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She was dressing up in one of his mother’s gowns since they hadn’t had a chance to buy her anything elegant enough for a five-star restaurant. It was one thing to go out and to get her nice clothes to replace some of her dying wardrobe, but quite another to pick out some sort of thousand dollar dress just to go to dinner. Kady had insisted she would rather not allow him to do it at this point in their relationship.
For one thing, if he got her pregnant and then went off to prison—not that she’d added this to the discussion—it was highly likely that whatever dress he'd bought her now wouldn’t even fit her once she’d birthed the baby. Most women tended to have body changes after birthing their first baby, like broader hips or a change in their breast sizes, or a belly that refused to flatten back out. Of course, had she mentioned it, Archer would only have said they’d alter or replace whatever garment they’d bought her now.
Maybe she was being a little unreasonable, but she just didn’t want Archer to think she was with him for his money. Was there a point at which she could be sure he knew that, and let him start spoiling her the way he wanted to? She just wasn’t sure. She was so unused to being treated the way he treated her. Like she was something precious, something to be cherished and treated, instead of ignored, or used, or dismissed. It would definitely take some more time to get used to this.
Her heart dropped at the thought, realizing that they may not have as much time together as they might wish. The court date was looming ever closer and it felt like the timer on a bomb, just ticking away the seconds, waiting to explode and destroy the fragile happiness they had begun to build together.
She came back to the bedroom they now shared after donning the most gorgeous evening gown, another original of course, and Archer’s smile was electric. He stepped over to the dresser and pulled a small box out of one of the drawers.
“Good, that’s perfect to go with these,” he said. “I know you told me you don’t want me to buy you expensive things, Kady, but I really thought this set would look good on you, and I just couldn’t help myself.”
He opened the little blue velvet-lined box and the first thing Kady could see was the dazzle of the diamonds inside. The jewelry also contained emeralds, amethysts, and sapphires. The necklace was short, but had a cascade of stones that fell almost like a v-shaped waterfall into her cleavage. The dangling earrings had a similar cascading effect. Somehow, despite the number of gems the design employed, the set somehow looked elegant and feminine rather than overwhelming.
Kady felt a lump in her throat as Archer stepped behind her to clasp the necklace into place. Then he lifted the length of her hair and kissed the back of her neck as he said, “We should put your hair up so I can fantasize about kissing this spot again all night. Then when we get back, we could always lose just the clothes and keep everything else the same.”
“Archer!” Kady gasped, heat searing her skin at his words, giggling when he started to nibble her ear instead of letting her put in the earring in her hand. “Why does that sound so damned hot, anyway?”
“Because you, my dear, love to play dress-up,” he teased. “It only stands to reason you’d like to play undress-up as well.”
“Will you be good?” Kady complained, half serious, half just wanting to forget their plans and do exactly what he had described there and then. Finally, she had to swat his hand away after her third attempt at putting in the last earring. “You know we’re supposed to be there in half an hour.”
Archer stopped nipping, but he wrapped his arms around her waist instead. “You look ravishing, my dear—and ravish able as well. We should go before I’m tempted to play undress-up right now instead.” Kady had to bite back a groan at just how tempting that idea was, but she was also looking forward to the new experiences tonight would offer her.
“Hey now, just because you’re used to dining at some fancy restaurant doesn’t mean I am,” Kady protested. “I’ve been looking forward to seeing what it’s like. So get your horny ass in gear.”
“Okay, boss,” he chuckled, offering her a mock salute. “Tie me up, will you? Oh, and would you help me with this thing around my neck, too?”
Kady couldn’t stop chuckling as she made the slip knot and tightened up his tie. She was visualizing other uses for the thing, and by the look in his eyes, she could tell that Archer knew it. She hoped he couldn’t tell how much she was blushing because of it as she attempted to keep a straight face.
“It’s so easy to embarrass you, sweetheart,” he chuckled, and he bent forward to kiss her forehead. “You always try to hide it, but this little dimple never fails to tell the tale.”
“I have a dimple on my forehead?” she gasped.
“Well, it’s more like a wrinkle, really, but I know you don’t want to have one of those,” he teased her. “Though I guess if you want, we could call it your worry-pucker. Hey, stop hitting me!”
Kady was playfully punching him right in his stomach. Archer caught both her hands and drew them up to his lips, kissing both at the same time.
“God, you’re horrible,” she told him.
“It’s just too much fun, riling you up, an
d so easy to do,” he said innocently. “Come on, then. We’re going to be late if we keep this up.”
Running late, they finally left the room and headed for the stairs. Archer made sure Kady navigated them successfully by wrapping one arm securely around her waist the entire way down.
Chapter 17
Kady had never seen anything quite like the upstairs dining room at the Del Posto. The restaurant itself was huge and spacious, but it didn’t feel overwhelming, thanks to the guests being divided into several different areas within the restaurant. They had an upstairs dining room, a lounge, a bar, and a downstairs dining room as well. They even had a sign at the bottom of some stairs that said, “Hall of Wine” on it.
Archer also told her they could step outside and go see an art museum, or walk around something called “The High Line” and look at views from there as they went.
“I don’t want to walk fast if we do,” Kady reminded him. “I may be wearing flats, but that still doesn’t mean this ankle’s at its best.”
“Oh, I know,” said Archer, as he kissed her temple. “We’re not really here for all that tonight. I just want to treat my lady to a fabulous meal.”
“Thanks,” she said with a soft smile, still trying to take in the sumptuous décor and even more sumptuous smells that were drifting towards her.
“Oh, now don’t go looking so beautiful when I can’t throw you on top of this table,” he whispered in her ear. “I don’t think it would go over so well around here.”
