Page 86 of Almost Always

Minutes later, she came back in a bright red sundress with tiny flowers. While it would match the shirt he was planning to wear, it wasn’t an evening outfit. She cocked a hip and posed dramatically, which made him chuckle.

“Look at those legs,damn. Save that for our next date.” He showed her the 12/10 rating.

“What kind of rating system are you following?”

He chuckled. “I doubt there’s an outfit in the world that doesn’t work on you, so why stop at ten? Besides, we’re rating what works fortonightand you’ll know when it’s the one. You could wear a potato sack and I’d be drooling all over you.”

“You’re such a man.”

“When you’re looking at a woman as beautiful and incredible as you, it’s really that simple.”

“Cheesy too,” she called out as she changed.

He smiled and filled a glass with water. He heard shuffling and stepped out from under the loft as she appeared in a turquoise dress. He might have said even a potato sack would look good on her, but this dress was putting that comment to shame. It did nothing for her and hid all the things he loved about her body.

“I take that back, this dressisa sack and it’s not flattering.” He flipped the iPad around with 8/10 scribbled hastily.

“You’re ridiculous,” she huffed.

Chuckling, he looked through the books on her shelf and didn’t recognize a single one. All the spines were bright colors and some had punny titles, making him wonder if they were like the audiobook she’d been listening to that day in the ice cream shop.

He touched the top of a book to pull it out when she said, “I like this one.”

Rafferty stepped away from the shelf and nodded. She was wearing flared black shorts that flaunted her legs and a white tank top with red flowers.

“Makes me want to take you to the beach, because this is cute as fuck. But…” he mumbled and wrote 18/10.

“I only have one more outfit anyway, so you’re gonna have to make a decision soon.”

“Okay. But hey, quick question—” she stopped mid-turn and as he pointed at the books. “—which one would you recommend I start with?”

“Find me an outfit and I’ll give you a book.”

He continued perusing the spines until the scuffing of feet drew his attention to the loft. She was coming down the stairs and his eyes followed her, heart faltering at the outfit. It wasn’t even that special of an outfit, but it was the one. It was a dark blue dress that stopped at her knees, and covered in tiny gold flecks. Her shoulders and collarbone were exposed while the sleeves were short enough to put her tattoos on display.

Daisy looked like she belonged in the sky with the rest of the stars.

“Infinity out of ten,” he mumbled.

She laughed and spun in place. “I should have known you’d pick this one.”

“Reminds me of the stars.”

“That’s why I bought it.” She pushed onto her toes and kissed him, her hands on his shoulders for balance. Only then did he realize he hadn’t showered after their greenhouse interlude. Before he could pull her in, she was heading to the bookshelf. “Here’s one I really loved. When I picked it up, I didn’t know it was part of a series or that you’d come back into my life.”

He frowned, taking the book from her. It had an orange spine and a couple on the cover, the man had long hair as he kissed the woman’s head. “What is it about?”

“Cowboys, rockstars, badass babes and loads of hot sex.” She smirked and coyly added, “He’s got long hair, is a bit grumpy and likes his tattoos.”

“Are you saying that I’m grumpy?”

“Well, he does remind me of you.” He flipped it over to read the back as her phone started ringing. “That’s probably Roe. You, my love, need to wash up.”

Then she was rushing up the stairs, like she hadn’t used a brand new term of endearment for him. Like she hadn’t stumped him with those two words.My love. He stared at the loft space for a moment longer, thinking she’d come back. He heard her speaking on the phone, so he grabbed his duffel and went for a shower. The whole time he washed the day off his body, he thought about all the ways they’d been sayingI love youwithout actually saying the words. He knew that it wasn’t necessary, but in case she didn’t know how he felt, he wanted to make it clear.

He was dressed in dark pants and a red shirt with large prints of bird of paradise flowers. Nonna had bought it in an attempt to brighten his wardrobe years ago, but he’d never worn it. A date night seemed like the perfect time. When he came out of the bathroom, she was standing in the middle of her house, head bent over her phone. Her long legs ended in a pair of strappy heels and her gold necklaces were resting against her warm brown skin.

“The brightest star,” he said and she looked up with a grin.

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