Читать книгу Forbidden: A Shade Darker – The Complete Collection - Leslie Kelly, Kira Sinclair - Страница 27
ОглавлениеERIN GRIMACED AT the pile of clothes on her bed and made a frustrated growl, looking at the clock. She had four hours before Bo came back to take her for a night out. He’d said to wear something “nice.” She wasn’t sure what “nice” meant, but she was fairly sure it wasn’t anything on her bed. Everything she’d gotten before was casual, flirty, but not necessarily what she needed for a fancier excursion.
She needed to get something appropriate, not that she had much of an idea what that was, and she needed it now. She needed some shoes, too.
Grabbing her bag, she headed for the door. There would definitely be something at the mall, and it couldn’t be that hard to find a nice, basic dress and some shoes, right?
Twenty minutes later, she was in one of the larger department stores at the Carousel Center—now also known as Destiny USA. She hoped it was her destiny to find the right dress, and fast.
Spotting the women’s department, she approached a clerk who looked well dressed, and tapped her on the shoulder.
“Yes? May I help you?” The woman was maybe a few years older, but looked like a million bucks.
“Please. I need something nice for a dinner date. A dress, I suppose? Can you find something that would be appropriate?”
The woman stood back and took in Erin from head to toe, making her feel a tad self-conscious, but this was no time to be shy.
“Do you know how nice? Very formal, or less so?”
“I have no idea. He said something nice,” she said, rolling her eyes.
The saleswoman laughed. “I think I have a few ideas. Some new styles we just got in from New York.”
“Sounds good.”
Erin followed the woman, whose name tag said her name was Emily. They arrived at a rack of dresses.
“We’ll find something here. I’m Emily, by the way.”
“I’m Erin.” She stared at the rack, frowning. “They’re all black. Don’t you think something with more color?”
Emily winked at her. “Trust me. If the key word is ‘nice’ you can’t miss with black. It will fit in anywhere. Especially these, with your figure. You don’t need much to be stunning.”
Erin couldn’t be sure, but she thought this could be the first time a woman ever made her blush. Emily chuckled, grabbing a handful of dresses and beckoning Erin to follow.
“Here, try these on. This one first,” she instructed, and Erin realized the woman hadn’t even asked her size, but she probably didn’t need to. The woman seemed to know more about dressing her up than she did, so Erin decided to trust her.
Dutifully shucking her jeans and T-shirt to try on the first dress, her trust was well-placed. The slip of fabric fit like a glove.
“Wow,” Erin breathed, looking at herself in the mirror.
It had appeared innocent enough on the hanger, but on her body, there was nothing “nice” about this dress. The soft fabric skimmed just above her upper thigh, and Erin had to resist the urge to tug it down. She could feel air-conditioning from the vent at the side of the dressing room wafting up and cooling her...no, this was too short.
And when she saw the price tag in the mirror, she decided it was also far too much money for so little fabric.
“Erin, do you need any help?”
“No, thanks. I, um, I think that first one isn’t quite...me.” Or doesn’t cover up enough of me to go out in public, she thought as she flipped through Emily’s other choices.
One designer dress was simpler and offered a bit more coverage, as well as being about a quarter of the price of the other dress.
Erin slipped it on, and she liked how the fabric just fell into place. The V-neck was sexy but tasteful, and the hemline was a more reasonable midthigh. She ran her hands over the folds in the skirt—pleats? They made the plain black fancier.
This one was definitely nice.
Confident, she went out to get a second opinion.
“I like this one?” Erin spoke the statement as more of a question as the clerk eyed her critically.
“Gorgeous! That definitely suits you. The satin crepe really softens and accents your shape. Nice choice.”
“Good. Thank you. If you can suggest a pair of shoes to match, you will officially be my hero.”
Emily laughed. “Oh, shoes, yes. I know just the pair. And you’ll need a bag, and perhaps some stockings? Garters?”
Erin stared. “Do I need all that?”
Emily laughed. “It’s good to have at least one entire ensemble. And men love garters. Trust me.”
