Drawing on years of escorting experience, he slipped on a smile and said, “I’ll have to buy you a new pair of those.”
When a confused expression crossed her face, he nodded toward the torn side seam of her panties that she’d been absently fingering all thi
s time.
She smiled and flattened her palm over her hip. “That’s okay. I can do it.”
“I don’t mind. Though for most couples, women buy all the underwear.”
She tilted her head to the side. “Why?”
He shrugged. “I think it’s because they do a lot of shopping and like to take care of the people they love.”
As he said the words, Stella drew in a surprised breath. A discovering look lit her face before she stared off into space, focusing on things inside her head.
“Where did you go?” He waved a hand in front of her until she refocused on him. It was such a Stella thing to do, he grinned despite the emptiness in his chest. He loved how brilliant she was. Everything about her did it for him. Every single thing. “You’re thinking about work, aren’t you? Here I am talking about replacing the underwear I tore having hot bathroom sex with you, and you’re zoning out to think about econometrics.”
She straightened her glasses with a wrinkle of her nose. “I-I’m sorry. I can’t help it all the time. I try to be present, but—”
“I’m teasing you. I love your genius brain,” he admitted. Because he couldn’t help it, even when he was sad, he kissed her soft lips once, twice, and one last time again. “Come on, Ngo?i will probably have to use the bathroom soon, and I want to show you something.”
* * *
• • •
Stella covered a gasp when Michael pulled a hanger from a hook on the wall, revealing a little white dress of creamy fabric. “Is that for me?”
“I had to guess at your dimensions, so the fit might be all over the place. Try it on for me?”
She stared at the garment in wonder. Her own Michael Larsen dress.
After closing herself in the mirrorless dressing room, she undressed in a hurry. Of course the dress was strapless so she couldn’t wear a bra, but the inside was lined in soft silk. There wasn’t a single exposed seam to bother her skin. She was dying to see what it looked like on.
Holding the bodice to her chest, she walked out and turned around. “Can you zip the back for me, please?”
His lips brushed against her nape as the zipper closed with an intimate zzzzzip, sending a shiver down her spine. It felt like it fit her perfectly. It hugged her body better than her yoga clothes, and she loved her yoga clothes. When she turned around, Michael assessed her with a critical eye, his sexy arms crossed over his chest.
“Can I look?” she whispered.
A small smile formed on his lips, and he nodded toward the raised area in front of the mirrors where he did fittings.
She stepped onto the dais and felt her heart stutter, reboot, and resume. The dress was a smooth ivory sheath that followed the lines of her body from her knees to her chest. The fabric of the bodice fluted just off center in such a way that it gave the impression she was a curvaceous calla lily. Her nipples were not visible.
It was perfect. Simple. Modest but daring. Her.
She ran her hands over her hips, turned around, and gasped at what the expert construction of the dress did to her behind. Her butt had never looked so pert and voluptuous. She settled a hand over the ripe curve of one cheek, and Michael cleared his throat.
He stepped onto the dais and trailed his fingers down her sides. “I’m happy with the fit. My hands knew the size of you.”
“I love it. Thank you, Michael.”
“My gift to you. For all the birthdays when I didn’t know you. When is your birthday?”
Warmth effervesced inside her like champagne. A gift. From Michael. That he’d made with his own hands. Each seam, each thread, each piece of fabric had been chosen just for her. “The summer solstice, June twenty-first. You?”
“June twentieth. But I’m two years younger than you.”
“Do you mind that I’m older?” She knew men often liked younger women.