Invitation Page 16
“But, this isn't right.” He wrapped me in the blanket from the sofa. “This is not how this morning should end. I want to take you out. I want to go to a great restaurant, an elegant restaurant, I want to talk to you, maybe kiss you once or twice.” He moved to me and kissed me on the lips, twice. “And after we've had a nice meal, I want to come back and make love to you like we did last night. And after all that, then, we can do what we were just about to do.”
“For dessert?”
He laughed, “Yes. This can be dessert. But this isn't all we are to each other, right? I want to start with a date, a first date. If I have my way it will be the last first date you ever go on.”
I looked into his eyes and saw that he meant it. We were going to make this work. He was mine and I was his. We needed to take our time, to treasure what we had found. What we had fought for.
“That sounds really wonderful. But I don't have an elegant outfit for an elegant date.” I swirled around, modeling the blanket for him Scarlett O'Hara style.
“I'm sure you have something.”
“No, I really don't.” I stopped swirling. “After the thing with Brandon and the pictures, I threw away everything remotely pretty. Except one dress, which I wore to Owen's. And you know what happened to that one.”
He nodded and I knew he remembered me silently dumping it into the trash.
“Well,” he was rubbing his hands together. “Let's go shopping.”
I looked at him skeptically. “Shopping? What happened to the tough guy?”
“My baby needs a dress!”
“Baby has no money. Look, I'm really not trying to be a downer, I promise. But I don't have any extra money. Cab fare from Owen's was my food budget for the week. Things are tight. Can't we go somewhere for a nice meal where I can just wear what I have?”
He shook his head. “No. No way. That is not my vision.” I couldn't help laughing. He was all man, but this little daydream had him caught in its grasp. He was going to be a real groomzilla someday. “I have money. Enough, anyway. Let's get something!”
I sat down with a sigh. I was getting frustrated. “How is our romantic day turning into a scene from Pretty Woman? You're being very sweet, but I don't want to go from store to store trying on things that look terrible until we're both tired and cranky. That is the opposite of sexy and romantic.”
He left the room. I was worried we were having an argument, but he came back with the half-read novel I had left on my bedside table. He tucked the blanket in around me, even under my toes, and handed me the book.
“I will be back in an hour. With clothing. Which you will wear.” End of discussion, I guess.
“Wait a minute. We’re all, you know, hot and bothered. Aren't you going to do something?”
“No, I'm not and neither are you. Let's stay 'hot and bothered' all day, and by the time we get back home, we'll be tearing each other's clothes off.” He smiled widely at the visual.
I smiled, too: partly at the thought of the next three hours of foreplay, but mainly at having heard him say that we would be coming home. We. Home. I had somehow managed to build myself a tiny family after all. I gave him a quick kiss and waved him off.
CHAPTER FORTY-SEVEN
He got his coat on and left. I wanted to start reading right away, but had a couple of phone calls to make first. I wanted to have everything taken care of so that when Liam got back, nothing would be in the way.
I called PICU and talked to a nurse about Alex. He was stabilizing well. Even his kidney function had improved. I told her I'd be in the next day to see him, and if his parents needed to talk, she could page me any time.
Next, I called Isabel. She wasn't in, but her Mom wanted to talk. They weren't sure what they were going to do. She told me that Owen had taken sick leave from the hospital, but that they hadn't pressed any charges yet. I was sure they had been told all about how unlikely a court case was to win, and how devastating it could all be for Isabel. It would be devastating either way, though, and I hoped they got to do whatever felt right and was best for them.
I mentioned that I wanted to pass the photographs I had on to someone else. I didn't want them on my phone, or in my possession at all. She asked me to send them on to their lawyer. I told her I'd check in with Isabel to make sure she was on board with the plan and then I’d email them right away. I reassured her, again, that I would be deleting them from my files immediately afterwards.
I wasn’t sure what I was going to do about Owen. It really came down to what Isabel decided to do. I had to put it out of my mind. Nothing was going to ruin this day with Liam.
I got up from the sofa to have some water, brush my teeth, and put on a little makeup.
Liam had been gone just over an hour. There were several stores close by, but I had never been in most of them. I had no idea what kind of clothes they had. I was pretty sure he would have the wrong sizes, and the dress would probably be something a stripper would wear. Well, it would be fun to play dress up. And then put on my normal clothes and go out for a very late lunch.
