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8
Six hours later,Nina slipped on her stilettos and took one last look at her reflection in the full-length mirror of her bedroom. The red dress was a perfect fit, the length of the hem and sensual color contrasting with the modest cut and old-fashioned brocade in a kind of fashion alchemy Nina didn’tunderstand.
Basically the dress was sexy as fuck and she had no ideawhy.
She’d known it was the one as soon as she put it on, the heavy fabric gliding over her body, skimming her curves in a way that highlighted them without making her feel self-conscious or confined. The red was striking against her winter-pale skin and dark hair, which she’d piled on her head to show off the swingy earrings that were the only jewelry she’d bought for the occasion. A touch of red lipstick tied into the dress, a dramatic cat eye adding to the retromystique.
But the black stilettos were wrong. Too much with the rest of theoutfit.
She slipped them off and searched her closet, reemerging with a pair of subtle black satin kitten heels. She put them on and returned to the mirror, pleased with herself for knowing what had been off. The kitten heel was more feminine, a delicate touch next to the heavy pattern of thebrocade.
Her heart jumped into her throat as the buzzer sounded from the living room. She smoothed the dress over her stomach and pushed the button on the intercomsystem.
“Your chariot awaits.” Liam’s voice wascrackly.
“I have a chariot?” she asked into thespeaker.
“Only one way to find out,” hesaid.
She buzzed him up and forced herself to breathe during the ten seconds it took him to climb two flights of stairs. Then he was there, standing on the other side of her doorway, eyes piercing hers as if he were seeing her for the firsttime.
“You always take my breath away,” he said, his eyes glued to herface.
“You haven’t looked at the dress,” shesaid.
“Don’t need to.” She’d forgotten the way he made her feel seen, the way he made her feel like she was enough exactly as she was. “You going to ask mein?”
“Aren’t you supposed to say that at the end of thenight?”
He grinned. “If I do, will you let mein?”
She smiled and shook her head. “Comein.”
He hesitated for a split second before stepping over the threshold and into her livingroom.
His eyes landed on Virginia, watching him from the sofa. “And who isthis?”
“That would be Virginia,” Nina said. “Virginia, Liam. Liam,Virginia.”
Liam doffed a pretend cap. “Pleasure.”
He looked around the room, lit with two lamps and a string of white lights she’d left up after Christmas when she’d decided to give herself permission to feel festive year-round. “The place looksnice.”
“Thanks. I’m happy here. I have to stop flea market shopping though. No moreroom.”
He smiled, his eyes coming to rest on the sari photograph still propped on the end table near thewindow.
“Thank you for that,” she said softly. “It’s… it’s been really important to me all thistime.”
“What makes you think I sent it?” She met his eyes and he nodded. “You’rewelcome.”
His voice was gruff, and she felt the weight of the moment between them, the desire to walk into his arms suddenlyoverwhelming.
Overwhelming and stupid. Despite what Karen said about their chemistry at Whistler, Nina couldn’t know for sure that tonight meant Liam wanted to start seeing her again, and she hadn’t decided on anything more than dinneranyway.
For all she knew, Liam was going to let her down easy, break the news that he was engaged to the blond from the picture, that he was moving to a hut in the middle of Africa, that he was going to become a renunciate and had decided to be celibate the rest of thislife.
“I’ll just get my bag.” She hurried from the room, grateful for the dress’s high neckline, a shield against the flush burning its way across her chest, hoping he couldn’t see the heat flaming hercheeks.
