I Love How You Love Me

  She usually just got a vanilla cone because the split was way too much for one person. But when Dylan had suggested they share the split, it hit her that she wasn't alone anymore. At least not for as long as whatever they were doing together lasted. Certainly as long as it took her to write the magazine story, she figured. And after? Well...she'd learned a year and a half ago that no matter how much you wanted to predict the future, there were some things you simply couldn't plan for.

  Fun, she reminded herself yet again. That's all this was. All it needed to be.

  Seeing that Dylan had Mason's sticky face well in hand with the container of wet wipes he'd found at the bottom of the stroller, she sat on his other side. When he'd finished cleaning Mason up, she lifted her lemonade.

  "Congratulations on your newest creation." He clinked his cup against hers, and then she leaned over to kiss him softly, as natural a move as it had been to walk down the street from the park to the ice cream shop with her baby playing happily in his stroller in front of them.

  "Speaking of creations, how's your article going?"

  "Good."

  He raised an eyebrow. "That was the least good-sounding good I've ever heard."

  She dug her spoon into the strawberry scoop at the end of the dish and amended her reply to, "I did so much research before I began to interview you and you've given me so much great stuff...it should be coming together much more quickly than it is."

  "We've got to get you out in one of my boats. I promise you, that will change everything."

  Her heart skittered at the suggestion, because that was exactly what she was afraid would happen if she sailed with Dylan. That everything would change. That she'd lose hold of her "just having fun" perspective. That she'd start to want more than pleasure and laughter. And that she'd only be setting up herself and Mason for a huge fall.

  "I'll be back from Australia on the Saturday after next, so why don't we schedule our sail for the following Sunday? That way you'll still have nearly a week to polish up your story if you need to."

  Nearly two weeks was enough time to mentally prepare herself for their sail. It had to be. "Okay, I'll book a babysitter."

  "You do realize that my mother was serious when she offered to watch Mason anytime you needed her to, don't you?"

  "Claudia is very sweet and generous, and Mason obviously loved playing with her, but--"

  "It will make her day knowing she'll get to see him again."

  When he put it that way, how could she keep arguing? "My mother would have felt the same way." It was a beautiful sunny day, and she was eating ice cream with her perfect son and the gorgeous man she was having "fun" with. She shouldn't feel sad. Still, she'd never figured out how to shake her sorrow that both her parents were gone.

  Obviously, Dylan sensed it, because he put his hand over hers and said, "They see him, Grace. And you, too, the daughter they've always been so proud of. Watching you raise Mason...I know they're prouder of you than ever."

  The sun, the ice cream, the smile on her son's face, Dylan's hand over hers--all helped her hold the tears at bay. "I had a friend in high school who came from a big family, and she hated it. Hated the lack of privacy. Hated that someone was always into her things. My parents tried for more kids, but my mother couldn't..." No, she absolutely refused to ruin their afternoon by breaking down. She focused instead on slicing off a piece of banana from the split and feeding it to Mason between his own licks of sorbet. "What I'm trying to say is that you're very lucky to have such a close family."

  "I agree," he said. "Although I'm a little pissed off at my brother Adam right now."

  "Why? I thought he helped you with the boat yesterday."

  "He did, but only after he walked in on us, which meant you put your clothes on long before I was ready." She was blushing by the time he added, "And I was planning to ask you on our first official date for tomorrow night, but it turns out that Adam needs the two of us to go with him to a swanky cocktail party at the old Maritime Museum, put on by the board members. They're thinking of tearing it down and putting up a modern glass and steel showcase. He wants us to help talk them out of that and into letting him get his hands on it to restore the building."

  "I'm glad he wants to fight to save the historic building. It's a truly beautiful one. And it makes perfect sense that he'd want you there. But why would he want me to come?"

