Page 36 of Come A Little Closer

Suddenly full of confidence and excitement, I stood up and said goodbye to her. Then I headed out, arriving at the party so late that it’d already migrated into Niall’s house.

Walking up to his front door, I was a little bit nervous that everything had gone wrong without me being here to oversee it, but I shook it off and reminded myself that I was a badass, independent woman who’d only left here once I’d known the vendors had it all in hand.

Niall’s door was open when I got to the top of the steps. I filled my lungs with air, pulling back my shoulders before I walked into the crowded room. Chatter and laughter reached my ears and relief spilled through me when I looked around, immediately noticing that everything was where it was supposed to be. I smiled, letting my eyes slide closed for just a moment as I realized that my first event was going off without a hitch.

When I opened my eyes again, I saw Niall moving out of a small group on the other side of the main room. He turned and spotted me at the exact moment I saw him, and as our gazes connected, it was like we were the only two people in the room.

The rest of the world, all the people around us, and even all the awesome, spooky decorations faded away, leaving only him and me, those clear blue eyes of his entirely focused on mine. My heart skipped too many beats as I looked back at him, and in that moment, it became crystal clear to me that the differences between us really didn’t matter.

There was something real developing here, and I honestly couldn’t wait to explore it.

16

NIALL

Tallulah Pruette in that shimmering red, body-hugging dress that seemed to have been painted onto her curves might just have been the most beautiful thing I’d ever seen in my life. Her dark hair fell past her shoulders in shiny, smooth curls, making her bare skin in the strapless corset look like creamy porcelain.

The skirt of the dress flared out a little, but only around her mid-thigh, which meant that the rest of her full, hourglass figure was gorgeously accentuated. Meanwhile, her eyes were striking and huge, made up the way they were.

Even before tonight, I’d thought she was the most beautiful woman I’d ever laid eyes on, but now that she was all dressed up, she had my head spinning. As our eyes locked, I felt drawn to her in a way I’d never felt before.

The sensation was even more intense than usual, which was odd considering that I’d felt drawn to her all along. This was different, though. It was like I was merely a puppet on a string and some force greater than myself was manipulating my movements as I strode over to her.

I dodged several of my guests along the way, my eyes only on her until she was standing right in front of me. “Tallulah, I—you…”

“I—hi,” she said, but her voice was several octaves higher than usual, which made me feel better for fumbling my own hello.

“Hi,” I finally managed, my gaze still locked on hers and unable to look away. “At risk of making things weird again, you look absolutely ravishing this evening.”

“Thank you,” she replied quietly, her cheeks flushing a deep, rosy pink as she nodded at me. “So do you. I’m sorry I’m so late.”

The chemistry was back between us instantly and in full force, but it was familiar and comfortable now, like a limb I’d been missing all week. A smile hooked the corners of my lips, curving them upward in a much wider way than I was used to. “I’m just glad you’re here.”

“Thank you for inviting me.”

“I wouldn’t have had it any other way,” I said, realizing that neither of us had even glanced away from the other just yet. “I was starting to wonder if you’d changed your mind about coming. I’m happy you didn’t, though. Everyone I’ve spoken to is dying to meet the girl responsible for the party.”

The flush spread a little bit, creeping to her temples and her jaw. “I didn’t change my mind. Sayra just had to come to my rescue with a dress and it took me a while longer than expected to get ready.”

“Sayra…” I cursed under my breath, exhaling deeply as I finally remembered what I had forgotten. “You didn’t have time to go shopping this week. I apologize. That was entirely my fault. I should’ve had my personal shopper send over some options for you.”

“You have a personal shopper?”

“I do.” I flashed her a small smile. “Forgive me? I’ll do better next time, I promise. I’ll personally see to it that you have a whole day before an event to shop around and be pampered.”

“Thanks, but that’s okay. I’m not sure I’d like being pampered and Sayra came through in a big way with the dress. It wasn’t necessary for me to go out and spend a bundle of money on something new when she had this just lying around.”

My eyes finally dropped away from hers, but it was only to run slowly over the length of her body, savoring every inch of it until I finally brought it back up again. “It looks like it was made for you, Tallulah. You’re breathtaking this evening. If I knew where she’d bought it, I’d order you one in every color you want.”

“That’s really not necessary.”

“Perhaps not, but I owe you at least that and more for pulling all this together in less than a week. You name it, and it’s yours. Without you, I’d have bought a couple six-packs of beer, hung some Jack-o’-lanterns, and called it a day. None of this would’ve been possible, so I’m serious. Whatever you want, name it and I’ll make it happen.”

Her cheeks flushed an even deeper hue at the praise, but the smile that spread on her lips was proud and genuine. I loved being responsible for having put it there. What was more was that she absolutely deserved all the compliments she was about to get.

I offered her my arm, motioning around the room with my free hand. “Let me introduce you to my neighbors and business associates, but before I do, promise me you won’t accept any job offers.”

“What?” She frowned. “I wouldn’t, but it’s unlikely I’ll get any.”