Page 90 of If You Love Me

“Evenie is almost ready. She’s just putting on her shoes. I swear, she’s acting like this is her first date again. She wanted everything to look perfect.”

“Ev could never look bad, no matter what she put on.”

My father-in-law chuckled. “That’s how you know you’re in love.”

His wife slapped his chest. “You trying to say something?”

“Baby, I’ve been with you since we were kids. There is no part of you that I ain’t used to, okay? I’m still gonna—”

She giggled as she covered his mouth. “Not in front of Tyrion,” she warned him.

I had to laugh because I knew he was about to say something out of pocket that I didn’t want to imagine. The sound of heels clicking across the floor caused us all to look back. Evenie appeared, and my mouth immediately began to salivate.

She was breathtaking.

A tan sweater dress showed off her shoulders, stopped at her mid-calf, and hugged her curves in ways that made me jealous. The gold strappy heels on her feet matched the gold accessories and accentuated her pretty, nude toenails. Just from where she stood, I could smell the sweet scent of her perfume. Her face held a light beat of makeup that looked like she wasn’t wearing any at all.

“Damn,” I said aloud.

She blushed, and her parents chuckled to themselves. I slowly made my way over to her and handed her the flowers.

“These are for you.”

She smiled as she took and smelled them.

“You look… amazing, love. Stunning.”

“Thank you, baby.” She leaned in and kissed me sweetly. “You look pretty handsome yourself. I can see now that I’m gonna have to stick close to you. The moment I leave you alone, somebody is gonna shoot their shot, and I’m gonna have to snatch them up.”

“Evenie,” her mother fussed.

“Snatch ’em good, baby,” her father encouraged.

We shared a laugh.

“I promise, I’m all yours. Tonight, tomorrow, and forever.” I leaned over and kissed her again. “You ready to go?”

“I’m starving, so yes.” She walked over to her parents, hugging and kissing them both. “I love you both. I’ll see you later.”

“You kids have fun.”

We linked hands, and I led her out of the house and to my car with my eyes on her ass the whole time. Damn, she looked good! I didn’t even realize we’d made it to the car until she turned around on me.

“Eyes up here, sir,” she said, pointing at me.

“I’m sorry. I can’t help myself.” I reached for her, pulling her into my arms. My hand slid down her spine to her perfectly round backside. “You are tempting me beyond anything I can control, Evenie. I’m trying to contain it, but baby… you have my nose wide the fuck open.”

She smiled as she stroked my beard. “I want you,” she said softly. “I just… I want to be ready. When it’s time, I don’t want fear and trauma to hold me back from you.”

“I know, love. I’m patient, I’m here, and I’m not going anywhere. When you’re ready, you let me know.” We shareda sensual kiss before I opened her door. “Let’s get this date underway.”

Evenie groanedas she took a bite of the steak on her plate.

“Oh. My. God. This is amazing.”

I’d taken her to a fairly new place downtown calledTable Twenty-Two.Theyhad a bunch of raving reviews that said it was the place to be, but there was always a waiting list. Luckily for me, the owner was one of my clients. I called in a favor, and he made sure we had a table.

From the time we walked in, to the time we got our food, she was in awe. The place was pretty massive, and the decor was right up her alley as a designer. She was speaking a mile a minute as she pointed out different aspects and took several pictures. The smile on her face was priceless.

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