Page 54 of Love, Always and Forever
Chapter 16
Looking back, Mikhail figured he’d come on a little strong with Amy the morning after the bad fire. If he hadn’t been so damned tired, he might have had better control over his mouth, but he still wasn’t sure if he actually regretted declaring his intentions. Dinner later that same evening had gone off without a hitch, but for sure he’d detected more than a hint of increased skittishness anytime he got a little too close to her.
On the other hand, she hadn’t slapped him stupid when he’d kissed her good night. There were definitely some mixed signals going on. He’d been told often enough that he was a good-looking man. That said, his ego wasn’t such that he believed he was pure catnip for every woman who crossed his path.
Regardless, he knew for damn sure Amy was attracted to him even if she seemed seriously confused about what she wanted to do about it. That was only fair, because she sure as hell was driving him crazy with her sweet smiles, hot kisses, and those long legs that he dearly wanted wrapped around his hips as he drove himself deep into her willing body.
They might have started off just as friends, but he’d told her flat-out that he wanted that to change. He just wished he knew what secrets she hid behind those innocent eyes of hers. One way or another he was going to have to coax her into sharing them, because his gut feeling said that until that happened they’d never get past the kiss-and-retreat pattern they’d fallen into. God knows he had his own secrets that he would just as soon keep to himself.
But it was frustrating walking around with a semi every time he thought of her. It got even harder, pun intended, whenever he was in the same room with her. If this kept up, it might do some kind of weird permanent damage to Misha Jr.
His cell pinged that he had a text. The car service he’d hired to take them to the dinner dance would be there in fifteen minutes. Right on time. After checking his appearance one last time, he grabbed the small box containing the wrist corsage he’d bought for Amy. He wasn’t sure if such things were expected for the kind of affair they were going to tonight, but he hadn’t forgotten that she’d never been invited to a single high school dance. Maybe the flowers would go a little way toward making up for that.
As he let himself out the front door, he spoke to his roommate. “Sarge, behave yourself.”
The bulldog’s snores barely stopped long enough for him to give Mikhail a bleary-eyed look, which made him laugh. No doubt the dog was sound asleep before Mikhail cleared the front porch.
Amy must have been watching for him, because she opened the door before he had a chance to knock. One look at her and his entire world tilted sideways.
Hot fucking damn! He’d always known she was pretty, but tonight she was beyond stunning. Had he ever seen her with full makeup on? He couldn’t have. No way he would’ve forgotten that lush mouth painted a deep red. Her dark blue dress left her arms and shoulders bare, setting off her tanned skin perfectly. The long slit up the right front side of her skirt only added fuel to the fire of his fantasies about her shapely legs.
Amy’s dark hair was held back from her face with some kind of fancy barrettes. From there, it tumbled down to her bare shoulders in loose curls, ones he immediately wanted to drag his fingers through as he kissed her senseless. He took a half-step back. If he gave in to that temptation, he might not be able to stop.
He finally realized his extended silence was making her nervous. Stepping forward again, he kissed her on the cheek, mainly because he didn’t trust his control if he got anywhere near that sexy mouth.
“You look beautiful, Amy. I’ll be the envy of every man at the dinner tonight.”
Then he held out the corsage. “I didn’t think to ask what color you’d be wearing, so I went with the florist’s recommendation of ivory sweetheart roses.”
She stared down at the small box and then up at him with a look of pure wonder. “You got this for me?”
“Well, yeah. Since it’s made to wear on the wrist, I think it would look pretty silly on the sleeve of my tux.”
When she fumbled a bit trying to open the lid, he took it back long enough to do that little chore for her. She lifted the corsage out of the box as if the flowers might shatter if she jostled them too hard. Holding the small bouquet up to her face, she took a deep breath and then smiled as she slipped it onto her wrist.
Rising up on her toes, she kissed his cheek. “It’s perfect. Thank you.”
Then she grinned and scrubbed at his skin with her fingertips. “Sorry about that. You don’t want to show up at the dance sporting a smudge of red lipstick on your face.”
He caught her hand in his and brushed his lips across her fingertips. “Why not? All the other guys would be jealous because a beautiful woman had kissed me and not them.”
Her cheeks turned rosy. “Nice comeback, Wanjek.”
“I just tell it like it is.”
She looked past him and frowned. “A car just pulled up in front of the house. Who could that be?”
“I ordered a car service for us tonight. They’ll drop us off at the country club and then pick us up when we’re ready to come back home. That way I don’t have to worry about driving after having a drink.” He winked at her. “Or several. Dancing is thirsty work.”
“I like a man who thinks ahead.”
She picked up a lacy shawl, which he helped settle over her shoulders. Then he offered her his arm. “Come on, Cinderella. Your chariot awaits. Let’s go to the ball.”
—
The steak dinner was better than Mikhail had thought it would be, but then his sister-in-law didn’t do things by half measures. Natalie’s grandfather’s foundation was one of the chief sponsors of this whole shindig. As a result, their table was right next to the dance floor. Actually, they’d filled up two tables since the entire clan had turned out in support of the fundraiser for several veterans’ groups. At least he was surrounded by family. These days a crowd this size made his skin feel too tight. He kept telling himself that as long as he focused on the people he knew, he’d be okay.
He was glad Amy had had the chance to meet almost everyone in his extended family before the big event. It might have been lonely for her to spend the entire night surrounded by an ocean of strangers, especially when he couldn’t always be right there next to her. Right now they were seated between his mother and Jay on one side and Jack and his family on the other. Tino and Natalie were at the adjoining table with her grandfather, her parents, and a couple of friends from the community center the foundation also supported.
