Page 27 of More For Me

“Dragon rolls sound great.”

But when I type out a response, letting my cousins know we’ll be joining them, I’m pretty sure he sighs again.

* * *

“Green or blue?”

Bodhi looks up from the magazine he’s reading. He’s stretched out on the couch, looking like he has all the time in the world before he needs to get ready. Stupid lucky boys. “What?” he asks.

I hold up the two hangers. “Green or blue?”

He looks between the garments. “Blue,” he finally says. “Brings out your eyes.”

I grin at that. Bodhi is good at this kind of thing. He has a great eye for fashion. More importantly, he always notices the little details.

“Thanks. Expect the same when I need to pick shoes.”

He laughs. “Your silver Manolos. They go with everything.”

I lower the dresses and shake my head at him. “What on earth would I do without you?”

“Probably still look as beautiful as ever, it would just take you longer to get ready.”

I laugh as I turn to the stairs. “I’ll be done in twenty.”

“Sure you will,” he says drily.

Since we’re supposed to be meeting everyone at the restaurant, and I know Bodhi doesn’t like to be late, I do hurry to finish up. And it only takes me thirty minutes, thank you very much. I’m stuck on trying to pick the right necklace. The blue dress Bodhi picked is low-cut, so the question is whether I want to draw attention to my collarbone with a shorter chain or be a little more daring and pick something longer to draw the eye to my cleavage.

Then I see the silver necklace Bodhi bought me for Christmas last year and grin. The length falls somewhat in the middle, but it’s one of my favorite pieces, and the one I usually come back to when I can’t make up my mind. It’s not the fanciest or most expensive thing I own, but he bought it after remembering how much I’d liked it when we were window shopping like, three months before the holiday, and that makes it special.

“You almost ready?” he asks from my doorway. I grab the necklace from the vanity and spin around, opening my mouth to ask if he’ll help me with the clasp. But the words die in my suddenly dry mouth.

“Wow,” I blurt out. “You look great.”

And he does. Like,reallygreat. Kind of steal-your-breath, forget-your-name great. His outfit is simple—charcoal trousers (tailored perfectly, of course) and a crisp white Tom Ford button down. He skipped the tie and left the top two buttons undone. He also has the sleeves rolled up, and I go a little stupid staring at his arms.

Damn, does he have nice arms. I kind of have a thing for forearms, but I don’t know that I’ve ever noticed Bodhi’s. They’re lean and toned, like the rest of him, with a perfect amount of dark hair trailing to his wrists. The snow-white shirt against his gorgeous golden-brown skin is making it difficult to keep coherent thoughts in my head.

“Lele?”

I force my eyes back to his face, suddenly feeling very warm. I might even be blushing. Which like, what the hell, self? Since when do I ever blush aroundBodhi?

He stares back at me—do his eyes look more intense right now?—and I watch his Adam’s apple as he swallows once, and then again.

“You, uh, just about ready?” he finally asks, his voice lower than usual. A touch raspy. Something about that voice has my cheeks flushing even hotter.

“Can you help me?” I hold up the necklace and watch while his expression softens. He recognizes it.

“Of course.” He walks over and I turn around, trying to get my heart to stop beating so hard.

“I’m going to move your hair,” he murmurs, his voice closer than I was expecting. His body heat washes over me and I can smell his aftershave.

“Oh, sorry,” I mutter, reaching for my mane of hair to get it out of his way. Show me a nice pair of forearms and apparently, I completely lose my head.

He doesn’t let me deal with my hair, though. He takes the waves between his hands, smoothing it down into a loose ponytail, then drapes it gently over my shoulder.

And holy shit, I don’t know what’s happening to me right now, but I feel like I can’t breathe. Bodhi is standing so close and he’s touching my hair and he smells so good and his freaking forearms are like, branded into my brain.