Page 112 of Check the Halls
“Sorry. Okay. I’ll text Beth quickly, then round two?”
“Deal.”
I make it to our room and am pulling one of Ben’s t-shirts over my head when he pokes his head in. He’s still very much naked. The softness in his gaze as he looks me over in his shirt makes me blush.
“What are you doing?” I ask.
“Can I borrow your phone to call Beth? Mine’s dead.”
CHAPTER 38
MADDY
“Madness?”
“I’m in here!” I’m leaning over the bathroom counter applying mascara. I watched a tutorial on how to achieve a smokey eye look and I’m quite pleased with how it turned out. After all the ups and downs that brought us here, the day of the Gala is finally here. I thought I’d be a nervous wreck, but from the moment I woke up in Ben’s arms this morning, I’ve felt calm. Ready.
Now, with my makeup almost done and my hair carefully pinned in a simple but elegant updo, all I have to do is slip into my dress and I’m ready to go.
“I picked up my tux.” Ben’s voice is getting closer as he walks down the hall. “I just need a quick shower and then I’ll be good to—sweet Christ, baby.” He stops short when he sees me in nothing but my bra and panties, bending over the counter.
“Do not get any ideas, Michaels,” I warn as he steps closer, his eyes greedily taking me in.
“Too late.”
“I mean it.” I straighten, putting the mascara wandback in its bottle and screwing it shut. “I spent an embarrassing amount of time on my face and hair. I have stabbed myself with bobby pins until I bled and got so much makeup in my eyes, it’s a miracle I haven’t gone blind. You are not going to mess it up.”
Warm hands find my bare hips and his lips hover just above my ear. “What if I’m very careful.”
“No. We have to leave in a few minutes.”
“I work very well under pressure. Time me.”
“Get in the shower.”
“Come with me.”
“Ben!”
“Fine,” he sighs, planting a kiss at the base of my neck before reluctantly stepping away.
I hear him turn on the shower behind me and decide to make my escape in case he decides it would be a good idea to drag me in the shower with him. Walking into our bedroom, I see a garment bag resting on the bed. I scoop it up before Cheshire takes a nap on it, but when I go to hang it in the closet, I find another garment bag hanging on the rod. This one is longer, going all the way to the floor.
Confused, I hang the first bag beside it before curiosity gets the better of me and I peek inside.
What I see causes me to let out a high-pitched shriek.
Ben appears in an instant. He’s naked, towel in hand. Water is dripping off of him from the shower faster than he can wipe it away. “What’s wrong?”
“You took Annika’s dress!” I stare at the green fabric peeking out of the garment bag and my mind races. “They must have thought that you were getting both of them…okay…this is fine…”
“Madness–”
“We’ll just take the dress with us to the venue.”
“Madness–”
“I’ll message Annika and let her know what’s happening.”
