Page 44 of Cowboy Devil's Embrace

The sound of car door slamming jogged me from my thoughts, and I gulped.

Damn my nerves.

I glanced at myself in the hall mirror. Getting dressed up wasn’t something I did very much anymore. Well, not that I ever really did.

I was a sweats and t-shirts kind of girl.

But it was the end of summer, and the nights were comfortably cool. Just perfect for a long dress.

Plus, this was a date.

A first date, and out of practice or not, I still remembered those.

After my nails and wax appointments, I’d given myself a deep conditioning treatment to try to tame the dark, usually frizzy curls that just touched my shoulders.

I hardly ever just let my hair down anymore, what with baking and everything, it was easier to torture it into a bun at my nape. So me doing this was kind of special.

Leaving it down felt nice, even though I discovered more than a couple of grays sprinkled through the brown.

I would just deal with it like I had everything else life threw at me lately. Straight on and with my head up.

I wasn’t usually big on make-up, but I’d added some powder to control my shiny forehead and nose. That with some dark, smoky eyeliner and shimmery eyeshadow, a couple of swipes of mascara, and some lip gloss, and I looked good.

Even better, I felt good, too.

There was nothing to be done about my curves, and really, I wasn’t embarrassed by my body.

Comfort was my thing, and ultimately, the flowy maxi dress with dark red flowers I was wearing was super comfy.

The material was light and soft, and it was loose but not overly big.

I loved how it ended around my ankles in a soft flutter of fabric.

There were big red buttons down the front, all the way to the bottom.

I had the bottom six open, so it split the skirt above my knee, flashing a bit of thigh when I walked.

I also daringly left the first button open, revealing my pretty damn fantastic cleavage, if I did say so myself.

I paused and smiled to myself. I felt pretty. And I hadn’t felt that in a long time.

A rough knock sounded, and my attention went back to the door.

“You gonna open the door, Sugarplum?” Max questions, and I swore I heard a smile in there somewhere.

So hot.

He knew I was in there.

Duh.

The top of the door was glass, and he was tall, so likely he could see my head.

Okay. Calm down.

This was it.

Go time.