Page 77 of Anything for You
When I’d asked him if he’d be up for going to the latest Josie Wade release party at All Booked Up, he agreed. He’d had a very busy week with working the festival and when we spent time together on Sunday night, he’d been visibly worn down. Working had taken a toll on him in a way the farm work he did never seemed to, but the schedule had been crazy, so that made some sense.
Still, I worried he was stretching himself too thin. Took one to know one, I supposed.
He knocked on my door at exactly six, right when he said he would. That was one of many things I liked about Dorian—he did what he said he’d do. There was no guesswork involved because he wasn’t playing games or making a secret of wanting to be around me.
“Hello there, boyfriend. You look handsome.”
My, oh my, he really did. He wore dark jeans with dark gray sneakers and a button-down shirt. I liked that he’d made an effort, but still looked comfortable.
His eyes drifted over me, then settled back on mine. “You look beautiful, as always.”
I beamed at him, happy he thought so. It wasn’t like I was subtle when I got dressed up for non-work events. When you wear scrubs to work, I suspected almost anything else looked close to fancy. I’d worn a cocktail dress to the movie premiere—which honestly was the worst, because who wants to sit in an old-timey movie theater in a strapless dress? Tonight, I’d donned a blue dress with little white books in a pattern all over it. It was quirky and cute and perfect for my dear friend’s release.
It also happened to be very flattering. It hada sweetheart neckline and tucked in at my waist but gave me room for the reality that was the softness of my belly and thighs. Why would I want a waistband or a button fly when I could wear a dress?
“Thank you. And thank you for doing this. I know you’ve been so busy,” I said as we descended my steps toward his truck.
“It has been a busy time. Now I don’t have much going on again until after Thanksgiving when the season kicks off. I have time to recover.” He turned his head, bending to press a kiss to my temple.
These were the sweet things he did so naturally, it seemed laughable he hadn’t been a doting boyfriend before. How could someone so gifted in taking care of people live so long without a place to put all of this affection and care?
Hello, pot, meet kettle.
Fair enough, I could’ve been talking about myself.
We caught up on our days since we’d both been busy and had only traded a few texts and a quick hug last night before he crashed and I did some glamorous adulting like paying bills and making grocery lists. I’d missed him, and it seemed so silly, and it made so much sense.
“I think it goes for about two hours, but just let me know when you’re ready to leave,” I said as he parked in the Saint Security lot.
“I don’t want to rush you. I’m happy to celebrate Jo and the new book.”
He slipped out of his seat and rushed around to open my door. I stood on the step runner of the truck and wrapped my arms around him. He was over a full foot taller than me and standing up like this let me look down on him just a little.
“Thank you for being here,” I whispered into his lips, then kissed him softly.
His hands settled on my hips, then pulled me toward him with a rough jerk. Heat burst through me in a flashbulb of awareness and he wrapped his arms tightly around my waist, then lifted me from the spot and slowly, so, so slowly, let me slide inch by inch to the ground, holding my gaze the entire time.
“Anything for you, Dove.”
Would it be inappropriate to climb him and have my way with him?Inexperienced I may have been, but we’d grown closer in the last few weeks, more kissing and contact, and every bit of it knit us together in ways I simply wanted more of. He couldn’t do stuff like that and expect me to just… carry on, could he?
“Ohhello,lovebirds!”
Kenny’s voice broke through the wanton haze clouding my judgement, and right before I turned to look toward where the sound had come from, I caught Dorian’s scowl.
“Hello, there, you two,” I said, waving to Kenny and Liz.
Liz grinned at me. She was way too excited, but I was excited, too, and nothing about the way I acted with Dorian was subtle or fooling him into thinking I was only part of the way in this, so why not?
“I didn’t realize we’d be seeing you, big guy,” Kenny said, clapping a hand on Dorian’s shoulder.
“Yeah, you didn’t mention it,” Luc said, materializing from what felt like nowhere with Elise’s hand laced in his.
Two more doors slammed, and I saw Beast rummaging in the back seat of his SUV while Jess downright bounded around the corner with the cheesiest expression I’d ever seen.
So. They’d all seen us. And I had felt like we were alone on the moon.
“I just barely asked him to be my date. I’m not sure he was tracking it was happening until then.” I squeezed his hand, grateful for his steady and unflappable energy. I wasn’t embarrassed to be seen with him in any way, but I might not’ve chosen for my friends and their husbands and fiancés to see me absolutely swooning over him in real time.
