Page 33 of Then Came Love
“Sorry. I didn’t mean to stare. I thought your eyes were blue, but they have gold around the pupils. I’ve never seen that before.”
“Casey had it, too. There’s a name for it, but I can’t remember what it is. My dad used to tell us that only really special kids were born with gold in their eyes. He said we were the chosen ones and that we wouldn’t know what we were chosen for until we were older. When Casey went missing, I was convinced that it was because of those gold flecks. Like she’d been marked from birth to be taken away from us. The night of the accident, I was so sad and angry, and I felt so lost, I went outside and I just ran, screaming and crying, ‘Take me! Bring her back and take me!’ I remember my aunt and uncle chasing after me, and I tripped and hit my head on a rock.” She touched the scar above her eyebrow, her eyes dampening. “I had to get stitches.”
He brushed her hair away from the scar, his heart aching. “It’s your Casey scar.” He wanted to press a kiss to the thin white line, but he held back and simply ran his fingertip over it.
She whispered, “My Casey scar.”
“I wish I was there when you went through that.” He brushed his thumb over her cheek, wiping away a tear.
She lowered her gaze. “You couldn’t have done anything.”
“I could have run with you, cried with you, and held your hand when you got your stitches.”
She lifted her eyes, more tears spilling from them. “Please stop noticing things about me and saying nice things. I don’t want to cry every time I see you.”
“I’ve tried to stop, but I can’t. So how about if I just try to keep what I notice to myself?”
“Deal. Thank you.” She wiped her eyes, turning back to the mirror. “Back to the dress.”
The dress. Right.“If you like the straight neckline, which is perfect for highlighting your shoulders and collarbone, we could create a visual by following a path from here”—he touched the area where her neck joined her shoulder on either side and ran his index fingers at an angle down to just above her breasts, wishing he could kiss along those same paths—“to here.” Her breathing quickened. “Then cut a narrow V down the center like this.” He dragged his fingers lower, between her breasts, showing her what he meant, earning more lustful breathing as he brought them together just above her waist. “Creating an illusion-inset neckline.”
“I like that,” she said breathily, desire brimming in her eyes.
“Me too.” He fought the urge to lean in and take the kiss he longed for and stepped aside, putting space between them before his willpower faltered, trying to distract himself with talk of her gown. “I have a few other ideas, which is why I chose more gowns for you to try on. But before you do, I wanted to ask about the column dress and detachable train. You liked them a lot last night, on paper. How do you feel now that you have one on?”
“The column dress,” she said absently, blinking rapidly, as if she were trying to clear her head, too, before looking in the mirror again and studying her reflection. “The gown is gorgeous from top to bottom. I love the full skirt and the cinched waist. I can’t believe I’m going to say this, since I loved Audrey in this type of dress, but I think I’m too hippy for a column dress after all.” She turned, looking in the mirror over her shoulder at the train. “Do you like it?”
“You have a gorgeous figure, and I’d like you in anything.” Or nothing. “But I agree that there are more flattering styles to suit your curves. More importantly, I don’t think this gown is special enough for you. I actually don’t think any of these will be, which is why we’re designing something.”
“What do you mean? Did I come across as snobby?”
“Not at all.” He arched a brow. “I’m going to tell you something that I noticed about you, but only to help with the design process. Is that okay?”
“Yes.”She shook her head. “I shouldn’t have said anything.”
“I’m glad you did. I want to know your boundaries.” In and out of the bedroom. “And I didn’t want you to think I was noticing too much when I said that you exude a certain softness, a grace and elegance that’s all your own. I’d like to create a gown that allows the real you to shine through, not a modified version of someone else’s gown.”
She turned to the right, shading her eyes with her hand and peering around the room. Then she turned to the left and did it again.
“What are you doing?”
“Looking for whoever you just described, because we both know I’m a hot mess with all this wedding stuff.”
“You’re definitely hot, but I don’t think you’re a mess. I told you what I see, regardless of your state of mind at any given moment.”
“Then we can agree to disagree. Are you thinking of a more elaborate gown?”
“No. Bells and whistles would detract from your natural beauty.” He paused, letting that sink in and enjoying the bashful appreciation in her eyes. “I think we should go with simple and elegant, like the old classics, with a touch of small-town charm.”
“Ah, the Jax Braden touch,” she teased. “I like that idea.”
You have no idea how much I want to touch you.
He wished like hell she’d read his thoughts, which meant he was losing it. He needed to get his head on straight, or designing together was going to be torturous. He tried to redirect his thoughts by focusing on the gown. “Now that we have a direction, as you try on gowns, we’ll see what you like, and then we’ll put our heads together and see what we come up with. Do you have any other thoughts on this dress?”
“I don’t think so. I’ll try on another.” She reached for his hand, and he helped her off the platform.
Jordan tried on gown after gown, and every time she walked out of the dressing room, Jax was blown away anew.
