I smacked a kiss to his lips and my hand against his ass. “Best decision I made. Now, get showered and dressed so I can sit with you while you eat before I leave. Kate is already chomping at the bit.”
“You ladies get bossy.”
“Just when we need to,” I said with a wink. “And you like me this way.”
“I do. I love you any which way, but especially coming on my—”
“Shower,” I said with a laugh. “I can’t be all horny for dress shopping.”
He turned on the faucets, and steam began to fill the glass stall. “Why not?”
“Because it’s improper.”
“Aya, you have to know I love it most when I get to strip all the proper English lady out of you, lick by nibble by lick.”
I shivered, and my core warmed. His words, that look in his eyes. My pulse pounded. His nostrils flared as he took in my flushed cheeks, parted lips in the mirror—same as I did. My eyes were hazed with lust.
I set down the lipstick tube and turned to face him, arms over my chest.
“I do know that, but now isn’t the time. Shower, shopping, then fucking—if you do the first two on my time frame.”
He hopped in the shower, and I smiled even as I felt a deep-seated pang of disappointment. I really wanted him to lick and nibble me to a screaming orgasm. Nothing sounded better.
8
Aya
As soon as we walked in, I beelined to the back of the store, straight to the rack that held the dress—a vintage design with a soft, delicate lace overlay on top of a light, blinding-white silk. Pearl buttons started at the V neck, and the lace had aged toward a soft ivory. The fitted portion of the dress should settle below my shoulder blades and continue down to what I assumed was top-of-thigh before the skirt flared out into a short train. The half sleeves and back above the V were made of lace, leaving the silk sheath underneath to create a sweetheart neckline. I worried the tailored design, a mermaid sort of silhouette, might not work now that my breasts were fuller. I turned and held it up to Jenna and Kate.
“Yes,” they said in unison.
“For the love of God and donkeys, put that on,” Jenna continued. She covered her mouth and shook her head.
“You do barf out the weirdest things,” Kate said.
“I’m excited,” Jenna defended. “And a little freaked out that I left Cash home. I don’t need a repeat of the pap incident.”
“He’ll be fine,” Kate soothed. “Cam and Chuck are there to keep him safe, and Mama dotes on him.”
Jenna still fretted, but I could understand—she was torn between two places, between two parts of herself.
“What if it doesn’t fit?” I asked. I scooped up the short train with my free arm, my stomach sick with concern.
“None of that now,” Kate said. She ushered me into a dressing room, her exasperation clear in both her tone and her exaggerated hand flourishes.
“I’m hungry,” Jenna announced. “We should have stopped for donuts. And I’m going to have to nurse Cash in another hour or so.”
“I can’t eat one of those insane concoctions you consider a donut before trying on this dress,” I called. “No normal person gets donuts from a bar, Jenna.”
“It’s Austin. Hand-crafted booze, hand-crafted sweets. Makes perfect sense that the world’s best donuts are from a pub.”
I chuckled even as I stripped off my top and let my skirt fall to my feet. I picked it up and stared at my body.
I’d always been thin. That was genetics; my mother had been a mere waif prior to her pregnancy with me and again after her divorce. Yes, I knew many women hated me for my shape, but it wasn’t as though I’d chosen it.
“Put it on and get out here,” Jenna said. “My boobs are starving me, and I can’t stand the suspense.” She pounded on the door four times to emphasize her point.
“All right.”
I slid the dress off the hanger and stepped into the pool of material. I shimmied it up over my thighs, hips, and chest…and realized I had a problem.
“I need help,” I called, clutching the front and turning over my shoulder to flip the lock.
“That mermaid style is so flattering, but a bitch to get into,” Kate said as she slipped through the crack in the door. “I called Cam, who’s talking to Jenna. She’s working her way through my stash of granola bars. I think they’ve been in my purse a few months. Don’t tell her.”
“Not a word from me,” I said.
“Right arm,” Kate said. Her ringlets shone red in the light. “Good. Left.”
I closed my eyes, worry gnawing at my gut as she pulled the material over my shoulders and settled it against my back.
“Oh,” she whispered. “Oh, Aya.”
“Cash is fine; Cam’s fine. I feel better. Thanks, Kate,” Jenna said. Her eyes widened as she caught sight of me. “Oooh, I need a better look.” Jenna elbowed her way into the small dressing room. She lowered her granola bar and swallowed. “Girl you look fire. I mean, that’s it.”
“You didn’t button it,” I said, biting my lower lip. “Because it won’t?”
“You have space,” Kate said. “In fact, it may need to come in a little for the true silhouette.”
“Or you can wear it a tad roomy a la Duchess Meghan,” Jenna said. “I loved her dress! Or in case you blow up like the Michelin Man. Pregnancy hormones are a bitch.”
“So are postpartum ones,” Kate said, her tone stern. “Stop stressing Aya out.”
I tried to turn to get a sense of the back, but with the three of us in the tiny space, I couldn’t maneuver.
Kate stepped back, bumping into Jenna. “Let’s get her out there and have a proper look-see.”
“You sound like your brother,” Jenna remarked.
“We are related,” Kate said.
I ran my hands over my ribs and hips. From the moment I’d first seen this gown, I’d felt a deep connection.
“Come out,” Lani, the shop owner, called. “The suspense is killing me.”
I stepped out, shocked that the length was perfect even in my one-inch pumps. Good, maybe I could wear comfortable heels. Wouldn’t that be a treat?
Lani gasped, her hands clutched under her chin. “You are an absolute dream in that gown.” She wiped the corner of her eye.
“What do you know about it?” I asked, turning to face the three mirrors. Kate stepped forward and buttoned the tiny pearls.
“Oh, this dress has the best story,” Lani gushed. “The granddaughter brought it in a few months back. They’d cleaned out her grandmother’s house, and since there weren’t any young girls in the family, there was no reason to keep it. But parting with it was a challenge.”
“Why?” Jenna asked. She opened the second granola bar and crunched off a big bite of dried oats. “I hate granola. I’m going to have to pump all this milk out of me soon or get Cam to bring Cash here so I can nurse him.”
“Call Cam,” Kate said, plopping down into the chair next to Jenna. “Then I can snuggle my sweet nephew while I ooh and ahh over Aya. This is the perfect day!”