by Codi Gary
She still seemed unsure, but she took the long stem with a small smile. “Thank you.”
His hands flexed as she brought the bud to her nose and inhaled softly, closing her eyes. He watched at the petals brushed her lips and he found himself envying a stupid flower.
“You like it?” he murmured.
She opened her eyes, the chocolate depths warm and happy. “Lavender roses are my favorite, but they are so expensive, so I never buy them.”
“It’s not up to you to buy your own flowers.”
“Well, it is now,” she said, lightly. “Asher always gave me assorted bouquets when he…after we’d fight. I don’t know if I ever told him I love these. Probably.” The shy, sweet smile she sent him was like arms wrapped around his chest. “I appreciate the gesture. Thank you.”
“You’re welcome.”
Dustin opened her door for her, and as she stepped inside, he jogged around the back. He didn’t know if it was her reaction to his rose or the fact that he’d guessed her favorite flower, one that Asher had never known about, but he was suddenly in a very, very good mood.
He climbed in and then buckled up. “Where to now?”
“I think we should go to the bridal shop and see if we can find any alternatives to the dress she chose. From the measurements of these bridesmaids, I think they’d also appreciate something a little more flattering.”
“Should we call Tonya?”
She shook her head. “I want visuals for her to fall in love with before we contact her.”
“Works for me.”
Chapter 12
Dustin wasn’t big into women’s fashion, so he’d fully planned to head down the street to grab them some lunch while Rylie handled this.
But just as he was ready to head out the door, Rylie had insisted he stay.
“I need you to take pictures of the dresses and e-mail them to me.”
Before he could protest, Rylie disappeared into the racks of bright colored silks, satins, and taffeta and one of the saleswomen was ushering him toward the viewing area. He gazed over his shoulder at the front door as it got smaller and smaller.
Now, he found himself sprawled in one of the overstuffed chairs, playing some puzzle game on his phone while he waited for her to come out of the dressing room.
“Okay, this is option number one,” Rylie said.
He looked up to find her stepping onto a raised podium. The dress she was wearing was a deep wine color in a flowy fabric that came up over one shoulder. The color made her skin look creamier and brought out the golden highlights in her hair.
Rylie waved her hands up and down like she was a game show model. “So, this is an empire waist dress in a chiffon, and they have several different styles for the top… Why aren’t you typing?”
He blinked at her. “What?”
“I thought you’d take the picture, and then e-mail the picture and description to me.”
He set his phone aside and leaned forward with his elbows on his knees. “You do realize that I am a guy, right?”
Jasmine, one of the sales girls, giggled as Rylie blushed. “Yes, of course I am aware.”
“Then how about I just take the pictures and you can write your own descriptions later?”
She sighed, as if he was being a pain in her ass, but conceded. “Fine. Here is this one.”
He took a picture but frowned down at it.
“What’s the matter?” she asked. “Do I look bad?”
“No, the dress is good, but you aren’t selling it.” He got up and turned his iPhone around to show her the picture. “See? No smile. No excitement. Nada. If I were Tonya, I would stick with the original dress because you are doing nothing to make me want this dress.”
Rylie put her hands on her hips. “How exactly do you want me to sell it?”
He stroked his chin as if considering, then twirled his finger. “Spin.”
“Excuse me?”
“Spin around and show me if the skirt flows up.”
She frowned at him, but did as he asked. The ankle length dress didn’t lift far, but it rippled as she moved.
When she stopped, he gave her a thumbs-up. “Pretty good. Now this time, try smiling.”
Her smile was wide and strained. He shot her a look that said he clearly wasn’t impressed and she huffed. “I feel ridiculous.”
Dustin sighed dramatically. “Do I need to show you?”
“Um, sure?”
He called Jasmine over and gave her his iPhone, squeezing her hand as he did. “If any pictures or videos of me end up on the internet, I have an army of lawyers who will destroy you.”
The poor girl gulped.
Dustin pulled a dress off the rack, walked into a dressing room, and closed the curtain.
“What are you doing?” Rylie called, laughter evident in her voice.
Dustin smiled. The sound was like music to his ears.
“I am showing you how to sell a dress.”
“Wait, are you putting it on? You just gave me crap for asking you to write down a description and you are actually going to wear a dress?”
He ignored her. When he had the dress on, he opened the curtain and glided out.…
To several more salespeople in the audience, covering their mouths with their hands. Rylie’s eyes were as wide as saucers.
Undeterred, he sauntered over to her and struck a pose. “Lesson the first. You should always be having fun.”
“You’re nuts!” Rylie laughed.
Dustin reached for her hand and helped her down from the podium. “No, I am just comfortable with my masculinity and have absolutely no issue putting on a dress if it will make you relax.”
The dress he’d put on was just below his knees, which he figured meant the dress was probably supposed to land around the average woman’s ankles. When he spun, the skirt came up, and Rylie squealed with laughter. Dustin caught Jasmine’s eye and signaled for her to take pictures of Rylie’s glee. When he took her hand and spun her around, she didn’t stop giggling and he grinned.
