Page 124 of Now and Then

As I approach her, I say, “Hi, I’m looking for my girlfriend. Redhead? Jeans and blue sweater? Slightly neurotic?”

“Hey, Hunt,” she says, not even bothering to look up from the rows of throw pillows.

“Oh!” I jump back in feigned surprise. “Is that you? I thought only an employee would hold that many pillows. Surely, not a customer. And definitely not my girlfriend.”

“Very funny.” Sutton shoves throw pillows into my arms. “But we’re buying them all.”

It takes nearly an act of God to get Sutton to leave the store, but when I mention food, she practically sprints.

We merge back into city traffic, and she’s still buzzing. Hands flutter as she talks about texture and color palettes and the different pillows that are now in bags in the backseat. I catch myself watching her more than the road, completely wrapped up in the sound of her voice and the way her whole face lights up the more she talks.

A soft pink creeps over her cheeks when she notices me watching. “What?” She folds her arms like she already knows I’m about to say something smart.

“Nothing.” I reach over and hook my hand around the back of her neck, tugging her close enough to kiss her temple at the next stoplight. “You’re cute when you get all worked up over throw pillows.”

She gives me her smile that breaks something open in me every time.

We turn onto Lakeside Avenue, the part of Eagle Falls filled with polished brick sidewalks, huge windows, high-end boutiques, and restaurants with white tablecloths. Sutton’s attention immediately snaps to the row of shops. Her eyes widen, shoulders lifting on an inhale.

“Oh,” she murmurs. “I love this area.”

“I know.” I park along the curb. “I thought you might.”

She leans forward and scans the storefronts. “Where are we going first?”

I hop out, round the truck, and open her door. I like the way she looks up at me when I open hers. Like she’s letting me take the lead even though she could bulldoze through this entire city by herself.

Desert Rose Cantina is packed, so we end up at the bar. After two rounds of drinks and plenty of tortilla chips, our food arrives. The time passes in a blur of laughter, and before we know it, we’re back outside. Sutton shivers and tucks her hands nearly into her armpits. I slip off my jacket and wrap it around her shoulders. “You should have brought your jacket.”

“Why would I do that when I can wear yours?” She grins. “Okay, mister, where to next?”

“I want to stop in one of these shops.” I gesture to the line of buildings outside the restaurant.

Her brows pitch. “Which one?”

I bite a grin. “You’ll see.”

Three doors down, past the bakery, is a boutique with a floral window display and a very prominent mannequin in lingerie. When we enter Blush and Bloom, soft lighting glows across the satin and lace in every shade imaginable.

Sutton stops dead. “What are you playing at?”

“Not playing.” I press a hand to the small of her back. “You know how much I love to see you in your bras and panties. Thought maybe you’d like to pick something out just for us.” I kiss her. Her tongue meets mine in a heated exchange.

Someone clears their throat, breaking us from our haze. “Welcome in,” the petite saleswoman says. “Why don’t you two have a look around, and I’ll check in again soon?”

Sutton blushes as the woman leaves. “Show me which one you’re hoping I pick.”

I grin, pulling her forward.

A while later, Sutton’s holding two bags, her cheeks still pink, hair mussed, and her lips suspiciously swollen from the dressing-room-wall kisses I absolutely initiated. If only the sales woman hadn’t been so attentive, I might’ve seen just how much I could tease Sutton.

By the time we pull into my driveway, the sun has already set. The sky glows a deep burnt orange. Sutton is loose-limbed and glowing, all soft smiles and warm, sleepy breaths. But I’m hanging on by a damn thread. A whole day of her beside me, laughing and touching me, about has me undone. After the lingerie shop, we went straight to the spa, where Sutton walked around in a silk robe and nothing else. It took all my self-control not to take her then and there.

I kill the engine and lean toward her, brushing a strand of hair off her cheek. “Go inside,” I murmur. “I’ll get the bags.”

Her eyebrows lift in question, but she nods and steps out of the truck. She stretches slowly as she stands, extenuating every curve. I swear under my breath, heat snapping up my spine.

She glances over her shoulder. “What?” she teases with an innocence she absolutely does not possess. Little brat.