“Well, if you sleep with him now, that can help you decide if you definitely are or aren’t,” Serena added. Macy made a mental note to not let Serena have another glass of eggnog.
Monique stood there, smiling. “I can’t believe our
two close friends are hitting it off so well. I think I’m going to cry!”
“Please don’t,” Macy quickly said as she reached out and stroked Mo’s shoulder. “Let’s see where things go before the waterworks come out.”
Nodding, Monique sniffed back her tears. “Okay, I’ll try not to.”
“Or at least wait until they do the nasty,” Serena mumbled.
What Macy didn’t tell her friends was that tonight the kids were spending the night with Mario. When Duke took her home this evening, it would be the first time they were going to have a chance to be home alone. They’d been alone together before, but something about tonight was different. Duke had been a patient man. Despite each passionate kiss he gave her, she never felt pressured by him. It was nice to go out with a man who didn’t expect more right away.
From across the room, Duke made eye contact with her. He stood as tall as Mario’s Christmas tree, but he seemed broader than it. Her heart swelled at the sight of such a man. Duke broke the contact with a wink. He whispered something to Pablo and handed him his drink, then made his way across the room toward her. Macy felt her heart skip a beat as he approached.
Eartha Kitt’s seductive croons of “Santa Baby” filtered through the air. Macy could think of one thing in particular she wanted. And by the end of the first verse, he was standing right in front of her.
“Care to dance?”
“Dance?” Macy managed to get out. Mario had moved all his furniture out, so that there was room for everyone. No one else was dancing. Before she could point out that fact, Duke pulled her by her wrists into the center of the room and held her against his hard body. Once again, his touch made her feel as if she was melting. Her knees went weak, but it didn’t matter, Duke had her. His arms were wrapped around her waist, fingers resting at her backside. Against the fabric of his green sweater, his heart thumped through his chest. His square jawline twitched and his full lips broke into a smile.
Even with their height difference, Duke managed to crane his neck down to bring his lips close to hers. Macy’s heart raced in anticipation of a kiss. For once, she was aware they weren’t the only ones in the room. All eyes were on them and she claimed him, stretching her arms upward around his neck. Duke’s thighs pressed against hers and they moved together as one. Everything was perfect. “Well, I guess that’s a yes, then.”
“Have I told you how beautiful you look this evening?”
She fit against his body comfortably, familiarly. “I think you may have said something about it when you picked me up.”
“The statement still stands. I don’t think I’m the only one who seems to think so, either.” Duke nodded his head in the direction of Lawrence, who stood in the corner sipping his eggnog.
Macy cut her eyes back at Duke. “Well, thank you. Were you taking a poll?”
“No need. I’m Dominican. I can sense these things.”
“Whatever,” she said. “May I say how handsome you are?”
Duke grinned and nodded his head. “Thank you. You may.”
“Well, all the ladies are discussing it, also.”
“All of them?” he inquired with a raised eyebrow. “What about one in particular?”
“Which one were you concerned with?”
Chuckling, he grinned, exposing that devil-may-care dimple with his crooked smile. “I thought I was pretty sure I made myself clear as to which woman I was interested in on that first morning I came to work with you. But in case you need a reminder...”
Duke dipped his head and captured her lips in a sensual kiss. He tipped her chin up to meet his face. They swayed to the music, or so she thought. Macy felt as though she were floating on air. Somehow they danced like that until Nat King Cole’s deep voice entered the room with “The Christmas Song.”
“How are you enjoying your evening?” Duke asked.
Was it normal for a woman’s body to be so turned on from a kiss? Macy’s heart fluttered. “I think I’m enjoying it just fine. But then again, the night is still young.”
“Oh yeah?” He pulled his head back to get a look at her. “What does that mean?”
She offered him a sly smile and shrugged in his arms. “It means that the kids are spending the night with Mario.”
“I think I heard him mention that. I know it sounds weird, but it was like he was giving me the go-ahead head nod.”
Hiding her laugh, Macy pressed her head against Duke’s broad chest. “That sounds about right.”