The Beauty and the CEO

“Long day?” Will asked. He expected Zoe to fret about her hair or her attire. But, instead, she straightened her shoulders and stood tall.

“Yes, but I had a blast.”

Will crossed the room, the garment bag under his arm. “I have something for you.”

It was his intent to hand her the dress, but when she opened her arms, who was he to resist? Will set the bag on the edge of her bed and pulled Zoe’s body into his. Their mouths met for two or three polite kisses, just lips, but then they fed into their desire, tongues circling fiercely together. His hands dragged across her bottom, fitting underneath the cuffs of her blue-and-white shorts. The ties of her apron brushed against the backs of his hands.

“I could get used to a greeting like that every day,” Will breathed, breaking the kiss and brushing the tip of his nose against hers.

“Tell me about it.” Zoe stroked the side of his face. He turned his face to kiss her palm. They needed to stop.

Though he shouldn’t, Will thought of being able to kiss Zoe like this every day. Every day at the office or every day at home. If she became the Creative Design Director, he wouldn’t be able to do this. There’d have to be some boundaries, and right now, Will didn’t want to test those.

Zoe stepped backward with her hands on her hips. “I need to start cleaning up in here before dinner tonight.”

“Speaking of dinner,” Will said, remembering the garment bag. “Kenzie delivered these for you from Lexi’s.” Like the other ladies had at their doors, Zoe squealed with excitement. Her face lit up as she yanked down the bag’s zipper. Before Will had a chance to see, Zoe pressed the dress against her chest. “What?”

“Isn’t it bad luck to see the dress?” Zoe wiggled her eyebrows at him.

“I believe that’s for a wedding. We haven’t had our first official date,” Will replied and gave a lopsided grin. “We can start things off tonight, though. Care to be my date for the dinner?”

For a moment, Zoe glanced at the ceiling and pondered his question. “It is rather late to be asking.”

“Someone’s already asked?” Will faked being upset—or, rather, covered the bubble in his gut. He turned toward the door. “Who had the nerve to ask after I’ve staked my claim to you this week?”

“Staked,” Zoe laughed, grabbing Will back by the arm. “What am I? An uncharted territory?”

He liked the way her hand fit around his biceps—made it totally worth working out all the time. Will caught her hand and pulled her up to him once again. Without thinking he lowered his head and his lips to hers. “I can’t wait to explore.”

CHAPTER 9

In the end, Zoe, of course, gave in to Will’s request and allowed him to take her to dinner. It didn’t hurt that he knocked on her door carrying a bouquet of flowers or that he became utterly speechless at the sight of her when she let him in.

She had to hand it to Lexi and her choice of dress. The floor-length black evening gown was flawless. A diamond band cinched her waistline and the strapless sweetheart neckline helped accentuate her assets. She wished she’d thought to bring her grandmother’s good-luck pearls for this evening, but settled for a pair of diamond teardrop earrings instead. For dramatic effect, Lexi had sent along a pair of black evening gloves. Thankfully, tugging the hem of the gloves over her elbows distracted her from converting into a cartoon character with her eyes popping out of her head and her jaw dropping to the floor at Will, who was amazingly handsome in his crisp black tuxedo.

What took her breath away was the way the covered area out back at Mas was set up. Someone had taken it upon themselves to put lights on the ceiling, making it seem like they were dining under the stars. Kenzie had tuxedoed waiters to serve their meals. A long, triangular table held everyone working on the pageant and was covered with white linen cloths; someone had had the foresight to bring in free-standing air conditioners and place them at each corner. Some of the tables had been taken out and in their place was a portable dance floor. Soft music pumped into the area.

Dinner was a combination of Southern battered chicken and catfish, green beans with ham, and macaroni and cheese. Sweet tea filled the glasses and laugher echoed in the air.