Finally, she came to a stop and he put his hands on her shoulders, giving them a tiny squeeze. “Now, if I can strut my stuff in this breezy scrap of cloth, you should be able to make me want whatever you try on next. You just got to work it.
Rylie covered his hands with hers. “Put me in, Coach and I won’t let you down.”
Mesmerized by the twinkle in her eyes, he almost forgot that they weren’t alone. But when several titters around them halted his desire to kiss her, he stepped back with a grin.
“That’s the spirit.”
* * * *
An hour later, Rylie was still struggling to breathe. She’d never laughed so hard as when Dustin had come out in that seafoam green spaghetti strap dress, his broad shoulders and muscular arms at odds with the delicate fabric. Even as she’d tried on other dresses and styles, he’d kept the scrap of cloth on, just to tease her.
When he’d done several model turns across the floor after her third option, telling her to “vogue,” she’d thought she’d fall to the floor and never be able to get up again. If he hadn’t caught her around her middle and pulled her against him, she would have.
As it was, when her mirth subsided, she’d found her gaze held by his too blue eyes, and she wasn’t thinking about the dress or his ridiculous antics.
She was wondering what it would be like to have him dip his head and kiss her.
Another flash from Dustin’s iPhone had broken through her disturbing thoughts. Now that they were walking out of the store, going through all the pictures, she realized it had been a really long time since she’d had so much fun.
“Ew, delete that one!” she said.
The picture in question had her with her mouth open like a braying donkey, one eye wide and the other in a slit. She looked like Qua
simodo from the animated version of The Hunchback of Notre Dame.
“No way, that is Instagram worthy.”
She leaped onto his arm as he held the phone out of reach. “No! If you do, I will annihilate you.”
“Oh, I’m so scared,” he teased.
“Please don’t,” she said, all serious now.
He brought his arm down and she watched as he deleted it. “There. See. Not such a bad guy.”
“Thanks.” He brought up the next picture of her in a dark green Cinderella style gown complete with poofy tulle skirt. “You think it’s too much?”
“No, but this one…” He swept until he found what he was looking for. “This one is it for me.”
The dress was a wine-colored chiffon with an empire waist and off-the-shoulder sleeves. It had been her favorite as well.
“Can you just e-mail me the best ones and delete the rest? Except the silver one she wanted. I want her to see it on, so she can compare the others to it.”
“You think I should send her this one?”
He lifted his phone so she could see it was one of him in the seafoam green gown, giving the camera his best Blue Steel.
“Oh my God, if I didn’t think it would get us both fired, I’d double dog dare you.”
“Hmmm, fair enough. That does give me an idea though,” he said.
“What?”
“First—lunch.” They stood outside the little drive-up diner, Runaway Burger, and he pointed to a picnic bench. “Snag that table while I get us food. You like everything on your burger?”
“Yeah, with curly fries and a root beer. I left my purse back at Something Borrowed, though.”
“Don’t worry about it. It’s on me.”
She didn’t like him paying for things, especially since she was already living in his pool house for way less than he could be charging her.
“Fine, but I get the next one.”
“We’ll see.”
She rolled her eyes at his response and sat down. Rylie hoped that once she talked to Kelly, and then Tonya, they would both get on board with the alternative color scheme. At least this would give Tonya some options; if she hated them all, they could go back to the original dresses and bouquets. It was her wedding, after all.
An empty building across the street caught Rylie’s eye. It used to be a doughnut shop once upon a time, but when the grocery store expanded, adding in a bakery, the shop had gone out of business. The big front window was covered in cardboard, probably from having a rock thrown through it or something, but for a second, Rylie imagined what the shop would look like with a coat of pink paint and a new display window. And in white stencil, with little flowers along the side, it would read Rylie’s Gourmet Bakery.
Dustin disrupted her fantasy by placing her basket of food in front of her. “All right, here we go.” He sat across from her, and after double checking the drinks, set her root beer to her right.
“Thanks.” Rylie didn’t look at the empty building again. It was stupid to think about opening a shop here. There was already a wedding cake designer, and even though Kelly and Marley had talked about having Rylie handle the cake orders for Something Borrowed, that hadn’t happened yet.
Besides, it wasn’t as though she had the right kitchen for it anyway.
“Is the burger not good?” Dustin asked.
Rylie realized she’d zoned out for too long and laughed. “Sorry, just thinking.”
“About?”
“Just how things can change so rapidly. You think your life will go one way, and then you find yourself living in some rich mogul’s pool house, planning other people’s weddings, and basically wondering where to go from here.”
“Well, that is heavy subject matter. One that does not need to be solved today. Which brings me back to my idea. Truth or dare.”
She chewed the fry she’d just popped into her mouth, sure she’d misheard him. “Huh?”
“Let’s play truth or dare. It’s the perfect way to get to know each other.”
