naked.
Even though I’ve seen him on the billboard, getting a full-on glimpse of him without a shirt on was mind-blowing.
“Are you thinking about me, Champ?”
The sound of his voice sends my gaze to the right at breakneck speed. I swear I almost gave myself whiplash.
I glimpse at his handsome face. “No. Why?”
He tilts his chin back a touch. “You’re blushing.”
Dammit.
It’s a curse. Every time I get the slightest bit aroused, my cheeks flush. He can never know that, so I deflect. “It’s warm out this morning. The weather is sure nice lately, isn’t it?”
He cocks a dark eyebrow. “Weather is weather.”
Of course he’s not the type of man you can engage in small talk with.
He gazes jumps from the red dress I’m wearing to the approaching traffic. “What’s on the agenda for today?”
“Work.” I smile. “I’ll come up with a few brilliant ideas, and then I’m having dinner with my boss.”
His eyes search my face. “Is that your way of asking me out?”
I feel my cheeks flush more, so I turn to watch the people walking toward us. “I’m having dinner with Delora.”
“The infamous Delora welcome dinner.” He laughs. “She’s going to take you to a French restaurant. She’ll tell you that she rarely has red wine but will pound back two bottles in record time. Be prepared to hear about her three ex-husbands. The second one was the love of her life, but he dumped her for her sister. The first is her current boyfriend. Don’t be surprised if she’s sexting him throughout dinner.”
I shake my head. “What?”
Jurgen honks the horn as he approaches where we’re standing. “You’re welcome, Champ.”
I take a step toward the car as it slows to a stop. “I didn’t say thank you.”
Sean opens the back passenger door before Jurgen is out of the car. “You will when I conveniently show up just in time for dessert tonight.”
I can’t tell if he’s joking, so I silently get into the car while trying to absorb everything he just told me.
* * *
Across the table from me,Delora giggles as she types something into her phone.
We’re at Sérénité, a French restaurant on Tenth Avenue. When we arrived, I had to bite back a smile because Sean nailed that detail this morning when he was describing how my evening would play out.
That smile faded quickly as Delora ordered an expensive bottle of red wine. Before I was done half of my first glass, she had polished off the entire bottle and was onto the second.
I’ve heard details I never should have known about all three of Delora’s marriages.