“I guess it can’t hurt to try it on.”
“I’ll be right back.”
Erin was sure that the saleswoman was more excited about the shopping than she was, but it was going much more easily than she imagined, so that was a blessing. Sitting down on a bench by the entry to the dressing room, she waited and was glad to find she could sit comfortably—and modestly—in the dress.
“Erin?”
Erin saw Dana standing a few feet away.
“Hey, Dana,” she said with a smile, and then saw her friend’s curious gaze as she took in the dress.
“Whoa. That’s a killer dress.”
“Thanks. Emily, ah, the saleswoman, picked it. You know me, I know nothing about clothes.”
“You suddenly got the urge to shop? Are you feeling okay?”
They laughed, and Erin shrugged. “I had some time and figured I would pick up a few less-casual things. Just in case, you know?”
“Sure. And you hit the nail on the head the first time. That’s perfect on you. I love that designer. I have several of her pieces myself, though now I can’t wear them after seeing how amazing they look on you.”
“Yeah, right.” Erin waved her off. “I’d never heard of her before this.” Erin had a feeling she’d never heard of any dress designers.
“Here we go! I have some heels I’m sure you’ll like, along with the garters and the stockings. I can show you some evening bags on the way out, and I promise your fella is going to have heart palpitations when he sees you tonight.”
“Fella? You’re seeing a fella tonight?” Dana’s stare sharpened on Erin like a hawk’s on its prey.
“I have to try these on,” Erin said hastily and sought refuge in the dressing room, but not before she heard Dana’s warning that she could wait.
Oh, crap.
Leaning against the door for her temporary reprieve, Erin knew the jig was up. Whatever a jig was.
She’d have to tell Dana something, and she was a lousy liar. Especially to her friends.
Focusing on the shoes, she checked out the garters and stockings, but decided to pass, simply pulling on a pair of light gold, strappy sandals that ended up being far more comfortable than they looked.
Taking a deep breath, she headed back out, finding Emily and Dana chatting easily, both turning their attention to her with equal approval.
“Perfect.” Emily sighed.
“Those shoes make your legs look a million miles long,” Dana said with a low whistle.
Erin was pleased with their reactions, and she had to admit, she felt great, too.
“So what will your fella think?” Dana asked, blinking innocently.
“I, um, he...” Erin sputtered and cursed under her breath, retreating to the dressing room and closing the door.
Seconds later, Dana’s voice came from the other side of the door.
“Hey, Erin. I’m sorry. I didn’t mean to make you bolt. I just... I’m surprised if you have a date and you didn’t tell me. Are you okay in there?”
Erin’s shoulders sagged. Was she okay?
Hours ago, she was climbing up a burned-out ruin trying to remember one of the most critical events of her life—and now she was standing here like Cinderella getting ready for the ball. Maybe talking to someone about all this could help. Maybe it would make everything stop spinning for a second.
Erin opened the door and stood back, inviting her friend inside.
“I’m sorry. I didn’t know I had a date until today, so this is kind of last-minute but...the guy thing isn’t. It’s actually pretty complicated. I’m starting to feel...dizzy. Like I don’t know which end is up.”
She sat down on the narrow seat on the wall, deflated.
“Want to talk about it?” Dana joined her.
Erin stood up. “Yes. I have some time before I have to get home and get ready.”
“Let’s get your things, and we can go walk while you tell me about you and Bo. Iced coffee is on me.”
Erin gaped in surprise.
Dana rolled her eyes. “I notice things. Like the look on your face when Bo showed up for painting a few weeks ago. C’mon, change, and we’ll talk. I’ve been dying to know about this for, like forever.”
“Erin, is there anything else I can help you with?” Emily spoke from the other side of the door.
“I’m good, thanks, Emily. I’m taking the dress and the shoes. I’ll be out in just a second.”
“Take your time. I’ll meet you at the register.”
Erin listened as the clerk’s heels tapped on the floor as she walked away.
