“Yes, darling?”
I pursed my lips.
“Where’s my dress?”
A look of theatric confusion creased his handsome brow.
“Dress?”
He glanced around for a minute, as if he might spot it himself. Then his face lightened with a look of sudden understanding.
“Oh, you mean that ugly white thing you had hanging up by the door? Yeah—I threw that away hours ago.”
Ugly? It was a perfectly normal dress! What the hell was so...wait...WHAT?!
My mouth dropped open, as my hands flew up in dismay.
“You threw it away?!” I exclaimed. “It was a twelve hundred dollar dress!”
He shrugged flippantly.
“A dress that you happened to steal, and I happened to pay for, if you do recall...”
But I was in no mood to play games. The party was looming closer and closer, and after our little conversation in the shower, it was clear that the stakes were higher than ever.
“What the hell is wrong with you?!” I started pacing back and forth in frustration, trying to come up with a back-up plan on the fly. “The dress wasn’t ugly—it was fine! It was going to be perfect for this damn party, and now I have nothing to—”
“Hey, hey,” he caught me by the elbow—pulling me to a halt, “relax, alright?” Those blue eyes tried to coax a smile. “I didn’t just throw away the dress...I replaced it with another.”
It took me a minute to switch gears. Then I saw the long garment bag hanging in the corner. A feeling of instant relief washed through me.
Withholding my forgiveness until I’d seen the replacement, I walked across the room—not even stopping when Nick ‘accidentally’ caught the edge of my towel, sliding it off to the floor. Well aware that his eyes were fixed upon me, I unzipped the bag and reached inside.
“Damn,” he said. “You’re simply a vision, an angel from heaven.”
That made me smile. “You’re too sweet. Thank you.”
My fingers closed down upon a handful of gauzy silk. The frustration dissipated on the spot, and with sudden care, I pulled out the dress and lay it gently across the bed.
It was lovely. There was no doubt about it.
An empire waist with billows of silk and chiffon that cascaded to the floor like an iridescent waterfall. A bodice made of twisted silk ribbons that wound up into delicate straps. A shimmering pattern made of swirling crystals that sent scattered rays of light all over the rest of the room. And even though it was a floor-length gown, the whole thing was light as a feather.
But considering Nick picked it, there was only one thing I thought was a little strange...
“Pink?” I asked curiously, shooting him a quizzical stare. “I mean—I love it—don’t get me wrong. But...pink?”
I had spent the last two years with Nick, and I’d never seen him buy anything pink in his entire life. It was like there was an unofficial ban on it, because even the women he escorted to various events never touched the color.
Nick liked bold colors. Seductive reds, devilish blacks, shimmering metallics. Pink, was nowhere on the list.
“Yes, well you see,” he took a step forward, joining me beside the bed, “I’ve recently become quite fond of a certain shade.”
My eyes flickered back to the dress, lingering on the delicate shade of rose, before returning to him with a question. “A certain shade? What are you talking about?”
But Nick was never one to talk. He liked to show instead.
A mischievous grin spread up the side of his face, as we locked eyes. Then, without a moment’s pause, he ran two fingers along his tongue and slid them straight inside of me.