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I laugh it off.
I know she’s in good hands when she’s with Milo, and that’s all that matters because my Friday night plans are set, and I won’t have anything on my mind but the beautiful woman I’ve been thinking about all week.
“Can I have a little bit of dessert tonight?” Kirby pleads, pressing her palms together as if in prayer. “Jo made those pretty pink cupcakes I love, Daddy. I can split one with Uncle Milo.”
Milo shrugs, adjusting the bowtie on his T-shirt. “I’ll take one for the team.”
“Half of one,” Kirby says.
“We’ll split it in three,” I suggest, knowing that Kirby will somehow still end up with a bigger piece than I want her to have.
She lifts her half-filled glass of milk. “Let’s toast to dessert.”
Milo joins in to tap his soda can against her glass, and I round out the toast by raising my glass of water. “To dessert.”
This dessert is just fine, but a little more than forty-eight hours from now, I’ll be taking the lovely Carrie Gilbert to dinner, and then she’ll be the best dessert treat I’ve ever had.
CHAPTER THIRTY-TWO
Carrie
I put a lot more thought into what I’m wearing under my dress than the dress itself.
After work, I went back to my apartment in Brooklyn to pick up a few things, including a little black dress I only wore once.
I also plucked a black lace bra and panty set from my underwear drawer.
I’ve never worn the lingerie. I bought it on a whim when I saw it in an online ad. It was from Liore Lingerie, so I stopped there after work one day and showed the woman working the floor the ad on my phone. She gleefully ran to get the set in my size and then subtly convinced me to invest in another identical set in white.
I wore the white set to my sister’s wedding. The black set is under my dress now. It feels extravagant and looks incredible.
I did a few turns in the full-size mirror in Abby and Declan’s bedroom before I put on the dress.
I was able to do all of that in private because Rook asked Posey to stay late at the office today. I’m choosing to believe that he did that to give me time alone to get ready.
My hands fist around the small black clutch purse that Abby gave me for my birthday years ago. It was more of a mutual gift for both of us because she’s used it a lot more than I have. I thought she might have lost it, but I found it on a chair in her bedroom. Since it was empty, I scooped it up and tucked my wallet, a vial of one of the scents I developed, and a pack of breath mints in it.
Taking a deep breath, I glance out the window of the car I’m in.
It’s a rideshare. I don’t usually splurge for this, but tonight is a special occasion, so a little extra money spent is well worth it.
“I’ve never been to the restaurant you’re going to,” the driver tells me. “Have you?”
I shoot her reflection a smile in the rearview mirror. “No. This will be my first time.”
I bow my head to smile at the double entendre. This will indeed be my first time eating at Sérénité, a French restaurant on Tenth Avenue. It will also be the first time I have sex.
She offers me a smile back. “Is it a special occasion?”
I nod because damn right it is. “Yes.”
I don’t expand on that because I don’t want to lie to her by passing it off as something it’s not.
“Good.” She nods. “By the way, you look amazing.”
“Thank you,” I say, sincerely meaning it.
I took time in the shower after work to wash my hair, blow it dry, and straighten it. It’s not something I do often, but I love the look.
