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It wasn’t a long drive to my place and I put myself through a nice, long shower to wash off all the dust and grease. It’s possible I took care of something else while I was in there too, because the thought of sitting across from a beautiful woman all night long and being unable to touch her was torturous. I had to do something to take the edge off, to guarantee I could keep my hands to myself.
I texted her as I stood in my bedroom, wrapped in a towel. I had no idea what she’d planned for the evening, so I asked her how dressed up I needed to get. She responded with “I’m not fancy. Unless you have a better plan, I figured on Roadhouse.”
I very nearly fell to my knees as I sent up a prayer of gratitude. My fingers typed a response and fired it off before my brain had actually engaged and I sucked in a breath when my phone saidwhooshand I realized I’d responded to her withMarry me.
Scariest part? I was only half-kidding. The other half of me had been completely serious about that for the better part of the past twenty-five years. Hopefully she didn’t know that though, because I was pretty sure that would make things even weirder.
Lucy was so far up my butt, I almost couldn’t get ready. I had to keep an eye on her while I pulled on my jeans, so I didn’t step on her. Then she reached up and hung onto my leg with her claws, meowing pitifully while I buttoned the warm chamois shirt over my undershirt. Once I was done I leaned down and picked her up, settling her into the crook of my arm while I shoved my phone and wallet into my pockets, grabbed a pair of socks and went back to the bathroom to brush my hair.
Typically I wore my hair down or in a low ponytail, when I wanted to keep it off my face. While I was working I kept it in a braid because that kept it out of the way and made things more sanitary. But now…what was this? Dinner with a friend? A date? I knew what I wanted it to be and I wasn’t sure Madelyn felt the same way…but it was enough to make me second-guess everything, including what to do with my hair.
By the time I needed to leave my hair was almost dry, so I looped a hair elastic around my wrist–just in case–ran a brush through it and gave Lucy a kiss before I left.
For the first time in my life, I was embarrassed to be driving an old pickup truck as I pulled up outside Steve and Kennedy’s house. I’d always been content with simple things: a plain, comfortable home. A beat up, serviceable truck. Clothes that fit and kept me warm. Since I’d grown up with next to nothing, I had learned early on to be happy with very little and for the first time ever, I wondered if Madelyn might look at me in a way that suggested it wasn’t enough. She didn’t seem like that kind of girl, but I hadn’t thought Jess was either–and I’d been all kinds of wrong about that one.
“Beckman.” Steve’s voice was stern when he opened the door and looked me up and down. It made me feel like a stranger, like a teenage boy facing down my date’s father.
My date.Was that what I was calling this?
“VanBuren.” My voice felt scratchy and I forced out a smile, alarmed by the nervousness jumping in my belly.
“Need to give you the talk about how to treat my sister like a lady and keep all your parts off hers?” His lips twitched a little, his wide shoulders filling almost the entirety of the vestibule’s doorway. He wasn’t any bigger than me, but he could be imposing when he wanted.
I held up my hands. “No lectures necessary. Hands to myself.”
“Dick’s the part I’m worried about,” he said easily, looking significantly toward my middle.
“How old is she again, Dad?” I asked, scratching my head.
“Delicate little flower,” he barked, and it made me snort. The last thing Madelyn was, was a delicate little flower.
“No such thing,” I chuckled, finally climbing the porch steps and leaning in to clap him on the back. “But you know I’ll take good care of her.”
Something went very serious in my friend’s expression and he stood there for a moment, plainly wanting to say something.
“Yes?” I finally asked.
“She’s never let anyone take care of her,” he said quietly. “She’ll fight you for it and that woman is stubborn as fuck. But if she lets you…don’t you dare screw this up. She doesn’t play around, not ever. Not after…” He let the words die and I was immediately curious, because he’d never talked to me before about the event that marked a turning point in her life. All I knew was that the lecture was for a reason.
Well, that was a sobering discussion for what was just supposed to be a casual dinner with his sister.
Who are you kidding, casual? That’s not what your nerves are saying.
“Are you terrorizing my date?” Madelyn’s voice floated out of the house and when Steve moved aside and gestured me into the entryway my heart stopped beating for five long seconds. Madelyn stood there in an honest-to-God dress and heels, the smoke practically rolling off of her.
“Holy…” I cleared my throat as Steve smirked next to me. “Uh…hi, Madelyn. You look…” The struggle to find my words was real. “You look amazing.”
Delicious. I want to take you back to my place and do unspeakable things.
“You don’t think it’s too much?” She wrinkled her adorable nose, looking down at herself. The sleek black dress fit her like a second skin, everything about it stealing all the blood from my brain to reroute to my groin.
Steve was going to punch my lights out before I even got her out the door.
“Shut up, you look spectacular.” Kennedy smacked Madelyn’s butt and stood there for a moment, admiring what I assumed was her handiwork. The dress’s short sleeves showed off Madelyn’s toned arms, the skirt falling just shy of her knees and highlighting the definition of her calves, something further accentuated by the heels and the fact she was practically standing on tiptoe.
I was going to be the envy of every man we crossed paths with that night, I knew that much.
“I guess I misinterpreted what you meant when you said you didn’t have anything fancy in mind,” I teased, gesturing toward my own clothing.