  "You're smart. You're beautiful. And I'm guessing that, from the way you research the topics that you write about, you already know more about the history of Seattle sailing than anyone on the museum's board." He leaned forward to lick a drop of ice cream from her lips. "Come with me tomorrow night, Grace. We'll do the rounds for my brother as fast as we can, then sneak off and have our own private night on the town without anyone from my family around this time."

  The brush of his tongue against her sensitive skin had knocked her brain cells off-balance, far enough that she couldn't quite focus on what her answer to his question should be.

  "Say yes," he murmured against her lips as he leaned in again to kiss her this time.

  Spinning even faster now, she said, "You're doing this on purpose. Making it hard for me to think."

  He nuzzled her earlobe. "Is it working?"

  "Almost."

  But what he was asking her was too important to be decided on a dizzy, aroused whim.

  A date.

  She hadn't been on one of those in a really long time. Dinner at his parents' house had been an interview, though it had ended with a kiss. And the aquarium hadn't started as a date, either, though it had ended with much more than just one kiss. Even this trip to the ice cream store could simply have been two friends and a baby out for an afternoon break. A fun break for sun and sugar in the middle of the day. Friends with benefits, but still nothing official. Not a date that could potentially lead to so much more.

  "Tell me I'm going too fast, Grace, and I swear I'll figure out a way to back off and give you more space."

  It should have been exactly the right thing for him to say. But she was shocked to realize that the thought of Dylan backing off had her gut clenching far tighter than did the risk of dating him.

  Was she wary about going down that road with anyone again? Yes, and she'd be crazy not to be. But she had to start to live again at some point, didn't she? And having a full life didn't only mean stolen kisses and crazy hot orgasms.

  "Yes," she said, smiling up at the man who had been waiting none too patiently for her answer. "I'd love to go on a date with you tomorrow night."

  Dylan sealed her affirmative reply with a kiss that was hot enough to melt what was left of their ice cream. At least until Mason climbed between them, planting wet, sticky kisses on both of their cheeks.

  *

  Grace was still smiling ten minutes later as she headed for their apartment with Mason falling asleep in his stroller. Before they'd parted, Dylan had quickly pulled out his cell phone and checked in with his mother about babysitting both tomorrow night and then again during their sail when Dylan returned from Australia in a couple of weeks. If Grace'd had any doubt that Claudia would be excited to see Mason again, his mother's happy exclamations--loud enough for Grace to hear from the other side of the bench--put them to rest.

  After Dylan had left to meet with a potential new client, she'd been walking around with a silly smile on her face. At least until she realized that she had absolutely nothing to wear!

  Grace had a few nice dresses from before she'd gotten pregnant, but even on the off chance that they still fit her new post-baby curves, all of them had been dresses she'd worn for Richard. Deciding to box them up to give away when she got back to their apartment, she accepted that she was going to have to make a dent in her savings with a new outfit. She'd put every spare penny into her just-in-case legal defense fund for the past year and a half. With the money coming in from the cover story, she could let herself spend a teeny bit on this special night with Dylan, couldn't she?

  Fashion was yet an
other thing she hadn't given much thought to since having Mason. Grace looked down at her jeans and striped blue and white top and knew that she managed to look pretty or professional when she needed to. But she hadn't gone for sexy in a very long time.

  Making a slight detour from her apartment building toward the nearby shopping street, she reminded herself that while sexy would certainly be exciting, she really shouldn't break the bank, because simple and pretty would be good enough, right? Of course, that was right when she caught sight of a beautifully dressed boutique window, one that had the most incredible dress on display. The color was what struck her first--not red, not pink, but the best of both hues. The straps were braided lace and silk, a delicate pattern that continued through the bodice. A slim, shiny belt the same color as the fabric wound around the waist, further emphasizing the floaty skirt of the dress, which ended just below the knee.

  It probably cost a fortune, but in spite of that, she still couldn't stop herself from pushing Mason's stroller inside the store.

  "Welcome to Indulgence."

  It was, Grace thought, the perfect name for a store in which every single item on display made her yearn.

