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I blew out a heavy sigh. “Jeff would never let me out of the house wearing something like this. He would think I was wearing it to piss him off.” My voice broke. I’d only worn a dress like this once with him, and I regretted how small he made me feel once we got home and he could yell at me in private.
It was still hard to get over the things he did to me or commanded I do. He never let me wear anything too revealing and always found reasons why I shouldn’t go out for a girl’s night. Everything about this outing felt foreign.
“Abbey, honey. You are no longer with Jeff.” Grace wrapped an arm around my shoulder. “You’re a free woman. You can do whatever you want now. Including wearing that hot dress.” Grace gently reminded me. Her words settled in my chest, creating a warm feeling inside me. It was a good thing I’d fled to the ranch on instinct. Being around Blake and Grace would help me recover so much faster and gain that feminine confidence back.
I twisted my hands together. I heard what they were saying, but what if tonight was just like that other night? “I don’t want to upset Liam and Duke. I don’t want them thinking I’m wearing this to get attention from the other guys. I can’t do that to them. I can’t take that chance.” They were already so good to me. I didn’t want to ruin it over a stupid dress.
“Abbey,” Blake said, but I couldn’t look at her. I was afraid if I did, I might tear up.
I tugged frantically at the zipper, needing to get changed before the guys saw me. “I’ll just wear what I was going to. This dress is gorgeous, Grace, but I can’t.” My voice broke. “I just can’t.” I wanted to be able to wear whatever I wanted to make me feel good, sexy, confident, and special. But the fear had lodged itself so deep inside of me I didn’t know when that might ever happen.
“Come on, Abbs. Youhaveto wear this. The guys are going to love it. You already know they arenothinglike Jeff,” Grace pleaded.
A light rapping on the door ended our conversation. “Everyone decent?” Duke called through the door.
Everyone around me laughed and scrambled to cover up. Victoria finally answered, “Yes, come on in.”
I froze. My breathing sped up, and my heart beat wildly in my chest. Duke was about to see me.
He opened the door, and the moment his gaze found mine, I dropped my eyes to the floor. I was afraid to see the anger on his face.
The room quieted until it was practically silent. I stood where I was until his boots appeared on the floor in front of me. His finger slipped under my chin, and he lifted my face to meet his. “Darlin’, what’s going on?”
I shook my head. Fear clogged my throat.
He patiently waited, his thumb rubbing back and forth in a soothing motion.
I bit my lip. “I was just about to change.”
His expression remained the same, and the anger I expected didn’t appear. He let go of my chin. “Why would you do that?”
My shoulders dropped, and my face fell. I knew this was a disaster waiting to happen. It was only a matter of time before he got angry. “It’s too much.” I brushed my hand along the front of Grace’s little black strapless dress.
He shook his head. “I’m half tempted to not let you leave the house looking like that,” his low voice rumbled. I dropped my eyes to the floor again. He caught my chin between his fingers and forced me to look at him. “I saidhalftempted. You deserve to go out and have a good time with the girls in this dress that only adds to your beauty.”
My heart soared. I let out a shaky breath and gave him a trembling smile. He really was okay with letting me go dressed like this. I wouldn’t let him regret it. “I promise not to do anything bad. I won’t look at or flirt with another guy. I promise I won’t have too much fun or drink too much. I won’t?—”
He pressed a finger to my lips and chuckled. “Have fun, darlin’. You need it. I appreciate knowing you won’t be flirting with other men because you’re mine and Liam’s. Dance, drink. I trust you, and I trust these girls will make sure you have a good time. Just know that Liam and I will be waiting for you to come back so we can enjoy you inandout of this dress.”
The giggling from the girls sounded so faint compared to the blood pounding in my ears. I licked my lips, and Duke’s eyes traced every movement. His words of trust only enhanced the desire coursing through my veins for him.
“It would be rude to ask the girls to leave the room so I could have my way with you right now, so I’d better leave before I get myself into trouble.” Duke placed a searing kiss to my lips. He adjusted himself, not even bothering to hide his actions, then turned to leave. “Heels. She needs some heels,” Duke said as he strolled out the door, leaving the girls staring at me.
“I told you so.” Grace bumped my shoulder and finished getting dressed.
For the first time in as long as I could remember, I was looking forward to going out. Tonight was going to be so much fun. We were celebrating Alex’s approaching wedding, even though this wasn’t her official bachelorette party. Blake was about to pop, and poor Victoria was getting almost too big to get around comfortably. Those twins were growing quickly. They all wanted to go out and have some fun while they still could.
When everyone was ready, we filed out to say our goodbyes to the men, who were all watching football in the living room. It took everything for Blake to stop Gavin and Travis from messing up her makeup. Caleb and Andrew were fawning over Tori’s getup. Jessie, Grace, and Alex handled their men well, but I could only focus on Liam and Duke.
Duke’s smile warmed my heart, while Liam’s devilish grin ignited my soul.
“Oh, I can’t wait to rip that dress off you when you get home tonight,” Liam growled.
“Gently, please. I want that dress back in one piece.” Grace winked.
“You can have the dress. I want Abbey in nothing but those heels,” Duke purred.
I squirmed between them. “You can have me however you want when we get home.”
