She rushed down the hallway and opened the front door. “Hi, Asher. Emily is in the den. Deek, I need your help in the bedroom.” She grabbed Deek’s hand and tugged him down the hallway.
“Just to be clear, it’s probably too much to hope you’re dragging me to your room to ravage me instead of making me fix your sink again, right?”
Deek was joking. He wanted Annie, not her. “Oh, I have much bigger plans than that for you, Deek.” Just for the fun of it, she led him to her bedside, laid her hands on his shoulders, and pushed. It should have made him flop back onto the bed, but it was like shoving a brick wall. “Have a seat, and we’ll get started.”
She headed for her closet but then stopped and turned around. “I almost forgot. This dress is option one. Does it make me look like I have a food-baby belly?”
“No.” He frowned. “It makes you look like you’re going to a business meeting.”
Leave it to Deek to tell it like it is. “So, not sexy? At all?”
“I didn’t say that.” Deek hesitated and then cleared his throat. “You look hot in anything you wear. Especially yoga pants, which I sort of miss, by the way. What’s option two?”
Lori’s cheeks were suddenly on fire. “Be right back.” She hurried into her closet and whipped the black sheath dress over her head.
Deek thought she looked good in anything? Even yoga pants? It brought tears to her eyes. She worried she’d lost her figure in the ten years she’d been out of the dating game. He couldn’t have said anything nicer to help her confidence.
As she struggled with the zipper on the back of the blue dress, it occurred to her that maybe that was what Deek was doing. Just being nice about her figure. She was a whole lot curvier since the last time she’d been on a date.
She gave up on the zipper that was only three-quarters closed, then slipped into the tall black heels that killed her feet, but she hoped made her legs look shapelier. Her stomach roiled as she stood before Deek again. “Is this one any better?”
A grin lit Deek’s face as his gaze traveled up and then back down her entire body. The lust in his eyes made her shiver. And wish she was staying home and eating sandwiches with sexy, geeky, fun Deek instead of going on a first date with Jason.
“That’s the winner. Your date is one lucky guy, Lori. You look beautiful.”
The sincerity in his gaze made her question if the lust she noticed a moment ago could mean he was changing his mind about their relationship? Being more than just friends? Annie’d said he could date others.
Nope. Silly to think so. He was determined to win her back. “Thanks. Can you help me with the back?”
“Absolutely.” He stood and laid his hands on her shoulders before he slowly turned her around. The warmth of his strong hands seeped through the thin layer of fabric.
After he’d moved her long, curly hair aside, he gently tugged on her zipper and whispered, “This side looks great too.” When she was all zipped, both his hands slid to her waist, and he gave her a light squeeze. “Very nice.”
Her heart skipped a beat at the husky desire in his voice. Her butt was one of her greatest concerns. She did extra squats every day to stave off any more spread. “Thank you, Deek.”
He stood behind her with his hands still on her waist. The reflection showed how well their bodies fit together. She was tall, but he was a head taller. And those big hands… She needed to stop. Jason. She needed to focus on Jason.
She turned around and noticed his T-shirt for the first time. It said: You can’t please everyone—you’re NOT pizza! It made her smile. As always. “Nice shirt. But now I’m hungry for pizza. Thanks a lot.”
“You’re a little overdressed for pizza. Where’s what’s-his-name taking you?”
“His name is Jason.” Lori walked to her dresser to choose earrings. “I’m meeting him at that hot new fusion place everyone is talking about.”
Deek grabbed his phone from his back pocket. “His last name too, please. And what’s the name of the restaurant?”
“Jason’s last name is Pederson, Eliot Ness. And the restaurant is called Chuks. It’s American, Polynesian, and Hawaiian cuisine.”
“Seafood caught fresh from the oceans surrounding Denver? Makes no sense. And how do you know this guy is safe? Maybe we should have a code word or something in case you need to be rescued. If you’d like, I can put a tracker app on your phone.” He started tapping, and then his head whipped up. “That sounded stalker-ish, didn’t it? I meant for the evening. For safety… I’ll stop talking now.”