  The woman's face lit up as she looked down at Mason strapped into his stroller, clutching his stuffed giraffe in his sticky little fist. His head was turned to the side in sleep, his eyes closed so that his lashes looked a mile long.

  "Your son is absolutely gorgeous," the woman whispered, clearly in an effort not to wake him up. "If you're thinking about trying on the dress in the window, I already know you're going to look amazing in it. And I swear I'm not just saying that because this is my store."

  Grace knew what looked good on her. This dress would make Dylan's eyes pop out of his head. That alone would be worth the dent it made in her savings.

  The store owner, who introduced herself as Colbie, correctly guessed Grace's size, and a very short while later was oohing and ahhing over how great she looked in the dress. "One more thing," Colbie said, leaving the dressing room for a few moments and returning with what had to be the greatest pair of shoes ever made. The leather on the high-heeled sandals was a super-soft gold and braided in a pattern very similar to the bodice and straps of the dress. "You're a size eight shoe, aren't you?"

  Grace was already reaching for the sexy sandals as she nodded. She felt like a princess straight out of a fairy tale in this dress, these shoes. She'd just close her eyes when she signed the credit card slip and wouldn't let herself think about the bill until it came at the end of the month. She'd make it up by working doubly hard on the story about Dylan, doing such a great job with it that, hopefully, she'd turn this cover story into the first of many.

  "I'll take them both."

  Besides, even though being able to put money away for Mason was hugely important, wasn't feeling like a sexy woman again--and proving to herself that her ex hadn't stolen that from her--also something she should have prioritized long before now?

  Which was why, when a luxurious lingerie set also caught her eye on her way to the register, she added it to her pile of goodies. Because really, what good were the gorgeous dress and perfect shoes if what Dylan found when he stripped her out of them at the end of their date wasn't just as pretty?

  Her entire body flamed at the thought, already revving with anticipation of her date with Dylan. A date that suddenly felt as though it couldn't come soon enough.

  CHAPTER SEVENTEEN

  Dylan's mind had been blown by Grace from the start, but when she opened the door for him the following night, he swore his remaining brain cells actually melted inside his skull. If he could have thought clearly, he might have been able to stop his hands from grabbing, his mouth from devouring. But he didn't have a prayer of doing anything but kissing her until he'd managed to have at least a tiny part of his fill.

  "I'm torn, Grace. So damned torn between staying right here to strip that beautiful dress off you and taking you out to show you off."

  The way she smiled up at him only made it harder to think straight. "You look really good in your suit, too."

  Mason crawled over then, grabbing fistfuls of Dylan's dark slacks to pull himself up. "I didn't forget about you, buddy," Dylan said as he lifted Mason into his arms. "I'm just having a hard time dealing with how stunning your mommy is." When Mason babbled something unintelligible, Dylan nodded. "You're right, I don't stand a chance of ever getting used to how beautiful she is, so I should stop trying." He kissed Mason on the forehead. "And since my mom will never forgive me if we don't bring you over, especially since she bought out the entire toy store downtown to spoil you rotten tonight, I guess that means we should head out."

  He grabbed Mason's baby bag in his free hand and worked to get a grip on himself while Grace picked up her small gold purse from the entry table. She was halfway to the Jeep when she looked over her shoulder and said, "You should know that I was just as torn when I saw you standing on my front step."

  Just like that, any control he'd managed to regain shattered.

  *

  Adam's date for the evening--a brunette that Dylan hadn't seen before tonight--looked anything but pleased by the way his brother's jaw dropped when the two of them walked in. Grace's beauty was only more stunning because she didn't seem to be aware that she turned heads everywhere she went. No wonder that prick who'd gotten her pregnant had wanted her. Rage wasn't something that came easily to Dylan, but ever since she'd told him what her ex and his family had done, fury kept rising up in him again and again.

  Grace turned to look at him with concern on her beautiful face. "Is everything okay?"

