Page 16 of All Dressed Up

Bethany rolled her eyes. “Three minutes. If you can’t find the purse in three minutes, promise me you’ll come out and we can leave.”

“I promise.” Will’s place wasn’t that big. It shouldn’t take her too long to find what she came for.

Bethany plopped down on one of Will’s white Adirondack chairs. “You better not be long in there.”

“I won’t.” Rachel stepped inside and turned on the light. She’d been here a few times during their winter tryst, so she was familiar with the layout.

His place was cute. He’d taken over the lease from Brandon when Brandon and Abby purchased a home for their growing family.

She liked its coziness.

Although, it was totally a jock’s place with sports memorabilia on the walls. She smiled at the dumb blue neon beer sign in his kitchen that she’d warned she’d stop having sex with him if he didn’t take down.

“Okay.” She clapped her hands. “Operation Find Mary’s Purse has officially commenced.” She walked down the hall, flipping on more lights. Her best guess was he probably stashed the purse somewhere in his bedroom.

Entering his room, she stopped for a second to inhale the fresh smell of linen and cologne.

Unmistakably, Will’s delicious scent. She took another deep breath.

It was stupid to be here. She knew that. Still, she couldn’t help feeling a rush walking through his personal space.

Oh God. Was she becoming a stalker?

I’m not obsessed. I just need the purse. I wouldn’t even be here if Mary hadn’t demanded I get it now.She poked through his dresser drawers, making sure not to disturb anything.

The purse wasn’t in there.

Same for his closet and underneath his bed.

Nothing.

“Mary, can you help me out?” she asked out loud. Her three minutes were way over, and Bethany was probably having a royal conniption outside.

She sat on his bed to think, reaching for a red silk tie that’d been left on it. Threading it through her fingers, she let out a long, frustrated sigh, and it had nothing to do with her inability to find the purse.

I miss you, Will.

Her eye caught a pink object hanging up in his closet, and she stood.Oh my goodness.That’s mine.It was one of her cashmere sweaters. She went over and touched it, totally forgetting she’d left it here.

That night came rushing back, and she couldn’t help but smile. Will had been working on his car in his garage when she’d showed up with a large pizza and six-pack of beer. With a mischievous grin, he’d challenged her to get her hands dirty and learn more about what he did for a living. He’d offered her one of his sweatshirts hanging up on a hook so as not to get engine oil on her sweater.

She’d accepted his challenge, and yeah, it was a complete turn-on to work with Will underneath his SUV’s hood, getting her hands dirty.

The comfy sweatshirt didn’t stay on long that night, and she’d elected to wear it again instead of her sweater when she left his place the next morning. She loved being wrapped up in his scent, and the sweatshirt mixed with cologne and grease was definitely Will.

“Stop it.” She scolded herself for getting caught up inthatmemory. “You’re here for the purse. That’s it,” she tried to convince herself and continued to search.

*

Will drove around the lake’s bend, flipping on the air conditioner. Even with the sun setting, it was still hotter than hell.

Tonight had been fun.

Real fun. When he’d agreed to meet Zoe’s yoga instructor for drinks, he wasn’t entirely sure he’d be into it, but Amber was drop-dead gorgeous. Besides that, she was witty and laughed at all his jokes.

Maybe she’d only been pretending they were funny, but all around, a good first date.

He’d thought about seeing if she wanted to grab some dinner, but she’d mentioned that she had an early morning at the Twig & Vines Winery, where she worked full-time, and should call it a night.

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