“Where are we eating again, honey?” Arianna raised an eyebrow, acting like she was supposed to know all about our plans for tonight.
But not about to fall for that, I said, “You’ll find out when we get there. But first, we need to find you the perfect dress.”
“Yes,” Hillary said, taking the cue. “Mr. Kekoa told me over the phone that you’ll need a formal gown for this evening, so let’s start with that. And then we can find the shoes and jewelry to go with it.”
“Shoes and jewelry?” Arianna blinked a few times, like she’d expected to wear the shoes and accessories she already wore. “But…?” She narrowed her gaze, and in a low voice, she whispered, “I don’t know if you realize how expensive this place is. You shouldn’t spend so much on a practice date with me.”
“I know what I’m getting into.” I patted her arm and leaned close to her ear. “The point was to take you out on the kind of date I’d take my future girlfriend on. So just enjoy. You can critique me when it’s all over, remember?”
“But what if I want the most expensive dress and shoes?” Arianna asked, testing me.
“Then I guess Hillary will be very happy she stayed open for us.” I winked. But since Arianna still looked uneasy about my plans to spend so much money on her, I added, “I want to do this for you. If it makes you feel better though, just consider this a payment of sorts for being my dating coach.”
She studied my face for a moment, gauging my sincerity, and then said, “Okay.”
We followed Hillary farther into the large room past the long tables with various shoes, accessories, and clothes stacked in nice, tidy piles. We stopped at the back of the room where there were racks and racks of expensive-looking dresses of all styles and colors.
And while Hillary took over in helping Arianna find a dress, I found a seat in the corner so I could watch the girl I was in love with get pampered like the queen she was.
The shopping experience was not a disappointment, to say the least. In fact, if Arianna would let me, I would probably buy her every dress that she tried on just because she looked beautiful in every single one of them.
But the girl could put on a musty old potato sack and I’d probably still think she was gorgeous.
Speaking of being gorgeous, Arianna stepped out of the dressing room just then, wearing a charcoal-colored satin gown with a plunging V-neckline, beaded bodice, and a long, flowing skirt with a slit that hit her leg mid-thigh.
I swallowed hard.
I’d seen her try on a lot of dresses before, had a lot of chances to stare at her as she wore all those outfits she got mailed to her and shared on her social media platforms. But even though I had to constantly check myself for drool when I was around her, this dress…
I sighed and rubbed my cheek as I took in the way the beaded bodice hugged her curves.
The way she looked in this dress did things to my insides that I didn’t know were physically possible.
She was the definition of a bombshell.
The epitome of perfection as far as I was concerned. The kind of woman that only came around once every century and inspired artists of all types to create the masterpiece that would define their career.
She was Leonardo da Vinci’s Mona Lisa. Handel’s “Hallelujah Chorus.” Leo Tolstoy’s Anna Karenina.
And as my gaze scanned over her, all of her, I knew I could live a thousand lives and never meet anyone I craved as much as I craved her.
“Does this one look okay?” She looked at me through her long lashes, her cheeks glowing the most alluring shade of pink that I’d ever seen. And the look in her hooded eyes had me wondering for the first time since knowing her if she wanted me to find her beautiful.
I opened my mouth to answer, but apparently, my mind had morphed into the mind of a caveman because the only words coming to me were: Me. Want. You.
Along with a few primal grunts.
Yes, I was helpless when it came to her.
“Cat got your tongue?” she asked when I still didn’t say anything. But even though the words were teasing, the look in her eyes was different this time. Almost like she was only now discovering for the