  "Not just okay," he told her as he cupped the nape of her neck and drew her mouth to his. "Perfect."

  Kissing her here, with everyone's eyes on them, was a blatant signal to all the other men in the room. She's mine, was what he was telling them all. All mine.

  He loved that one kiss was all it took for her eyes to go hazy with desire. So much desire that she whispered, "How long do we have to stay?"

  He brought her mouth to his again before saying, "Thirty minutes. Forty-five tops. We'll do the rounds, make Adam's restoration pitch, and then we'll--"

  His brother and his date interrupted them just then. After Adam made the introductions, he told Grace, "I hope you're planning to stick around, because I'm not sure I'll be able to scrape my brother off the floor if you don't." He didn't give Grace time to adjust to the weight of his comment, just asked her what he could get her to drink from the bar.

  "A glass of white wine would be lovely."

  "Your dress is gorgeous." Adam's date hadn't been able to take her eyes off Grace, either. "So are your shoes. I've got to know, where did you pick them up?"

  Grace smiled at the woman. Dylan didn't get the sense that she noticed the other woman's envy at all--probably because she didn't see herself as someone of whom another woman would be jealous.

  "A fabulous store downtown called Indulgence."

  The name pricked through Dylan's brain. "Mia's best friend owns that store. Colbie Michaels. Actually, Colbie Bryant now that she's married our friend Noah."

  "Wow, that's amazing," Grace said, smiling even wider now. "She was so nice. And I could have easily bankrupted myself in her store."

  "Mia said her stock was great, and I can see she wasn't kidding." He'd also heard from both Mia and his brother Rafe that Indulgence sold some seriously sexy stuff beyond dresses and shoes. Had Grace bought anything else?

  Dylan couldn't wait to find out, after he finally had a chance to strip her out of her pretty new dress.

  By then, Adam's date had pulled out her phone and looked up the store's website. "Oh my God, Indulgence is having an evening sidewalk sale. Tonight only!"

  Dylan could barely hold back his grin as his brother returned with their drinks, a glass of wine for Grace and beers for each of them. He'd been thinking a little karmic payback was in order for the way his brother had been so pleased to walk in on them in the boathouse a couple of days
ago.

  Adam turned to his date with his most charming smile to hand her a glass of champagne, but she was already saying, "I'm afraid I won't be able to stay."

  He frowned, still holding out the glass of champagne for her. "Why not?"

  She looked a little guilty for a moment before she shrugged. "You're a great guy, but I think we can both already tell that we just don't have the kind of spark that would last beyond a night or two. Not like Dylan and Grace," she said with a nod toward the two of them. "Anyone can see that they're the real deal. You and me, we'd just be a fling. I'm sure you'd be a great one-night stand, but I'm thinking it's time to start holding out for Mr. Right instead. I'll see myself out."

  She was gone so fast she nearly gave his brother whiplash. "What the hell happened while I was getting everyone drinks?" Adam asked them.

  Dylan finally lost the battle with his laughter. "Trust me, you don't want to know. It will only make you feel like less of a man than you already do. So, who do you need Grace and me to talk to?"

  He had to admire the way his brother pulled it together so fast. Adam had always been good at compartmentalizing. Work rarely bubbled over into the rest of his life. And emotions never tangled with sex. Although, Dylan figured it was a big part of the reason why his brother's date had decided a dress sale would be a better way to spend the night.

  Making the rounds ended up taking more than forty-five minutes, but Dylan greatly enjoyed listening to Grace talk about the history of the Maritime Museum and the important part the building had played in shaping the Seattle waterfront. He could see light bulbs going on over the heads of the board members as she spoke so eloquently about the history all around them. No one had ever made Adam's job of pitching for an historic renovation so easy.

  "You're amazing," Adam said as he led them over to a gray-haired couple standing by the corner window.

  "Once Dylan told me what you were trying to do, I have to admit I studied up a little."

  "A little?" His brother was full of admiration. "You could write a book on the place."