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“Now, let’s get this zucchini bread into the oven and sample some of the fruits of our labor, no pun intended.”

Avery groaned, and Beth cackled.

Fifteen

Avery sighed as she lookedthrough her closet and tried to figure out what to wear to go out with Taylor.Something that makes you feel flirty—not helpful, Taylor! What could she mean by that?

Wait. She knew Taylor well enough to guess what she meant by that. She meant something that Avery felt great in, that she felt like herself in, but maybe a tiny bit more risqué than she’d wear in her daily life. Something that when she wore it, she looked in the mirror and felt both nervous and excited.

With that in her mind, she flipped through her closet again and stopped at a dress she’d bought a few years ago but had yet to wear. It had a deeper V-neck than she usually wore, and a skirt that moved beautifully when she walked in it, and she remembered that when she’d initially gotten the package and tried it on at home, she’d walked around in it for a while, delighted by the way it felt on her and how she felt in it.

But somehow, she’d never worn it out of the house. It wouldn’t be right for a work event, and she hadn’t been to any social eventsin the last few years where it made sense to wear it. But every time she did a closet purge, she always kept that dress, because she loved it so much.

She had no idea if it would be appropriate for whatever she and Taylor were doing tonight, but to hell with appropriate. She was going to wear this dress that she liked because yes, she absolutely felt flirty in it.

As soon as she opened her front door to Taylor, she knew she’d made the right choice. Avery could feel the heat from Taylor’s eyes as they swept up and down her body.

“Where the fuck did you get that dress, and can all of your clothes come from there for the rest of your life?” Taylor finally asked her.

Avery laughed and beckoned her inside.

“I can’t believe this, but you’re ready and I’m not. Let me just finish my hair.” Taylor looked pretty great herself, in black tuxedo pants, silver oxfords, and a silky black sleeveless top. Avery wanted to reach out and stroke her, even more than she did usually.

“I hope I interpreted the brief correctly?” she said as she combed product through her hair with her fingers so her curls wouldn’t get too frizzy in the early September heat.

Taylor smiled at her from outside the bathroom doorway.

“If you feel flirty in it, then you interpreted it correctly,” she said, a cryptic smile on her face.

Avery glared at her, and Taylor just laughed.

“You know what I mean!” Avery said. She started to walk out of the bathroom, but Taylor didn’t step out of her way. She just stood there with that knowing smile. Avery had no choice but to kiss her. Kissing Taylor felt like a treat every time she did it; she couldn’t believe that she could pull Taylor close and kiss her, anytime she wanted to. She remembered that first time, how muchshe’d wanted it, how nervous she’d been, how much of a daze Taylor’s touch and smell and lips and taste had put her in. She still put Avery in that daze, every single time.

“Mmm, I see that this dress definitely makes you feel flirty.” Taylor’s hand went to her waist. “It makes me feel flirty, too. Did you know that would happen?”

Avery slid her hand up underneath Taylor’s shirt and moved her fingers over her soft, smooth skin, before she gently brushed her thumb over Taylor’s nipples.

“I didn’t know that,” she said, “but I really hoped it would happen. And I don’t know if you gave yourself the same assignment that you gave me, but that outfit of yours definitely makes me feel flirty, too.”

Taylor’s eyes smiled into hers. If there was a way to bottle the feeling that Taylor Cameron gave a person, she’d make a million dollars on just one sale.

“Good,” Taylor said. “I hoped it would. But as much as I would like us to keep going with this flirting practice right here, we have to go. I don’t want to be late.”

Avery kissed her one last time, and then picked up her bag and slid her feet into her sandals.

“This had better be worth me missing out on some very important flirting practice,” she said. Taylor laughed that low, throaty laugh that made Avery want to drag her into the bedroom immediately. Instead, she grabbed her hand on the way out the door.

When she got into the car, she remembered her promise to Beth, and sighed to herself. She’d meant to bring this up the last time she’d seen Taylor, but she’d been stressed about work, and she hadn’t wanted to have a difficult conversation when she was in that kind of a mood, so they’d just eaten takeout and watchedDragRace. Which meant she had to do it now. She would feel like she’d broken a promise to Beth if she didn’t.

And to herself, for that matter.

“Can I ask you a question?” she asked. She was asking a question by asking that, wasn’t she?

Taylor shot her an amused glance.

“You know you can. What’s up?”

How should she phrase this? She wished she’d thought this out earlier.