Page 46 of Freedom's Kiss
Trent sauntered into the building. His smirk faded as he approached the table. “Why the long faces?”
Summer did the silent, married-communication thing and then tugged him down to the seat beside her.
Lily perked up. “Oh, I see what you mean, Summer.”
Trent met his wife’s look. “What did you mean?”
She gave him a peck on the lips. “Nothing I’m going to admit to you if I want your head to fit back through that door later.” She reached across him and snagged a gift bag, her smile growing as she peeked inside. “Perfect.”
Olivia straightened and took the warmth of her body with her. Coolness soaked into Adam’s side, and he let his arm drop from around her back. His skin prickled, and he ran his hand down the opposite forearm. He blinked slowly, as if awakening from a deep sleep, his senses focusing.
He glanced at Olivia, both surprised and not at the awareness that flushed his body. She was beautiful with her shiny straight hair and pronounced bone structure. Not to mention she could match him wit for wit. He wanted to pull her back toward him, not in a move of empathy and friendship but as a man interested in a woman.
“Is that it?” Olivia’s voice hummed with excitement as she tried to peek over the gift bag’s rim.
Adam leaned forward and rested his elbows on the table, threading his fingers together so he couldn’t reach over and do the same to Olivia’s hand. While he’d have no compunction to the action if she was in need of his strength, she seemed to have moved past the low point, her spirits picking up at the sight of the sparkling gold bag sitting in the middle of the table.
His suspicion about the contents of the bag had grown with Olivia’s interest. His suspicion and his dislike. That bag had caused her to pull away from him, the loss of her nearness triggering an awareness that was altogether pleasant and not. “I have a feeling I’m not going to like whatever that so-called present is.” For more reasons than one.
Trent laughed. “Oh, I can guarantee that you’re going to hate it.”
Lily held up a hand. “Okay, what am I missing here?”
Olivia settled back in her chair, looking all too pleased with herself. “Adam and I made a little wager the other day. A bet, which I won, I might add.”
Well, that explained his brother and sister-in-law’s smirkiness. Utter embarrassment of another tended to make for good entertainment. He could only imagine how much fun Trent had trying to pick out the most humiliating apron he could find.
“And what was the final score again?” Trent asked, although Adam was sure his brother already knew.
“Four to one.” Olivia gloated. Her nose scrunched along the bridge as she preened, and he found the action entirely too adorable. “While he did beat me in the batting cages, I wiped the floor with him at mini-golf, go-carts, air hockey, and pretty much all the arcade games, as my ticket total was more than twice his.”
At first he hadn’t been playing the games to the best of his abilities, but once he’d realized he’d underestimated her talents, it was too late to recover his loses. “A gentleman always lets a lady win.”
She patted his arm. “You keep telling yourself that.”
“So what were the stakes?” Lily asked.
Trent pulled the bag toward him and stood. “Why, I’m so glad you asked. For the next week, Adam has to wear—drum roll, please.”
Summer used her fingers as drumsticks against the table as Trent reached in the bag and pulled out the most frilly pink apron in the world. It had at least five layers of ruffles, each layer with a different floral pattern, and a huge fluorescent pink flower pinned to the corner at the top.
“This beauty!”
Olivia slapped a hand over the giggles spilling out of her mouth. “It’s even worse than what I imagined. You’re simply wicked, Trent.”
Adam turned her with a hand to her shoulder. “Oh no, you’re not getting out of this smelling like roses. You knewexactlythe kind of apron my brother would choose. It’s why you made him pick it out instead of doing the deed yourself.”
Trent reeled in the material and then chucked it over the table at Adam. “Model it for us, bro.”
Adam stood and held out the apron by the strap that would circle his neck. The thing was simply hideous, but he swallowed down his disgust and pride and slipped it on over his head. A bet was a bet. He tied the strings at his back. Four pairs of eyes stared at him as he planted his hands on his hips.
“Okay, is it wrong that I think he’s even hotter now?” Lily asked.
“Yes!” Summer and Trent said in unison, while Olivia whispered a “no.”
Trent sat back down and flung his arm across the back of Summer’s chair. “Well, I know where we’re eating every night this week.”
Summer elbowed him in the ribs. “You really are horrible.” She turned to Adam. “It’s not that bad.”
