Page 155 of Beauty
What the fuck?
“They look so happy,” Millie muses. “Look at her. She’s glowing.”
My gut sinks. Sure enough, my sister’s smile is brighter than any I’ve seen since she was a carefree little girl.Shit. Does Sienna like Noah?
Beckett
“So Ollie’s more of a baseball fan, then?”
I rub slow circles on my wife’s bare shoulder, relishing the warmth of her skin. She’s a fucking dream in the deep pink dress Sienna designed for her. The silky fabric is ruched just below her breasts, putting her delicious cleavage on display. It flows out from there, camouflaging the attributes my wife seems to think are less than perfect. Every inch of her makes me weak in the knees, but I don’t mind knowing I’m the only one who gets to seethe soft skin beneath the dress. And I’m the only one who knows how her body feels beneath my palms as I hold her and take her from behind.
I’m just glad she didn’t force herself into a stupid contraption before slipping the dress on to hide those curves. She’s comfortable and gorgeous, and it’s all thanks to my sister.
Noah gives Sienna a quick assessment, wearing a small smirk like he thinks he’s getting one over on me. He hasn’t stopped looking at her like that all night. It’s the same way he watched her at the T-ball tournament last week. The man is smitten. As he should be.
“Yeah, he fell in love with baseball when Hannah worked for the Revs.” He runs a hand over his mouth. “He loves watching me play, but he doesn’t have any interest in doing it himself.”
Sienna places her hand on his wrist and squeezes. She doesn’t even realize she’s doing it. Like it’s a natural move. It takes a lot of fucking energy to hide how giddy that makes me. With as often as she touches him like that, discreetly but with familiarity, I don’t know how my other brothers have missed it. “I think it has more to do with how much hockey steals you away from him.”
Noah shrugs. “Probably.”
“Get him around Addie for a few days, and he’ll want to live on the ice,” Livy says. “I swear that girl would wear her goalie mask to school if we’d let her.”
I nod, shifting closer to her. “Yeah, our Little One is going to break some NHL records, I bet.”
Noah breaks into an easy grin. “That’d be awesome. I can’t wait to watch.”
I like the guy. He’s obviously a dedicated father. He’s a great hockey player. And he’s always respectful in interviews. And though I didn’t know him all that well until recently, he’s been around a long time. He and Brooks lived together in college,so if he had any dark secrets or problematic personality traits lingering beneath the surface, I’m certain we would have seen them long ago.
But with this guy, it’s always seemed like what we see is what we get. Aside from the secret he and Sienna share, of course. But I’ll let them have it. She seems genuinely happy when he’s around, and considering all she’s lost and how hard the last year and a half has been, I’ll do anything to keep that smile on her face.
I went with her suggestion, seating Noah with us so Ezra could get a better feel for him. But our GM disappeared after entrees were served, and he’s been sitting at the bar talking up the bartender for the last hour, so I think it’s safe to move onto my plan for the night.
“If you’ll excuse me, I’d like to take my wife out onto the dance floor. See how this gorgeous dress looks while I’m spinning her around.”
Scoffing, Liv bats at my chest. “Shut up.”
With a kiss to her shoulder, I push to my feet and hold out a hand to my wife. “Come on, Livy. Don’t make me beg.”
She looks up at me with those big, beautiful brown eyes of hers, and I swear my heart climbs into my throat. I’m so goddamn in love with this woman. “Okay, Bossman. Show me your moves.”
With my wife’s hand in mine, I turn back to the table. “Hey, Noah, mind taking my sister out on the dance floor? Don’t want her to be stuck watching us all night.”
With a whisperedBeckett, Liv nudges me and gives me a warning look.
But my plan is already working, because Noah and Sienna are both blinking rapidly, like they’ve been caught stealing cookies from the cookie jar.
I chuckle to myself. This is going to be too good.
Noah recovers first, clearing his throat and adjusting his tie. “Uh, of course.” He turns to my sister, his cheeks going red. “You wanna dance? I promise I only have one left foot.”
Sienna peers up at me, her expression uncertain, before turning back to him, unable to meet his eye. “Only if you actually want to. Don’t let my brother bully you into dancing with me. I’m fine on my own.”
“I’d love to dance.” He holds his hand up. “Scout’s honor.”
Her cheeks go rosy as she breaks into a bashful smile. “Okay.”
My wife drags me to the dance floor, so I miss the rest of the beautiful interaction. She squeezes my hand hard and whisper-hisses, “You promised.”
