Page 76 of 50 Ways to Win Back Your Lover

Delilah claimed she needed to primp afterward, to shower and make herself pretty. I told her it’s impossible to be any prettier and received a naughty kiss for my efforts, then I went for a run while she got ready. Did I think about her scar while I ran? Of course. Will I ask Delilah about it? Of course I won’t. I made a promise to let her set the pace on this. I trust her to open up when she’s ready. But I haven’t seen Delilah in forty minutes, and I now understand how Candy Cane feels. The deranged excitement she exudes, wiggling and smiling her face off when I leave the room for two minutes and—poof—reappear!

It hasn’t even been an hour, and I can’t believe Delilah’s still here. I want to wiggle all over her, lick her until she screams my name. But I stay put. It was one thing holding hands while we made our mad dash to our room earlier. Only a few guests were around. This reception area is filled with Windfall folks. While I’d like everyone to know Delilah Moon is my lover and best friend, I’m not sure she’s on the same page. We didn’t discuss public protocol.

She says something to the waiter she’s talking to, then she spots me. Instantly her eyes soften—an expression that hits me in the heart—and her lips quirk with mischief. I know that look, understand her decision the second it’s made, and I do the only smart thing. I brace my legs. But she doesn’t launch the attack hug I expect. She seems to check herself, the mischief in her expression shifting to a polite smile. I get it. Attack hugs are our thing. They remind me of our earliest days as a couple, when we were carefree, no worries but school tests and buying a new comic before it sold out. We’re not that carefree yet.

Instead of running at me head-on, she approaches slowly until I wrap her in my arms. When that’s not close enough, I stuff my face in her neck and inhale her intoxicating scent. “You smell amazing. And you look . . .” I step back and whistle. “That dress is stunning with you in it.”

The fabric’s the same Sonic blue as her eyes, snug around her breasts, flitting jauntily about her thighs because it knows how lucky it is to touch her.

She straightens my blue tie, which matches her dress and eyes. “You clean up well, handsome.”

I drag her closer, brush her nose with mine. We may not be ready for attack hugs, but I can’t pretend I don’t want to devour her. “As long as you approve.”

“The suit won’t stay on long after the party, but it’s a good look on you.”

I guess she’s done pretending too. “Keep saying things like that and we’ll be defiling the walk-in cooler. I have it on good authority there’s lemon carnage in there that would taste amazing licked off your body.”

She nips my ear. “That would be hot.”

I hug her close, so she can feel how turned on I am. “You’re hot.”

“You’re both nauseatingly adorable.” Naomi grins at us and tugs on Avett’s arm. “Aren’t they adorable?”

I have no clue where they appeared from, but I grin back. “You two are also adorable, but less so when you sneak up on me while I’m seducing this gorgeous woman.”

Delilah straightens her dress strap. “He wasn’t succeeding anyway.”

I gawk at her. “You were putty in my arms.”

“Guess you don’t know when a girl’s faking.”

She did not just go there. But yeah. Of course she went there, and I love her for it. Avett, the traitor, snickers. Naomi high-fives her.

I lean into Delilah’s ear. “I’ll be running scientific studies later to test if you’re faking. Multiple experiments. I’ll be analyzing results. Be prepared.”

Delilah’s cheeks and neck redden. Mission accomplished.

Naomi sighs. “I’m so happy to see you two together.” She elbows Avett. “Doesn’t it remind you of us, babe? When we couldn’t keep our hands off each other?”

“It does because you keep reminding me how cute they are and that we apparently aren’t as cute as them anymore.”

I shine my knuckles on my suit jacket. “Be jealous.”

“I’m not jealous that you were seducing a girl who’s like a sister to me.”

“Or any girl,” Naomi adds.

“Of course any girl.” Avett leans down and gives her a filthy kiss. “See? We’re still cute.”

“Yes, my man.” She beams up at him. “We certainly are.”

They really are a handsome couple. Avett’s all done up in a dark suit similar to mine, but trendier, with a shadowed gray pattern I’d never be able to pull off. The years have been kind to Naomi too. In high school, she was a studious kid who wore baggy clothes and spent her lunch hours in the computer labs, never speaking up much in class. Now she’s all confidence, working as a teacher, like Delilah once dreamed, her olive skin glowing against her purple dress, her long brown hair flirting with her shoulders. And they have an adorable daughter.

If one of us is jealous of the other, I’m jealous of them.

Naomi hooks her arm with Avett’s and leads us to the other waiting guests. As expected, when Delilah and I strut that way, all eyes shift to us. I’m not sure if it’s my notoriety drawing continued attention or our open display of affection. Either way, I don’t care tonight. With Delilah on my arm, I’ll happily flash my feathers for the crowd. We mingle briefly, everyone chatting about the gorgeous day and the fishing or hiking or whatever it was they did. I don’t say much since I did Delilah all day and don’t feel it’s polite conversation.

Maggie saunters over with her date, a tall Black guy with an Ivy League vibe: broad shoulders, strong jaw, thick glasses. She fans her hand my way and says, “Thomas, this is Edgar Eugene Bower. When we were kids, he was caught feeling up a mannequin in Mrs. Talbot’s old ladies’ clothing store.”