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Aithan laughed.
Be right down.
They got Zel’s car into the garage and his SUV back into the carport. After she thoroughly inspected and admired his new ride, Aithan helped her carry bags of clothing upstairs.
“How much of Drew’s money did you spend?” he asked.
“Lots, I hope,” Drew said from the second-floor landing. He kissed Zel and took her bags from her. “Your room?”
“Yeah, though most of it will end up back down here in the laundry tomorrow. I can’t wear new clothes until I’ve washed them.” She shuddered and Drew laughed.
Aithan nodded. “I hear ya. Something about knowing a bunch of other people tried it on before you, right?”
“Exactly!” Her smile lit up his world. Damn, Aithan loved the warmth of her smile.
When they reached the bedroom, Zel collapsed into the chair beside the window. “I am so tired.”
Drew started rooting through the bags, pulling out clothes and spreading them across the bed. “But was it fun?”
“Honestly?” She waited until he turned around, his excitement wavering, then she laughed. “Yeah, it was a lot more fun than I expected.” His grin returned. “And you were right about properly fitted clothes making all the difference. Thank you for hounding me until I met with Lorelei. Both of you.”
Drew shook his head. “I railroaded you.” He pointed at Aithan. “He encouraged you. Big difference, babe.”
It surprised Aithan to hear his words return so quickly. One thing he could say about Drew, the guy listened to everything people said, took it in, and applied it to himself. Someone could weaponize that against the dude, which wasn’t something Aithan wanted to do, deliberately or accidentally. Drew irritated him, sure, sometimes, but that didn’t mean he disliked the guy.
Idly, Zelda pulled off her socks and rolled them into a ball. She considered the closest bag and fished out a pair of jeans. She held them up. “It’s still hard not to wince when I see the size I wear. I mean, some women wear size zero. Zero! Like, do they not actually exist? How can you be azero? I’d be happy with a sixteen, but that’s like forty pounds less than I am now.”
“Fuck that,” Drew said. “You’d be emaciated, Brick. We like you just the way you are. Who gives a crap about a label?”
She sighed. “I guess I do.”
Aithan snatched the jeans from her hand, tore out the label, and thrust them back at her. “There. Problem solved.”
Drew cracked up and her jaw dropped.
“You tore the label out of my new jeans,” she said, stating the obvious.
“Pretty impressive,” Drew remarked. “They make those things to stay put.”
Aithan shrugged. “Zel, you worry about the wrong things. The labels in your clothes are useful only when you’re shopping. The number on the scale is just one small window into your health. There are far more important measures than that. And BMI is useless if you’re not looking at the whole body.” He pulled a face and added, “According to mine, I’m obese.” He kissed the top of her head. “You run five miles a day. That means your cardiovascular system is fit. You’re healthy, aside from your body going rogue every so often and trying to kill you, which wouldn’t change a whit if you weighed less.” Her socks had tumbled to the floor and he retrieved them. “The numbers that matter are green across the board for you. Stop focusing on size.”
“Yeah,” Drew said, “that only matters when it’s between your legs.”
Aithan whipped the rolled socks across the room and beaned him in the forehead.
“Ow! Shit!” He grabbed a pillow and held it like a shield. “Brick, save me from the bad man!”
Zelda laughed and the full, throaty sound made Aithan happy. He surveyed the clothes and picked up a burgundy piece. “Is this a shirt or a dress?” It was short enough to be the former, long enough to be the latter.
Zel smiled lazily. “Both?”
Considering that answer, he grinned. “I’d very much like to see it worn as a dress, ’cause that’s a lotta leg to take in, beautiful. You’ve got some of the sexiest getaway sticks I’ve ever seen.”
She laughed again.
“Yes, please.” Drew nodded enthusiastically. “Tonight? Dinner?”
She shook her head and pouted. “I’m spent.” That pout tugged at Aithan’s heart and his cock. Damn, she really didn’t know what her mouth did to him.