“How long have you known?”
“I didn’t know, but I suspected.”
Erin was suddenly nervous. “Do you think anyone else knows?”
“No. You kidding? Everyone else we know is male, and they don’t notice that stuff. Get dressed, and I’ll meet you out there.”
Dana slipped out while Erin changed and gathered up her things, coming to terms with the fact that someone knew—and had known for a while, by the sound of it—about her and Bo. It was...a relief.
They paid for her new dress and shoes and made their way out to the coffee shop, and then walked along the wide aisles of the new mall.
“So you and the marshal,” Dana invited. “Tell me.”
“Well, like I said, it’s kind of...an on-again, off-again thing,” she said, for lack of a better way of describing it. “And I don’t remember all of it, but that’s kind of why we’re back together now. For the moment anyway.”
“What does that mean?”
Erin wasn’t sure how much she should share of Bo’s career plans, as she knew they were waiting until they had a replacement for him before making a general announcement. But after swearing Dana to silence, even with Scott, she told her the whole story—as much as she knew anyway.
“So, let me get this straight. You two were together all last year, you broke up with him, and now he’s back with you again, but only so you can remember about the fire?”
“That about sums it up. But he’s moving to Virginia soon, so you know...when he goes, that will be that.”
Dana leveled a look at her. “And that’s okay with you?”
Erin shrugged. “It was the deal.”
“That’s not what I asked. A woman doesn’t dash out to buy special clothes for a guy she’s not into—in a big way. I’m worried, Erin. You’ve been through a lot. Are you falling for Bo, no matter what kind of deal you two had?”
She was about to say no, but stopped. “I don’t know. I definitely feel something, I guess. I like him, and we’re good together. But without knowing everything, I can’t know what’s between us. Not really. We broke up for a reason. The idea of him leaving so soon bothers me, but a lot of that is because of what happened today. The building will be wrecked, and I’m remembering some things, but not enough.”
“And the fact that he’s going means maybe he’s not feeling the same things you are?”
Erin shrugged. It pinched to hear the words aloud.
“I can’t blame him. I opted out, and this is just...an experiment, I guess. Also, I’m the only one who might be able to help him get more evidence to find this arsonist.”
“That’s too much pressure for you to put on yourself. It seems to me you have to separate out the fire stuff from the relationship stuff. You’re a different person now. Believe me,” Dana said with a laugh, looking at her shopping bags. “Maybe what you have with Bo could be different, too.”
Erin shook her head. “It’s different because I can’t remember why I didn’t want to stay in the relationship, and he’s moving on. He was clear about that. I won’t change the rules of the game now. It wouldn’t be fair. And you can’t tell anyone, Dana, please—even Scott. Okay?”
“I promise. If you promise to talk to me if you need to, when you need someone.”
“I will. Thanks. I’d better get going. I still have to shower and get ready.”
As they reached the doors that led to the parking garage, Dana put her hand on Erin’s arm.
“Erin, please be careful, okay? You’ve been hurt once, in the fire, but there are a whole lot of different ways you could end up hurt this time. I don’t want to see that happen. You’ve been through enough already.”
Erin took a deep breath and smiled brightly. “I’ll be okay, Dana. But thanks. I went into this with my eyes wide-open, but it means a lot to know I can talk to you.”
After they hugged and parted ways, Dana’s parting words lingered. Erin’s pace increased across the lot, the anticipation of seeing Bo, and of dressing up for him, giving her an extra zip. Maybe she had changed, and maybe Bo had, too. But she meant what she said. She wouldn’t change the rules of the game now, even if it meant that she was bound to get hurt in the end.
* * *
BO APPROACHED ERIN’S door with a brisk step, hoping he hadn’t overdone it as he looked down at the roses in his arms. He hadn’t bought roses for a woman in a very long time—the last time was probably for his mother on her birthday. He hadn’t ever gotten flowers for Erin, because she never seemed to want that kind of thing.
