Page 136 of Rockstar Baby

He was wearing black dress pants and a fitted summer weight shirt in a light blue. His brown hair was in that messy tumble of amber and copper streaks from the sun. He wasn’t the type to use a lot of product, but it was obvious he’d made an effort to dress up.

For me.

I swallowed down a lump.

He spotted me and I tried to duck back, but too late. He was headed my way.

“Dammit,” I muttered. Usually, Kinleigh had a dozen silky robes back here to shrug on between outfits. “Not a single one? Really?”

“Ivy?”

“Naked,” I blurted out.

His dress shoes stopped clicking on the hardwoods, then he started walking again.

“Did you hear me?”

“I did, yes.”

“That means you stop walking, LC.”

He paused again, but then his stride lengthened.

Shit, I didn’t mean to let his nickname fly free. It was so ingrained from the time we’d spent together.

He hovered just outside of the screen. “May I come back there?”

“No.”

“Fairy queen.” His voice was cajoling. The heaviness in the air made all those fluttery feelings come alive in my belly, in my chest, and along my fingertips. The lust part was easy. If we had any hope of becoming more thanthis—more than just a pair of lusty strangers—then we needed to do this the right way.

“Third date, Rory.”

There was a beat of silence. “Excuse me?”

“Third date is when you get to see skin.”

“I’ve tasted every part of you, love. And I do mean every.”

My skin flushed. That was very true, but I had to believe there was more to us. More to me and him as a… God, a unit? More than just parents to a little miracle. An untimely one, but still a miracle.

“I do not need to know all the particulars between you, thanks.” Kinleigh bustled over and flipped the finished dress over the top of the screen. “Ready.”

I quickly pulled the dress down and slid it over my head. It fell around my midsection as soft as a sigh then swished around my knees. “Oh, Kin.”

“I know. It’s glorious.”

I laughed. My bestie didn’t have any self-esteem problems when it came to the clothes she chose or altered. And I couldn’t fault her. I twisted in the mirror and smoothed my hand over the gentle curve of my middle. It didn’t hide it, but it didn’t showcase it like some things I’d tried on in stores. The dress was pure comfort in every way.

“I left a cute pair of boots out here, as well as a pair of sandals. Whichever your feet are into.”

I slowly came out from the dressing area. Kinleigh knew me well. Some days it was all about the swollen feet, some days it was everything was too hot. Today, those cowboy boots would be perfect.

Especially with the cool breeze coming off the water that day. I could feel a storm in the air. It seemed fitting for our official first date. Handily, I’d always been good at facing storms.

It remained to be seen if Rory was as well.

“You’re stunning.” Rory’s eyes were hooded in that bedroom way that made me want to drag him back to the room at the Hummingbird. Where everything was easy and life didn’t intrude.