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Heart beating faster now, Holly slipped it on, then twirled in front of the mirror, astonished at the picture she made. The dress fit perfectly, molding her curves smoothly without being tight. The nearly shoulder-to-shoulder neckline plunged in a vee to the tops of her breasts, accentuating the soft roundness hidden beneath the silk. Three-quarter-length sleeves hugged her arms, giving the dress a sophistication that bare arms would not. And the flare of the hem just above her knees swirled, making the silk rustle as Holly turned in front of the mirror.
“Can I rip that off you?”
Holly spun around to see Lukas standing in the doorway. She felt a kick somewhere in the region of her heart. “You came back? It’s one o’clock in the morning!”
“Didn’t want to miss curfew.” He crossed the room. “Couldn’t stay away from you,” he said in a low, rough voice, reaching for her.
“Don’t touch! Althea will kill me if anything happens to this dress.”
“This is the cupcake?” Lukas looked astonished.
“It’s not a cupcake,” Holly admitted. “Be careful!” she cried as he spun her around and moved in to nuzzle her neck.
“Then don’t wear enticing dresses.” He kissed her nape, sending shivers down her spine. Holly squirmed. “Hold still,” he muttered as he slid the zip down carefully, then skimmed the dress off her shoulders.
It dropped to the floor, leaving her naked to his gaze. Lukas’s breath hissed between his teeth. “God almighty, Hol’!” His voice was strangled.
“I just got out of the shower,” she said defensively. She scooped up the dress, holding it in front of her, as if he hadn’t seen it all before. “Then I remembered I hadn’t tried it on. Althea needed to know if it needed alterations.”
“It doesn’t need alterations.” He still sounded stunned.
Holly felt wobbly at the sight of him. “I didn’t think you were coming back tonight.” She fumbled with the dress and the hanger.
“You’re the one who’s going to wreck it.” Lukas took it out of her hands and hung it up again. “I came home because you’re here. But you weren’t in my bed.”
“Because you weren’t there.”
Lukas took her in his arms. “No worries,” he said and scooped her up in his arms, carrying her into her bedroom. “We’ve got a bed right here.”
* * *
Every day Holly lived in the moment.
She said yes to going out to his parents’ place in the Hamptons for the Fourth of July. She played with his nieces and nephews and chatted with his brothers and sisters and even smiled in the face of his grandmother’s obvious approval, even though she knew Lukas’s yiayia believed there was more going on between them than was really there.
It wasn’t her job to protect Lukas’s family from their misinterpretations, she told herself. Let him explain after she was gone. But even though she told herself that, she couldn’t help feeling guilty.
“I don’t like lying to your family,” she told him after they were back in the city.
“Well, stay then,” he said.
Holly looked at him, startled. Then she shook her head. “No, I can’t.”
She refused to let herself be tempted by the idea. He didn’t mean it. He didn’t love her. He didn’t want to marry her. And even if he did...
Holly wouldn’t even let her mind go there.
Live in the moment. It was her mantra. She said it a dozen times a day as the weeks went on. And she was having a wonderful time, she had to admit that.
They went kayaking one weekend. It was fun to camp out with Lukas. Very different from similar trips she’d taken with Matt. Lukas was more spontaneous and, surprisingly, more willing to listen to her suggestions. Lukas had seemed a little apprehensive about taking her when she’d wished aloud that she could go kayaking one more time before she left. But once they got there, he was fine. They even talked a bit about Matt, and it seemed to take the edge off his apprehension.
“I thought it might make you sad,” he told her on the way home.
“I thought it might, too,” Holly said honestly. “But I just had a good time. Thank you.”
The next weekend they kept his nephews from Saturday afternoon until Sunday night. It had been Digger’s idea. He and Holly had hit it off when he discovered that she knew the names of all kinds of road-grading equipment and had half a dozen kids’ books about it.
“I’ll give them to you,” she promised Digger. “A few less things to keep in my storage area,” she told Lukas.