Maybe she still didn’t? He paused on the walk, looking at the roses and his dress shoes, shiny against the concrete, wondering if she might feel pressured, if this was too much.
He wanted to take her away from the ugliness of the fire scene, to take her mind off it completely. But she’d never been much for dress-up.
Well, he had reservations, but he could cancel them if need be. Whatever she wanted, he could go with the flow. That’s what he told himself as he continued to the door and rang the bell.
When the door opened, he almost dropped the roses.
“Incredible,” he whispered, taking her in as she stood before him, nervously raising her hand to her hair to push it back, and then frowning, as she often did, still forgetting it was short now.
Without saying a word, she invited him in, and Bo accepted, unable to take his eyes off her.
The black dress hugged her curves and fluttered down over her hips in soft folds that made her ultrafeminine, her long, bare legs exposed, the pretty gold sandals she wore making her look like some fairy-tale creature. His gaze drifted up, lingering on the way the deep neckline exposed the swell of her breasts and made his mouth go dry. Her short hair combined with the V-neck made her throat impossibly long and graceful. He swallowed, wanting to taste her there, his cock twitching with interest inside the loose dress pants he wore.
“You are insanely beautiful, do you know that?” he said roughly once he was inside the door, setting the roses down on a nearby table. He needed to touch her to make sure she was real.
“Thank you, I—”
It was as far as he let her go before he kissed her, hands on her shoulders, their bodies not quite touching, but he breathed her in as he touched his tongue to hers.
“You smell like...gardenia.”
Nothing strong or overwhelming, but he could pick the scent up on her skin as he came close.
“It’s a new soap I bought.”
“It’s perfect. Like you.”
She smiled, her cheeks turning pink in a feminine manner that made him even harder.
If he didn’t reroute his thinking, they’d never get out the door. Taking a step back, he picked the roses up again.
“These are for you,” he said, presenting them to her.
Her lips parted with pleasure as she brought them to her nose.
“They smell wonderful, thank you. That’s the signature of a good flower, you know, the scent.”
“Don’t they all have scent?”
Bo was again captivated by how the dress swished around her bottom as she crossed the room in front of him.
“Not a lot of the ones you find in grocery stores, and that kind of thing. I forget why, Kit told me. Some are made that way to not aggravate allergies, but others are just made to be...well, generic, I guess.”
“Interesting.”
Though, really, all he wanted to do was watch her move in that dress, go to dinner, and then get her alone and take it off her.
“Thank you. They are gorgeous,” she said admiringly, putting them in a vase on her new dining room table.
“You’re welcome. The place looks great, by the way—you’ve added new pieces.”
She smiled widely then, genuinely pleased as she looked around at her new, renovated surroundings.
“I love it. It feels more personal now, like a home should.”
A home—something Erin never seemed to care about much before. Bo cleared his throat.
“We have reservations in a half hour. Are you ready to go?”
“I am,” she said brightly, picking up a small black bag with a gold chain. Bo didn’t even know she owned clothes like these. She looked elegant and sexy in every possible way as she walked out to the door.
He was glad he’d brought his car instead of the truck.
“Oh, my, that’s yours?”
Erin stood by the side of the classic black sports car, looking like every man’s fantasy. Bo wanted to put her on the hood and push that dress up—
“Bo?”
He snapped out of his thoughts with a chagrined smile. “Sorry. Yes, that’s mine. It was my father’s. We worked on it together for years, and he left it to me when he passed on. It’s a ’67. My pride and joy. I only take it out of the garage for the occasional summer drive and a special occasion.”
“It’s beautiful,” she said admiringly, running her hand over the edge of the roof.
Bo joined her, opening the passenger-side door. “I’m glad you like it.”
And he was. Erin had admired the car before, and they had taken a few drives in it, but tonight felt different. He’d wondered if she’d remember. They’d driven the GTO to the apple orchard on their last real date, but apparently none of that was coming back to her as she buckled herself into the luxurious ivory leather seat.
He got in and did the same, heading to the highway, loving the growl of the engine as he did so.
“Where are we going?”
