Page 146 of Double Fault

I’ve just tuckedmy shirt in when Sabrina appears, looking utterly at peace.

“Nice spa day?” I ask.

After I left her this morning, I called them to make sure she could get in. Like I figured, they were booked solid, so it cost me a pretty penny to get them to open things up for her. It was worth it.

“You have no idea.” She closes the door behind her and drinks me in, assessing the fresh pair of dress pants and the starched button-down shirt. “Do you have another interview to go to?”

“Nope. I’m taking you out to dinner. Get dressed.”

She frowns, a wrinkle marring her brow. “What about Maddie? Can she come?”

Fuck.

This woman. The way she cares about my daughter softens me to her more and more every day. The bond they’ve formed is more than I could’ve hoped for.

“Maddie’s being spoiled beyond reason. Fisher is taking her to one of her favorite restaurants, then Harrod’s. I promiseyou, she’s not thinking about us. Now”—I clap my hands—“get dressed.”

Eyes wide, she hurries to the closet. “How about this?”

She pulls out a black dress with a bow at the back. It’s short, but not too short, and the way the skirt flows out makes me think of a tutu.

“Perfect.”

“Do you have reservations or something? How much time do I have?”

I check my watch. “Can you be ready in an hour?”

“No problem.”

Forty-five minutes later she emerges from the bathroom, dressed and with her makeup freshly done.

“I changed my mind.” I wrap a hand around her waist and kiss her gently, careful not to mess up her makeup. “We’re staying in. You’re beautiful and I want you all to myself.”

Cheeks heating, she swats at me. “I was ready to crawl into bed after all that pampering, and you made me get ready. We’re going.”

When she puts on her favorite pair of boots instead of one of the many pairs of heels she now owns, my chest pinches with affection.

In the car, when she slips her hand in mine, I turn my head, hoping she can’t see my dopey smile. I’m usually the one reaching for her; for her to initiate the contact sends a thrill through me.

“Where exactly are we going?”

The dopey smile morphs into a sly one, and I turn it on her. “You’ll see.”

She rolls her eyes. “Why not tell me now? What makes the surprise so tempting for you?”

“The look on your face.”

She presses her lips together. “That was cheesy.”

Brow cocked, I shrug. “It’s true.”

She’ll see what I mean when we get there.

An hour in, when we’ve left the city, she fidgets beside me, her focus more intent on our surroundings. “You’re not taking me to the middle of nowhere to murder me, are you?”

“Do you think I’d hire a driver to do that? Why bring a witness?” I skim my fingers over the inside of her knee, and when she shivers, a jolt of satisfaction hits me. It would be so easy to slide my hand higher, to push her panties aside and sink my fingers into that sweet pussy.

“No, I guess not.”

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