“You heard that?” Will bit his bottom lip to keep from cursing and quite possibly blushing over this revealed secret.
“Just the most important part.” Zoe giggled. “I bet you were a cute kid. I can’t wait to see pictures of you when you were younger. Did they dress you up, too?”
“My sisters are crazy.”
“They sound like fun,” Zoe said, “and concerned.”
“That concern is called being nosy.” Will reached out and stuck his finger into the crease in Zoe’s towel. He tugged but she stood her ground.
Zoe shook her head. She pulled away and Will issued a silent prayer that the towel would fall. He didn’t think he’d ever get tired of seeing her body. The curves. The softness. The wetness.
“In less than thirty-six hours…” Zoe began.
“We’ll be on our first date?” Will dropped his hand and stroked his face again, remembering he needed to shave. “Or are we going for round six tonight?”
“I believe we made it to round seven,” Zoe said with a wink. “I see why you have this TOP tattoo.” Soft fingers brushed against the space above his heart.
“That’s my fraternity.”
Her perfect lips formed an O.
“Didn’t you pledge anything in college?” There was something about the striped tube socks Zoe wore that gave him the image of her in a pledge line.
More of Zoe’s hair spilled over her shoulders when she shook her head. “Did you forget I was a nerd?”
A nerd was the furthest thing from his mind.
“Well, I was. There weren’t too many sorority girls asking me to join or any frat guys banging on my door to date me. The Greek life didn’t work out for me.”
The only person who was going to bang on her door from here on out was going to be him. He couldn’t wait to see what her place looked like. Did she have the same kind of posters on her walls as she did in her childhood bedroom? “I’m looking forward to our date tonight.”
“Tonight?” Zoe perked up.
“We can have our first date when we return to Miami,” Will clarified. “And perhaps tonight I’ll keep better track of how many times you climax.”
“But then again, if tonight is our first date, I ought to behave. I wouldn’t want you to get the wrong impression of me.”
“You’ve already made an impression, baby.”
Zoe stepped up and gave him a kiss on his chin. The soft feel of her tongue and nibble of her teeth fueled his erection. “I’ll impress you more this afternoon.”
“Speaking of this afternoon,” Will groaned, “I am afraid my brothers are here, as well.”
“A family affair?”
“Well, we are sponsoring all the makeup.” Will lifted the lavender jar of lotion and opened the top. Slowly he dipped his finger into the creamy white center and pulled out a dollop on his finger, then swiped it across her bare shoulder. “Which means the only products you can use are Ravens.”
“I can make that work.” Zoe leaned her head to the side and kissed his thumb.
“And it should mean the only products on you should be Ravens.”
Zoe dropped the towel. “What about putting a Ravens body part in me?”
And who was he to say no?
* * *
After a quick tryst in the shower, Zoe kissed Will goodbye and headed next door to the pageant. There was a nice-sized building off to the side of the hotel that was home to small concerts. Today it held fifty girls, all aiming to win the crown of Miss Southwood. Parents and children, fans and talent scouts already filled the seats. Children in fluffy dresses practiced their dance moves in the hallway and aisles. Older teens fiddled with their cell phones as they stood around in line, waiting for hair and makeup.
Zoe waved to her new friends, the production crew. Her feet barely hit the ground on her way to the beauty room. She and Will had plans for tonight. Zoe pushed the job out of her mind for now. Their future held nothing but excitement.
“Hey, Zoe,” Lily exclaimed. “We’re stuck over here.” She waved a metallic fingernail file with a cream-colored handle in the air to catch Zoe’s attention.
All the nail accessories and products at Lily’s station bore the signature cream, gold and lavender colors of Ravens Cosmetics, but the dozens of bottles were filled with various bright colors, stemming from the brightest of pinks and neon blues, to the soft classic pale pink and even to a black. It was refreshing to see Ravens stepping to the plate to meet their competitors.