Summer Kisses (50 page)

“What’s the dress? Formal or casual?” Lucky snuggled into him.

“Cocktail dress, but we’ll be dining alfresco so you’ll need a jacket.” Slowly he rocked her from side to side. He’d planned their first date a million times in his head, but not until the date was actually set did the plan completely come together. He’d hire The Emerald to do Chateaubriand with the full tableside service. He’d have them set up a table on the top of Mt. Bonnell because she loved the view. They’d watch the sun go down while the chef prepared their meal and an acoustic guitar played in the background. After dinner, they’d dance under the stars. Lucky might not be able to sing, but she could dance and loved to. This was her night and would have everything the way he knew she wanted.

It had taken watching his brother stumble through marriage for Will to realize that true love wasn’t giving Lucky what he thought she might like, but actually listening to what she liked and giving it to her. Meeting her needs and wants was a thousand times more important and gratifying than anything Will could ever want for himself. Ricky had always been too self-centered to realize that.

“By the look on your face, I can tell you’re planning. Will I like it?” She swayed with him.

Right now, he wished they had music, but he spun her around in a part dance, part cuddle anyway. “You’re going to love it.”

She leaned back and looked him directly in the eye. “Yes, I think I am.”

Could she be talking about him? Love made every cell in his body smile.

“Uncle Will! Uncle Will!” It was Vivi from the top of the stairs. “Dawnie just puked all over the place. It’s nasty and it stinks.”

“Find a thermometer so we can see if she has fever.” Lucky let go and took off running. She hit the stairs and took them two at a time. “Poor baby. Help me get her in a bath.”

It looked like their fantasy date would have to wait. After all, he’d waited seventeen years. What was another night or two? “Yes, and I’ll get the steam cleaner.”