I had just settled back into the blanket, ready to finally start in on my book, when Liam returned with several bags. He walked to my bedroom and put the bags on my bed. I followed behind. “All yours, Mademoiselle.”
“All right. Let's do this.” I closed the door, with Liam on the other side, and started poking through the bags. I was really hoping there would be at least one piece of clothing I could put on. I wanted to be a good sport.
I recognized the lingerie store's name on one of the bags. I peeked inside. There was a bra and panty set. Deep-red lace. I had tried it on before and loved it. I opened the door and called out to Liam, “You've got a lot of confidence, buying a woman lingerie.”
“What, it's just underwear,” he called back. “I know what you look like. I bought you a bathing suit, remember? It's no big deal.”
I looked down at the set. Even the sizes were perfect. Liam continued, “And the sales lady remembered you, so that helped.”
I had a number of questions about that, but they could wait. At least I was able to wear the 'underwear' he had chosen. I put it on, and noticed there was also a garter at the bottom. I will admit that I think these are wildly sexy and had always wanted to have one. To have beautiful stockings reaching just to the top of my thighs, and clipped precariously in place. I shivered imagining Liam's fingers undoing them later. Another bag revealed the stockings. They were whisper thin and silky soft.
The dress took my breath away. It was a delicate black lace sheath, misleadingly simple to look at, but so beautiful on. It had a V-neck, cut much lower than I had worn before, but it was tasteful and sensuous. I felt like a really sexy Audrey Hepburn.
He had even thought of shoes, which was very lucky, since mine were mostly practical pairs meant to be worn for hours while I raced around the hospital. The ones Liam had chosen were insanely expensive and, of course, the right size. They were pretty black patent leather with slender three inch heels; maybe a touch too high for an afternoon lunch date, but subtly sexy. With the dress they were perfection. When I put them on, I suddenly had supermodel legs.
I put my blonde hair up in a loose French twist. I changed my pinkish lipstick for a soft red that went well with the black of the dress. For jewelry, I had on my tiny diamond stud earrings, but nothing else. I didn't own anything else. My Dad had my Mom's jewelry: a sad story for another time.
I stood staring at myself in the mirror. I looked like myself, my old self, the one who had liked life and who had sought out adventures. My old self had never been particularly confident, but I had at least been able to feel pretty when I dressed up. It had been so long since I had put effort into my appearance. I looked like my old self, but better, because I had a glow, the glow of someone who loves and is loved back.
Liam poked his head in the door. Our eyes met it the full-length mirror. He held my gaze for several seconds, seeing the happiness and love there. I turned to face him.
&nb
sp; “You look so beautiful.” He spoke with longing and love and happiness.
“Thank you for this. For all of this.” I walked to him and he pulled me into a tight embrace.
I leaned back. “How did you get everything so right?”
He shrugged. “The underwear lady helped me. She told me what size you would probably wear. I told her about our date, so she went on the computer to look for the perfect dress for lunch at my new favorite restaurant. We found the dress at a store down the street, and I ran and got it. She was like one of those grandmas in a Disney movie.”
I had to think about that one for a second. “Oh, Fairy Godmothers! Yes, she is exactly like a Fairy Godmother. I have dibs on her. I met her first.”
“Okay,” he smiled. “That seems fair.”
“And the shoes?”
“Checked your size on the way out the door.”
“Ah. Old-school detective work. Nice. Well, everything is just perfect. Thank you so much.”
He stepped back from me a bit and looked at my neck and chest. “Not quite perfect. The saleswoman said this neckline needs a necklace.” He ran his fingers across the expanse of bare skin. I shivered with pleasure.
“Sorry. Don't have that either.” I felt a little embarrassed, but I had told him that I didn't have expensive things.
“Yes, you do.” His face grew serious. He pulled a rectangular box from his pocket. “It's not fancy, but I want you to remember our night.”
I looked into his eyes. “I'm not going to forget tonight.”
He opened the box and held it out to me. I pulled back from it a little. “You're not going to snap my fingers with it, are you? Because that would be going too far, and would definitely ruin the moment.”
He looked confused. “What do you mean? What are you talking about?”
“In the movie...”
“What movie?”
I realized that, of course, the likelihood of his having seen Pretty Woman was pretty much zero. It made his having come up with all this even sweeter.