“The inn, in Skaneateles. Do you remember it?”
“Not really. I know the town, but don’t have any specific memories of the restaurant. Did we go there often?”
“We went to the pub a few times, but not all dressed up like this.”
“Speaking of which, you look great, by the way. I wasn’t sure what to wear. I was so relieved when I saw you were dressed up, too.”
Bo grinned. “Sorry about that. I wondered the same, on the way to the door, if I had overdone it.”
“I’d say we did just fine.”
“Agreed.”
They drove through the winding roads of the countryside between Syracuse and the small Finger Lakes town to the southwest of the city, enjoying the view. Bo drove slowly along the main street by the lake, enjoying the attention the car always drew, but this time, it was eclipsed by the attention Erin drew after he parked and helped her out.
There wasn’t a head that didn’t turn as she strolled down the street, and he tucked her arm into his possessively, letting people know she was absolutely taken.
And then he caught himself, realizing he’d forgotten again that this wasn’t what it seemed to be.
Erin seemed to pick up on his tension, and put her other hand on his arm, facing him.
“Bo? Everything okay?”
He smiled, leaning in to kiss her cheek. “Yes, sorry. I forgot if I’d locked the car,” he lied smoothly.
She relaxed again, too, as they progressed up the stone steps in the inn and were shown to their table.
It was a reminder that this was a fantasy, but he saw no reason not to completely enjoy it anyway. He ordered some wine and watched Erin as she studied the menu, not wanting to look away, as if she might disappear. As if he was imagining it all.
But when she smiled at him over the top of the card, her eyes bright, he knew it was 100 percent real. As were the very dangerous emotions clutching at his chest.
Their waitress arrived and took their orders, and Bo put the worrisome thoughts away for the evening. Right now, he was here with the most beautiful woman he could imagine, and he wanted to embrace it. Live in the moment, that’s what they always said, right?
This arrangement with Erin was what it was, but that didn’t stop him from having feelings for her—which was why he’d done all of this in the first place. Because he cared. He’d never stopped caring. It didn’t change anything.
“I think I remember walking down by the lake...out on the pier? Something funny happened? We laughed really hard?”
“Yes, that was one day last summer. There was a guy proposing to his girl out there. He wanted to make a big deal, and managed to crawl up on the rail, proposing from there for everyone to hear. When she said yes, he got so excited that he lost his balance and fell in the lake. He was fine, and had to swim the few yards to shore. He was yelling how much he loved her all the way in,” Bo said with a grin, remembering, too.
“Yes,” she said, staring out the nearby window at the water. “I think I remember some of that. A young man.”
“Very. Who was also fined by the local police as soon as he hit the shoreline, but he didn’t really care.”
They laughed, and it lightened the mood. Their wine arrived, and an appetizer, then their entrées. Bo loosened up as they chatted about this and that, nothing having to do with the fire or anything serious.
But then Erin asked, “So, the new job? Do you have any more news?”
“It’s official. I’m heading down the second week of August, and they should have a new investigator ready to take my place here in a week or two. He’s experienced, so it won’t take long to bring him up to speed. We got lucky in that way. I’ll need to go down a week ahead to get an apartment, that kind of thing.”
“You’re excited,” she said with a smile.
“I am. It’s what I’ve been working for all these years. It will be challenging, but I can’t wait, really.”
Her smile faded, and he wanted to kick himself.
“I mean—”
She reached over, covering his hand with hers. “No, I completely get it. And you should be excited. I’m excited for you. This is incredible.”
“Thanks,” he said, letting it drop and turning his hand so that he could rub his thumb over the inside of her palm.
The touch made her eyes darken, the mood shifting quickly between them.
“It might have been presumptuous of me, but I reserved a room upstairs for the night. But we could go home, if you want to,” he said.
Erin wrapped her fingers around his, squeezing. “A room here is a nice idea.”
Bo’s heart picked up speed as he paid the check and took her hand, pulling her to his side.
“I couldn’t agree more.”