Even the promise of vomit cleanup couldn’t tank his good mood. Lucky wanted romance with him. Will reached down and pinched himself on the thigh just to make sure this wasn’t a dream.

~~~

Sixteen hours later, the sunset painted deep oranges, blues, pinks, and purples across the horizon. Lucky was exhausted, and her hair smelled like puke, but Dawnie was sleeping comfortably next to her all tucked under a Barbie comforter on the floor next to the fireplace in Lucky’s room.

Today, Lucky had learned to two important things. First, she was equal to the mothering task, and second, one tiny human could produce more vomit than Lucky had thought was physically possible. She stroked Dawnie’s fine blonde hair. At least she was clean.

Lucky glanced down at her stained tee shirt and yoga pants. She hadn’t showered or bathed in what seemed like weeks but was really only hours. Grimy didn’t begin to describe how dirty she felt. She smiled down at Dawnie. The poor little girl’s whole body had looked sick, but now, thank God, she was out.

Soft footsteps rustled in the carpet behind her. She looked over her shoulder. Will. He motioned for her to come out into the hall. Lucky untangled herself from Dawnie and followed him out.

“Yes?” Curiously, she took in his clean suit. She checked her watch. Crap, their date. “I’m so sorry. Give me ten minutes.” She turned around, meaning to step back into her room, when Will took her hand. “I need a shower.”

“You’ve never looked more beautiful.” He brought her hand to his lips and kissed the back.

Lucky snorted and tried to finger-comb her hair, but her hand got stuck in the tangles. “Let me just jump into the shower. Can we order in?” She glanced back at Dawnie. “I don’t want to leave her.”

“I’m one step ahead of you.” He took her hand and pulled her gently through her bedroom and into her bathroom. “How about a long, hot shower and a picnic?”

Most men would have offered a luxurious soak in the tub, but Will knew she was a shower girl and the bathtub had been Ricky’s idea of relaxation.

Will turned on the levers for the rain head, steamer shower, and body sprays, and touched the small computer screen next to the door, scrolled through the music until he found Adele
,
and turned it down low. “There you go.”

He stepped around her. “I’ll leave you to your relaxation. Come out when you’re ready. I’ll lay out some clothes on your bed.” He pulled her to him and kissed her lightly on the mouth. “Have fun.”

He walked out of the bathroom and closed the door behind him.

Will had always been the details man, but she’d never realized how many details about her he’d stored up. She liked Adele and a hot shower to relax … what else did he know?

She peeled off her filthy clothes and stepped into hot-water heaven.

What did she know about Will?

Over the years, he might have won the award for paying the most attention, but she was no slouch at studying people. He loved dark chocolate, his favorite color was navy blue, he liked red wine and healthy food. He preferred overstuffed leather furniture, liked all types of music but was the most partial to jazz, loved Christmas more than most children, and his favorite meal was a steak and green salad. Like her, Will preferred simple gestures instead of grand ones and valued family above all else.

Lucky grabbed the shampoo, squirted a good-sized amount in her palm, and washed. She repeated this until all she smelled was shampoo and she could finger-comb her hair. After she conditioned, she turned off the water, plucked the white robe off the white marble hook, and shoved her arms through the armholes of the robe.

Looking back, Will had not only been there but had always made sure she was taken care of first. That ended now. She could give as good as she got. For a change, she’d do for him.

After opening the bathroom door, she made sure Dawnie was sleeping comfortably and walked to her bed. Laid out on a towel on top of the newly steam-cleaned, formerly vomit-covered mattress was a navy blue silk dress. Not remembering it as something she’d bought, she picked it up and checked out the label. Armani—one of her favorite brands … and Will’s. Holding the dress to her, she tried to smooth its fitted lines to her body, but her bulky robe was in the way. This beautiful piece of perfection she’d surely have remembered buying, but she hadn’t. Will had bought it for her. She picked up the shoes—Christian Louboutin navy lace pumps. They were gorgeous and understated and perfect. There wasn’t a rhinestone or sequin or gold lamé in sight. Not that Ricky would have taken the trouble to pick out, let alone buy, clothes for her, but if he had, it would have been low-cut, sparkly, and tight.

Taking the dress and the shoes, she padded to her closet and closed the doors. Rummaging around in her lingerie drawers, she came up with a navy bra and panty set that wasn’t that risqué, but it did leave little to the imagination. Things weren’t likely to progress that far tonight, but she liked knowing that the underwear was in place in case things did go further.

After slipping on the bra and panties, she stepped into the dress and pulled it up. The cool fabric tickled her skin as it settled into place. Reaching around, she pulled up the tab to the hidden zipper on the side. The dress was backless, so she reached around her, unhooked her bra. After unzipping, she shrugged out of the bra and refastened her dress. No support, but hopefully Will would enjoy the nipples.

She twisted her hair into a knot and fastened it with a huge clip. After brushing on blush, twirling on mascara, and dabbing on lip gloss, she checked Dawnie one more time and walked to the door.

Will was waiting. It seemed that he’d always been waiting for her.

His gaze started at her head and slowly worked its way down, lingering for a bit on her breasts. “You look amazing. I knew that color would suit you.”

“Navy blue is your favorite.” She laced her fingers through his.

“How did you know that?” His eyebrows bounced off his hairline in question.

“You’re not the only one who pays attention.”

