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CHAPTEREIGHT
As Noah madethe last turn toSagrado, his cell rang. He braced himself for another confrontation. If Ethan was calling again about the fundraiser, Noah would lose it. He was finished discussing this with his cousin. Noah had given Ethan the chance to work together, but Ethan had gone back to their Whitlow v. Whitlow plan. And well, he was living with that decision because the board had voted two to one to take Noah’s fundraiser idea and run with it.
A glance at the in-dash display, however, had the frustration of the day melting away. “Hola, Bomboncita,” he said after clicking on.
“Hola, yourself. I had a missed call from you. Everything okay?”
“Yeah, I just wanted to let you know that I’m running a bit behind schedule, but don’t worry, we’ll still make our seven o’clock reservation with plenty of time to spare.” Noah pulled to a stop at the wrought-iron gates standing sentry aroundSagradoand pressed his thumb to the identiplate.
“About that. I, uh, was wondering if I could negotiate a change of venue, unless that’s too much of a hassle. I don’t know what it takes to get a reservation at some place like Veranda 62.”
He tried not to let disappointment dampen his voice. He’d been looking forward to showing Emma off tonight. “No, we can reschedule. It’s not that big of a deal.”
And it wasn’t. Grandpa Whitlow had made a substantial investment in the business the year it was founded: 1962. Because of Grandfather’s contribution, any member of the Whitlow family had a standing reservation when they wanted.
After cutting the engine, he transferred his call from the car’s speakers to his phone. “Is something wrong?Mamásaid you two went shopping, and she bought you a dress for tonight. Did something happen since then to make you change your mind?”
“Yes and no. It’s just, I want to stay in tonight, just the two of us.”
Just the two of them, she’d said, which he was all for. Alone was exactly where he’d wanted her from the night she’d scorched his synapses. But was she ready for what he wanted to do when they were alone?
Steps and stages, he reminded himself, doing his best not to let need get the better of him.Steps and stages.
“Okay,” he said. “Did you have anything or anywhere special in mind?”
“I was thinking of dinner at my place. I mean, if that’s okay with you.”
“Of course, it’s okay with me. Would you like me to bring anything?”
“Just yourself and, uh, some protection.”
His hands went numb, and his keys hit the cobblestone walk with ajangleand athud. It was a miracle his phone didn’t go splat, too, and for a long moment, he didn’t dare breathe, let alone speak. Protection? He couldn’t find a single way to process her request that wouldn’t end with her being naked beneath him tonight.
“Noah?”
“Yeah.” He shook his head clear. “I’m already on my way.”
She’d shocked him,and there’d been something compelling and powerfully feminine in that.
Emma focused on her reflection in the bathroom mirror. Since ending her call with Noah, she’d been a basket of exposed wires, sparking and sizzling with unfamiliar energy. She wanted Noah, and she was finished letting her past get in the way. If they had a chance to make a relationship work, she had to stop letting self-doubt mess with her head.
She was worthy of love simply for being the woman she’d grown into, not because she was one of the best lawyers in the state. She’d had that epiphany while hugging Esme. Placing a hand around her new necklace, that same feeling of acceptance blossomed in Emma’s chest. Not acceptance for a job well done, a court case won, or for graduating top of her class, but simply for being a person who’d made another person smile. And if she could be appreciated and accepted for nothing more or less than being her authentic self, then why couldn’t she be accepted by a sexy man who found her attractive?
“You can do this,” she said to her reflection. “Youwilldo this.”
She’d opted to leave her new dress for another occasion, deciding instead to wear a deep blue satin robe—and nothing else. Well, nothing if she didn’t count the silver skyscraper heels and her necklace. She’d given her hair some big, loose curls and then tousled the locks with texturizing spray to give them a slightly mussed look, as if Noah had already spent some time with his hands buried there. She’d kept her makeup light, using just enough of her favorite mineral makeup to even out her skin tone. She’d finished by applying waterproof mascara and the barest pink to her cheeks and lips.
The area where she’d splurged the most hadn’t been intentional. She’d simply made the incredibly fortunate mistake of telling Esme she wanted to have her nails painted the same shade as her robe, maybe with some silver accents on her ring fingers. The next thing she knew, she was at Esme’s country club, having a mani and pedi, as well as getting waxed, scrubbed, and wrapped in seaweed. When all was said and done, Emma had left the spa smelling like rose petals and with skin just as soft. She hoped Noah liked it as much as she did.
After one last self-check, Emma wandered back through her house to make sure everything was perfect. Bed already turned down? Check. Laverne and Shirley relocated to the guest room? Check. A bedroom bathed in candlelight? Oh yeah.
She’d lit candles in the living room, too, and the gentle strains of piano music wafted from the soundbar on the mantel. A bowl of strawberries, raspberries, and blueberries—topped with fresh whipped cream—sat on the coffee table. She’d even made the hibiscus water Esme said Noah liked so much.
A squeak from somewhere in the back of the house drew her attention. Probably just the girls running in their cage. They could get loud and athletic. Once, Emma had come home from work and found one level of their enclosure lying diagonally across the cage, not that the girls were the least bit phased. They’d just scurried up like it was a new set of stairs.
To add insult to injury, she’d placed them in their smaller travel cage. It wasn’t ideal, but the other cage was too big to move. Maybe she could appease them with—
Her doorbell rang, and her heart plunged into overdrive.
