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With a nod, I settled my attention on her full, sequined skirt. “And the dress?”
Flushing, she bit her lip and shuffled awkwardly. “It was pretty. I was going to put it right back after I saw how it looked on me. No one was supposed to see or ever know about that. But you walked in before I could return it, and…” She shrugged. “You know the rest of the story.”
I opened my mouth to tell her I was glad I’d gotten to see her in it. It was beautiful on her, as if it had been designed just for her. But that was impossible, wasn’t it? I didn’t even know she existed when the vision for its creation had entered my head.
Strange.
Before I could ponder the phenomenon further, the distinct sound of a door unlocking echoed down the hall from the front of the apartment.
Wide brown eyes gaped at me, letting me know she heard it too.
“Shit!” I surged to my feet beside her, squeezing her hand tight. “She’s home.”
“Wait. What do you mean shit?” Eyes going wide, she gasped. “Oh my God, you’re not supposed to be here, either. Are you? I thought you looked way too sneaky, backing into the apartment the way you did.” Expression going murderous, she smacked me hard on the side of my shoulder. “You fucking hypocrite! Treating me like a burglar when you broke in too.”
“Shut up,” I hissed at the sound of the front door swung open. Slipping my wallet from my jacket, I flipped it around with one hand in order to flash my keycard, waving it in front of her face as I whispered, “At least I have a key and I know who lives here.”
She opened her mouth, looking pissed, but I set a finger over her mouth to quiet her. We could argue later. Right now, I had to come up with a plan to save us both from the wrath of Lana, who I could hear tossing her car keys on a side table in the front room.
“Just so you know,” I murmured as quietly as possible, pocketing my wallet as I stepped closer. “I’m doing this for your own damn good.”
Her eyes flared with worry. “Wait. Doing what?”
In answer, I wrapped a hand around the back of her neck, hauled her up against me, and slanted my mouth across hers.
She muffled out a sound of surprise, which I ignored because holy shit.
What the hell had I just done? The kiss was supposed to be a cover, a ruse. Except, damn, a guy could get hooked on a mouth like Gabby’s.
Her lips were warm but tensed in shock, and they tasted like orange candy. Orange gum maybe, or orange-flavored Tic Tacs. I closed my eyes and sank against them as heat and need flooded my system.
Kissing her was like sipping on sweet nectar from the—
“What the hell is going on here?”
There was no way to fake the way Gabby and I jerked apart, since our surprise was one hundred percent genuine. I’d completely forgotten about my mother the moment I sank against Gabby.
She seemed similarly struck. Slapping a hand over her mouth, she gaped at me from shocked brown eyes.
I was still licking her taste from my bottom lip as I turned to confront the irate woman at the opening of the hall.
Seeing me, Lana only frowned harder before demanding, “What the hell are you doing here?”
Wow. Wasn’t she just the soul of motherly adoration?
I ran my hand across my mouth, still feeling th
at kiss, before answering, “I’m here to see you. Why else would I visit?”
“Hmm. You must want something.”
“Again,” I shot back just as drolly. “Why else would I visit?”
She sniffed before her judgmental gaze slid to Gabby. “Well, whatever you’re asking for, my answer is no. Now, who is she? And why is she wearing my dress?”
Lifting up Gabby’s hand as if to show her off, I smiled at her lovingly before announcing, “She’s my fiancée, and we’re getting married next week, so she needed a dress to wear to the ceremony. I thought we could borrow a little something from you.”
While Gabby’s mouth fell open as she gaped at me, Lana merely sniffed.
