She looks over at me, her eyes bright. “Okay.”
We wait at a stoplight to cross the street, then walk the three blocks to the house.
Once we’re inside, I kick off my shoes. I start to head into the kitchen, but Briar catches my wrist, stopping me.
She gazes up at me with those big, green doe eyes. Then she tiptoes up and presses a soft kiss to my cheek.
“Thank you for everything, Blake. You mean so much to me.”
I stare down at her, my heart beating fast at the softness in her tone and the brightness in her eyes, and the way my skin on my cheek is tingling from her lips.
I swallow hard, pushing that thought out of my mind. I nod at her as she smiles and walks upstairs and disappears down the hall toward my bedroom.
I stand there, my head spinning. God, that kiss felt good. I want to feel her lips on me again.
Don’t even think that. She kissed you on the cheek. It was a friendly kiss, nothing more.
I repeat that silent reminder to myself the rest of the night. But the urge to kiss Briar stays with me, even though I know it shouldn’t.
Chapter 9
Briar
“What about this dress?”
Poppy pulls a pretty green cocktail dress from her closet and holds it up.
“I think it would look so good with your eyes. It would really bring out the green in them,” she says to me.
“Oh, that’s beautiful,” I say. “Can I try it on?”
Poppy grins and nods. I head to her bathroom and change into it.
She and Anna invited me over to Poppy’s apartment to try on dresses to wear for the Hollis U hockey dinner this weekend, since we’re all going. Anna brought a bunch of dresses for all of us to try on, but I’m closer to Poppy’s size. I’m a little bit shorter than her at five-foot-three, but we wear the same dress size.
When I walk out of the room, both Poppy and Anna gasp.
“Oh wow!” Anna says.
“That dress was made for you,” Poppy says.
She grabs my shoulders and turns me so I’m in front of the full-length mirror in her bedroom. When I see my reflection, I smile.
This one-shoulder dress hits a few inches below my knees and is made of the prettiest satin material. Delicate pleatingdetail fans out from the side of the dress, making it look so elegant.
“Oh, I love this,” I say softly.
“Youhaveto wear this dress,” Anna says.
I turn to Poppy. “You sure it’s okay for me to borrow it?”
She nods. “Absolutely. You look stunning in it.”
I hug her. “Thank you.” I look at both her and Poppy. “And thanks for inviting me over to try on dresses. I thought I’d have to go shopping for a new dress I could barely afford for this dinner, but you guys saved me.”
“We both have tons of dresses. We’re happy to share with you,” Anna says.
I change back into my clothes and help Anna and Poppy pick out what dresses they’re going to wear to the dinner. Poppy chooses an off-the-shoulder red cocktail dress, and Anna chooses a black strapless one with an asymmetrical hem.
