“You don’t have to.”
“I insist. Any preferences?”
I laughed nervously. This felt a little surreal. Rob Dumont was definitely unlike anyone I’d met.
“I don’t know.”
He winked. “Even better. It’ll be my choice.”
Something told me that was a dangerous thing to do, but honestly, I couldn’t even think of one thing.
“Have a great day, Rob.”
Nodding, he walked backward to the door. That intensity in his eyes made my breath catch. And I’d just agreed to spend tomorrow afternoon with him.
Chapter Eleven
Skye
My foot recovered slowly. I had to be careful not to put too much pressure on my toes for the rest of the day, but by the next day, I was good as new. Except that I became a tad nervous as the afternoon went by. I was meeting Rob in front of the store called Handmade in one hour, and I kep
t checking my appearance—first my dress, then my makeup, then my hair.
“Why are you so jumpy?” Tess asked.
“No reason.”
“Would that no reason benefit from a sexy bra and panties?”
Oh, my sister knew me so well. I wiggled my hips and my eyebrows.
“Wearing some of my sexiest stuff already,” I informed her.
Her eyes bulged. “Okay, then. I don’t need to know more.”
Ha! Right. As if she could help herself. I gave her two minutes before she asked what my plans were for tonight. She lasted all of one minute.
“Are you going on a date?” She kept her voice nonchalant. I could tease her, but then just remembered that she’d spent the last few months worrying over me even more than usual, so I didn’t have it in me to do that.
“No, just helping Rob choose a present for his niece.”
“And that required code red?”
Tess and I had developed our own sexiness code for lingerie.
Green was period lingerie. Yellow included everything from meh to sports bras. Red was fire: push-up bras, lace, silk... or all three.
“You know me, I’m all for red.” It was the truth. I wore super sexy lingerie on a regular basis because it gave me confidence.
“I know, but there’s something different about you.” She pointed at me.
I felt different, so I couldn’t contradict her. I was just as in the dark as my sister about what caused it though.
One hour later, as I headed out of the store, I was filled with an infectious energy. Usually at the end of the day, I was spent. Not tonight though. I eyed the ice cream shop across from us. My mouth was watering. I still had twenty minutes until I was supposed to meet Rob. That was just enough time to enjoy a cone with two scoops. (Yeah... I bought ice cream often enough that I knew exactly how long it took me to eat a cone.)
Maybe allowing myself to indulge in one temptation would make it easier to resist the other.
After buying a cone with mango and caramel, I ventured down one of the side streets, peering inside the window displays. In the morning and during the workday, I was always on the run, too busy to actually take the time to see what was new around us. I enjoyed the evening stroll, especially seeing all the shops off the beaten path.