His grin went from appreciative to awestruck. “You noticed that … about me.”

It was humbling that her knowing something so small and mundane as his favorite color could give him so much pleasure. She’d spent far too long overlooking him.

Will, kind reliable Will, who’d always been the brain behind the talent and had chosen to live in the shadow of his famous brother, seemed to want to be noticed and recognized by only one person … her.

It was scary and thrilling and more than a little sexy.

With Ricky, he’d have given her the world if she’d asked, but Will would give it to her before she asked, because he knew her inside and out. He anticipated her. Just like the dress she was wearing—it was exactly what she would have picked out for herself … classic and just a tiny bit naughty.

“You look very handsome.” She leaned into him. “Smell good too. I always liked you in a suit.”

“You did—” His voice cracked. “You do?”

“My favorite is the charcoal-gray Marc Jacobs that you wear with the dove-gray shirt and tie. Makes your milk-chocolate eyes turn almost black.” She kissed his cheek. “And I like the red polo cable knit sweater you wear sometimes with jeans. It looks fantastic against your skin.”

“You have been paying attention.” His step had more swagger, and his smile brightened by several degrees. Will was more than a little proud of himself.

“So, where are we going?” She glanced back at her room. With any luck, Dawnie would sleep through the night, but Lucky wanted to be close by if she needed anything.

“My lady, we are going all the way to the boathouse, where we will dine on the sundeck and watch the stars. Vivi will stay with Dawnie, and she’s to come get us if Dawnie needs anything.”

“Okay.” Lucky chewed on her lip. Vivi probably wouldn’t stroke Dawnie’s hair or tuck Dawnie in just the way she wanted if she woke up.

“Stop worrying. Who do you think took care of Dawnie when I wasn’t available?”

“You’re right—”

Vivi turned the corner into the hall and nearly bumped into them. She had a giant bowl of popcorn and a bottle of water. “Off to babysit and watch Glee season one. Dawnie’s in your room, right?” She glanced at Lucky. “Why aren’t you wearing a bra?”

Lucky turned around. “Backless dress. What do you think?”

She nodded. “Cool. Will said that y’all had a date. Have fun.” She smiled, made a big show of winking at Will, and walked down the hall to Lucky’s room.

“You told the girls we were dating?” Lucky smiled up at him.

He looked around nervously. “Um … yeah, aren’t we?”

Her heart broke just a little bit for Will. Not ten seconds ago, he’d been so confident, but on the subject of dating her, he wasn’t sure.

“Absolutely. I was just wondering if they were going to give us one of those cool celebrity couple names like Luckill or Wucky.”

He let out a long, relieved breath. “I like Wowill … you know, since they call you Wow.”

“That’s a good one.” She nodded.

“How’s it going with Mandy?” He dropped her hand and rested his at the small of her back. “Any luck getting her to call you Wow?”

“Nope. She alternately hates me and tolerates me. Teenagers do wonders for the ego.”

They walked down the stairs and out the back door. The October night was humid and warm but not hot. The temperature, she judged, was in the mid-seventies. They walked around the pool, down a flight of steps, and followed the limestone walkway to the boathouse. With his hand possessively at the small of her back, he led her up the spiral staircase to the sundeck on the roof. Golden twinkle lights were draped around the railing, and a small round table was set with crystal and china.

“Wow.” Lucky kissed him on the cheek. “This is amazing.”

“You wanted romance.”

In one corner sat a wooden screen. From behind it, acoustic guitar music floated out on the breeze. One chord drifted into the next. The melody was plaintive and poignant. Lucky didn’t recognize it. The chord fell flat, and there was a small pop like a wire coming unraveled.

“Crap. I broke a string.” It was Mandy. “Um … don’t pay any attention to the voice behind the screen. Give me a minute.” There was some shuffling, then some creaking, and then tuning. The music resumed.

Will pulled out Lucky’s chair. “She’s our paid performer. She also helped me pick out your dress.” He pushed her chair in.

Lucky turned to the screen. “Thanks, Mandy, I love the dress.”

“No problem.” She didn’t miss a note. “Can I borrow it? You know … not now, but sometime?”

“Sure.” Lucky took a sip of her ice water.

Will sat and scooted his chair under the table. He leaned over and whispered, “No, she can’t, it’s backless.”

“I heard that,” Mandy called from behind the screen.

“The evening’s entertainment is supposed to get lost in her music and forget about the crowd.” Will leaned back in his chair and watched the screen.

“The evening’s entertainment would look fantastic in that dress.” Mandy continued to play. “Just sayin’.”

“Uncle Will and I’ll discuss it.” Lucky would make sure Mandy got to wear this dress. It was the first thing of Lucky’s that Mandy had showed an interest in.

Will draped an arm over the back of Lucky’s chair. He’d always been touchy-feely toward other people and now with her, but this was more. It was possessive. In fact, it was more than that—it was proud possessive. He wanted the world to know that she was his, and it didn’t matter that they were alone. It was what Gabe did when he was around Betts. They were always touching—unconsciously—small brushes of the fingers across a shoulder or back or arm. A hand at the small of the back or arm resting on a chair back … all tiny intimacies that were rarely noticed by the participants but so lovely to watch as a bystander.

Lucky scooted closer and rested her head on Will’s shoulder. He leaned in, closing the small gap between them. His moving was unconscious. Would someday hers be too? In the years to come, would he be sitting on the couch and she plop down next to him and immediately move into him and put her head on his shoulder? That image of her—of them—made her smile.