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23
She prepared more carefullythan usual for her date with Jack the next night. He’d given her no guidelines other than to say that she should dress “comfortably,” which knowing Jack meant she should dress for a cocktail party instead of a formalevent.
She took a long bath, soaking in the sandalwood salts she’d bought at a local boutique and carefully shaved everything. She’d gotten into the habit of plucking her eyebrows regularly and having her lip waxed and staying on top of split ends, but she’d cringed when Karen told her shaving pubic hair was a thing. Karen had offered to take her for a bikini wax, but as nervous as Nina was about spreading her legs for Jack or Liam, she was ten times more nervous about doing it for one of the women at Karen’s salon so they could rip off all the hair on one of the most sensitive spots on herbody.
Karen had laughed when Nina said as much, but Karen wasn’t exactlymodest.
Nina had opted for a a super clean shave instead and had trimmed her remaining pubic hair until it wasn’t much more thanfuzz.
She wasn’t a prude, but she wasn’t a porn stareither.
She’d slicked lotion over every inch of her body before stepping into a slinky black thong and matching push-up bra. Then she’d stood in front of her closet, terrified she was going to make a wardrobe mistake. It was the first time Jack hadn’t sent something for her to wear before one of their dates, and while she knew she couldn’t expect him to continue doing so — and some of his selections were a bit revealing for her taste anyway — she couldn’t help thinking wistfully of their previous dates when all she’d had to do was step into something and know it would beappropriate.
She passed over her slacks without hesitation. Jack was most definitely not a slacks kind of guy, and especially not her kind ofslacks.
When she reached the back of her closet, she came upon the two dresses she’d brought from her oldlife.
She pulled them out and held them in front of her. Neither had fit very well the last time she’d worn them in Larchmont, circumstances that had caused her not to buy new clothes, but simply to avoid the ones that didn’t look good onher.
She saw now the fallacy in the decision. If she’d been buying new clothes all along, she might have something to wear that was suitable for a date with Jack Morgan. Now all she had was a loose embroidered floral that looked like it belonged on a vacation to Mexico (in fact, she may have bought it on the last vacation she and Peter had taken to Cancun) and a deep green dress she’d bought for Peter’s last Christmasparty.
The green dress wasn’t horrible, but she remembered thinking her breasts looked matronly in it, her body doughy. She’d felt more like the mother of a bride than an attractive woman still in herprime.
She tore the peasant dress off the hanger and threw it on the bed to prevent herself from stuffing it back in her closet. It was time to be honest about the sad state of her wardrobe. She would call Julia at Bergdorf’s tomorrow and treat herself to a few new things — on sale, preferablyclearance.
She unzipped the green dress and stepped into it, sliding it up her body. The silky fabric was sensual against her skin, although she didn’t know if it was a product of her fresh shave or the fact that her body was primed for what might be coming withJack.
She slipped her arms into the sleeves and twisted around to work the zipper, then straightened the dress as she walked to the full-lengthmirror.
She blinked at her reflection, trying to process the fact that she was the woman in themirror.
This woman wasn’t frumpy. She didn’t have a muffin top or love handles. Her arms weren’t pulling at the cap sleeves of the dress, and her breasts definitely didn’t lookmatronly.
She hadn’t lost a ton of weight, but her body had changed. Her breasts looked almost perky — thank you, push-up bra and smaller cup size — and the line of the boat neck on the dress spotlighted her now-prominent collarbone. Her arms were defined, almost slender, no small feat with the always-challenging cap sleeve. The dress skimmed her narrower waist and toned hips, the hemline stopping an inch above herknees.
She leaned into the mirror, startled by the definition in her face, the way the dress turned her eyes deepgreen.
Green dress it is,shethought.
She took it off long enough to do her makeup, second nature after all the times she’d had to do it for dates and work at the gallery and outings with the girls, and to blow out her hair. She pulled it into a loose chignon at the side of her head and returned to the bedroom to put on thedress.
She said a silent prayer of thanks for the Louboutins as she balanced on each foot to put them on. Karen had been right — Nina had already used them a ton. She’d still felt sick when her credit card bill came with the charge, but it was hard to regret the purchase when they came through for her again andagain.
She touched the nape of her neck and her cleavage with Nirvana Black, her new favorite perfume, and was finishing her lipstick when the buzzerrang.
She walked to the intercom and pressed the button to let Jack in. She and Liam laughed and talked through their dates, but Jack was a man of few words, a trait that seemed to rub off on Nina when she was withhim.
He’d expect to come to her door. There was no point in a frivolousgreeting.
She waited until she heard his footsteps coming up the stairs to open thedoor.
He scanned her body, a ritual she’d gotten used to. She hated how much she wanted his approval, but she still held her breath, waiting for his gaze to return to herface.
It lingered there, the signature Jack Morgan smirk slowly washing over his features. “Perfection. Asalways.”
She smiled. “You said comfortable, but I had a feeling pajamas weren’t what you had inmind.”
“It doesn’t matter,” he said. “You’ll be naked soon, although I’ll be honest and say I’m looking forward to seeing you take off thatdress.”
He said it casually, but there was nothing casual about Nina’s response, the way her body flushed outward from her stomach, the immediate dampness between herthighs.
“Are you ready?” he asked, holding out hishand.
She had a feeling he was asking not only if she was ready for their date, but if she was ready forhim.
If she was ready for what he was going to do toher.
She didn’t know the answer. But it was time to findout.