“I don’t need to get to know you anymore than I already do.”
He winced. “Ouch, but I’m going to ignore that. I’ll start. I want…truth.”
Rylie eyed him over the lid of her drink, considering. “Have you ever had a real relationship?”
“Define real.”
“More than six months.”
“No. Your turn. Truth or dare.”
There was no way in hell she was picking dare. “Truth.”
His expression turned sly and she wondered if dare would have been a better choice.
“Did you or did you not think I looked sexy in the dress?” he asked.
Rylie almost choked on the French fry she’d just taken a bite of. “That’s a stupid question.”
“Why?”
“Because you know you’d look sexy in a trash bag.”
Rylie slapped her hand over her mouth. She hadn’t even thought about it; the response had just come out.
Dustin grinned. “Now we’re getting somewhere.”
Rylie made a face at him. “This is dumb and inappropriate—”
“Oh, come on, don’t be a chicken.” His blue eyes danced with an obvious challenge, but she wasn’t going to take the bait.
She opened her binder up and flipped to the entertainment page. “Tonya wants a cover band—”
He slapped the binder closed, almost trapping her hand. “Uh uh, we’re on lunch and the game is still on. I choose truth.”
Rylie leveled him with an exasperated look. “Fine. What are all of those scars on your back?”
The way Dustin stilled made Rylie instantly regret letting her temper get the best of her.
“I am so sorry. I shouldn’t have asked that. It was out of line and none of my business.”
Dustin went back to eating, an awkward silence circling them. Rylie wished she’d just played along. That she could take it back.
After what seemed like hours, Dustin wiped his mouth with a napkin and put it on top of his leftover food. “You done?”
“Yeah,” she said.
He picked up both of their baskets and dumped the contents in a nearby trash can. She caught up with him on the sidewalk, and they’d walked several feet back to the car before Rylie spoke, wanting to make up for her rudeness.
“I used to make out with Tommy Wynn behind the concession stand sophomore year.”
Dustin stopped walking and turned to her with a blank expression. “Where did that come from?”
“I just shared a deep dark secret about myself with you. Letting you get to know me.”
“Okay… Didn’t Wynn come out in high school?” he asked.
“Yes. For a long time, I thought he’d come out because of me. He finally sat me down at a party and told me he’d been struggling with who he was for years, and he’d figured since he’d liked me as a person, then maybe he’d feel something different with me. He’s engaged now to a successful civil rights attorney, and they live in L.A. with their two spoiled rescue pups. If you ever want a pick me up, their Instagram is adorable.”
“Good for them.” They started moving again, and Dustin wrapped his arm around her shoulders. “So, what does making out entail? First base? Second?”
She tossed his arm off with a disgusted laugh, relieved that he’d seemed to forgive her.
“Wouldn’t you like to know.”
Dustin nudged her arm with his. “I would, which is why I asked.”
“Is second base feeling me up?”
“Usually.”
“Then we rounded third.”
Dustin’s expression was so stunned she burst out laughing.
“You almost made it with Tommy Wynn behind the concession stand?”
Suddenly self-conscious, she nibbled her lip. “Why do you say it like
that?”
“Nothing. I was just thinking that I might have jumped to conclusions about you. You might just be a bad girl after all.”
Rylie elbowed him in the side. “This is the twenty-first century. It’s called exploring my sexuality.”
They’d reached his car, when he started to speak. “Wanna explore your sex—”
She covered his mouth with her hand, giggling. “Damn it! I need to stop setting myself up for your little innuendos.”
Dustin looked at her intensely, and gooseflesh rose as she felt his soft lips press against her palm. She leaned back against the door, her legs suddenly weak. He wrapped his fingers around her wrist and pulled her hand away from his mouth. Slowly, he took each of her fingers and pressed a burning kiss onto every tip. Each caress sent electric shocks down every nerve ending, shooting through her arms, legs, breasts…
Straight between her thighs.
He placed her open palm against the side of his face and she slid it over the scratchy surface before she really thought it through.
“Rylie.”
The deep groan of her name snapped her back to reality and she pulled away. She couldn’t do this. It was too complicated. Too crazy.
“We should get going. Lots more to do.”
He stepped back, smiling ruefully. “Whatever you say.”
Chapter 13
On Friday afternoon, Dustin was sitting in his office listening to some of the bands and DJs that Rylie had given him to review when his cell phone rang. He checked the caller ID and when he saw it was his agent, he swiped to answer.
“David, good to hear from you. Did you like the chapters I sent?”
David Brown was at one of the top literary agencies in New York and a total bulldog. He knew how to get the best deal for his clients and could smell a hit before he even pitched it.
It was why Dustin had gone with him in the first place.
“Hey, Dustin, I was just getting ready to walk out the door, but I wanted to call and tell you personally, that yes, absolutely, I loved every second of them. This is gold, baby, and with this, you are going to hit the best seller list.”