“Nothing, never mind. My mistake.” I picked up the delicate chain.
It was white gold, with a small diamond pendant. Simple and lovely. I thought it was perfect, but it was much too early in our relationship to be accepting gifts like that.
“It is absolutely beautiful, but it's too extravagant. I can't take this. I shouldn't even be taking these shoes.” I tried to put the necklace back in the box. I wanted to do the right thing, but I felt the magic of the moment slipping away.
“Let me do this. Please. It means so much to me.” Liam took the necklace from my hands and moved behind me. He gently pushed the small hairs at the nape of my neck out of the way, and did up the clasp.
He came back around, took my face in his hands and kissed me. He put his forehead against mine. “I love you.” I could only nod and stroke his hair. I was too overcome with emotion to talk.
We pulled away from each other reluctantly. He got my coat from the closet and helped me put it on. He put his own coat on, and then looped his elbow around mine. “Shall we?” he asked.
I wanted to ask one more question. “Why did you tell the sales woman that it was your new favorite restaurant?”
“Because it's where we're going on our first date.” He looked at me as though he was having to state the most obvious of things.
“My last first date?”
He grew serious then. He moved in front of me so I was facing him. He put one arm beside my face and one in the small of my back. He pulled me to him and kissed me gently, then harder, passionately and hungrily, like a soldier who has finally come home. “Does that answer your question?”
I smiled and looked up at him. I tried to pour all the love and happiness I was feeling into my gaze, so he could see and feel it, too.
There was a little of my red lipstick on him, and I wiped it off tenderly.
I held his hand and opened the door. We would have a beautiful dinner. We would talk and laugh and kiss. We would spend the night exploring our bodies and our new love. My last first date was about to begin, and I could hardly wait.
Hello Readers,
So, how was it for you?!
As an indie (Independent) author I rely on your reviews to help spread the word about my book. Reviews also help me to become a better writer.
If you have a moment, and are willing to write an honest review, please click here:
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Christina
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ABOUT THE AUTHOR
Christina Hoffman was born in London, England. She moved with her family throughout Canada and the US, and has finally put down her suitcase, for now, in San Francisco.
She believes that everyone has the right to feel both smart and sexy. We don't have to be one or the other! She writes stories about characters who live in the real world and who, somehow, incredibly, still believe in love.
She's starting a mini-revolution. She writes sexy stories, but hasn't forgotten the romance in her Romances. Enough with whips -- back to lips!
She hopes you enjoy her stories and see yourself in her characters. After all, they are based on smart and sexy people, just like you.
Table of Contents
CHAPTER ONE
CHAPTER TWO
CHAPTER THREE
CHAPTER FOUR
CHAPTER FIVE
CHAPTER SIX
CHAPTER SEVEN
CHAPTER EIGHT
CHAPTER NINE
CHAPTER TEN
CHAPTER ELEVEN
CHAPTER TWELVE
CHAPTER THIRTEEN
CHAPTER FOURTEEN
CHAPTER FIFTEEN
CHAPTER SIXTEEN
CHAPTER SEVENTEEN
CHAPTER EIGHTEEN
CHAPTER NINETEEN
CHAPTER TWENTY
CHAPTER TWENTY-ONE
CHAPTER TWENTY-TWO
CHAPTER TWENTY-THREE
CHAPTER TWENTY-FOUR
CHAPTER TWENTY-FIVE
CHAPTER TWENTY-SIX
CHAPTER TWENTY-SEVEN
CHAPTER TWENTY-EIGHT
CHAPTER TWENTY-NINE
CHAPTER THIRTY
CHAPTER THIRTY-ONE
CHAPTER THIRTY-TWO
CHAPTER THIRTY-THREE
CHAPTER THIRTY-FOUR
CHAPTER THIRTY-FIVE
CHAPTER THIRTY-SIX
CHAPTER THIRTY-SEVEN
CHAPTER THIRTY-EIGHT
CHAPTER THIRTY-NINE
CHAPTER FORTY
CHAPTER FORTY-ONE
CHAPTER FORTY-TWO
CHAPTER FORTY-THREE
CHAPTER FORTY-FOUR
CHAPTER FORTY-FIVE
CHAPTER FORTY-SIX
CHAPTER FORTY-SEVEN
ABOUT THE AUTHOR
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