Page 84 of The Truths We Find

She responds by crashing her lips on mine, tangling our tongues together. She pulls away, then says, “Gavin, does that seem like you should be worried? I only mean if you, Alexa, and Emmett were all living here, things would finally feel—” She pauses for a moment to find the word. “—settled. For the first time in a long time, things would finally feel right.”

Yeah, there’s no hiding my smile from that. “Then let’s make it happen, sweetheart.”

The plan was to have a fun night at Doolies, but apparently, Alexa had other ideas.

ALEXA:

Change of plans. Be ready to leave your place at 6:30. Suits required. No complaining.

The text came in almost two hours ago. Now it’s finally time to head out, and the girls are still upstairs getting ready. Alexa even brought outfits down for us to change into so we wouldn’t disturb them.

What the hell is she planning?

“If I had known we needed to dress fancy, I would have brought my own clothes with me,” Emmett complains while looking at himself in the downstairs bathroom mirror.

“Are you really trashing my Ralph Lauren suit?”

“Dude. How many items does one man need to wear at once? I don’t need all of this.” He takes off the suit jacket and tie, so only his burgundy vest and matching pants remain. In a typical Emmett move, he then rolls up the off-white shirt sleeves to his elbows and lets out a sigh of relief.

“Feel better?”

“Much.”

I check over my own suit. The forest green Calvin Klein three-piece suit is the perfect shade to match Dani’s eyes. It’s complemented by a silk black tie, and wingtip shoes, an outfit I know for a fact drives my girl crazy. She’s told me as much when I’ve worn it to work. I fully plan to take advantage of that later tonight.

“You guys ready?” I hear Alexa yell from the staircase.

We make our way toward the girls, and I stop dead in my tracks the second I see Dani.

All the air leaves my lungs.

She’s wearing a dark gray spaghetti-strap dress that clings to her curves in a way that should honestly be illegal. It hits just above her knees, the fabric skimming her hips like it was made specifically for her body. The neckline dips into a soft V, revealing just enough to make my brain short-circuit.

Damn.

For a second, I can’t move. Can’t think. My heart is pounding so loud I’m convinced everyone can hear it. How is she real? How is she mine?

My eyes drop, and I see the heels. My favorites. The ones from Vegas. The memory of her in those shoes flash through my head, and I have to clench my jaw to keep my expression from giving me away.

She did that on purpose. I know she did.

She looks up and catches me staring. A slow, knowing smile curves her lips, and I swear she enjoys the way I’m unraveling right in front of her.

Pull it together.

I finally force my feet to move, crossing the distance between us. I slide a hand around her waist and pull her into me.

“You’re trying to kill me,” I whisper against her hair.

She flutters her lashes at me. “Not a fan?”

I huff out a quiet laugh, still trying to steady my pulse. “Oh, you know that’s not true. I’m a very big fan.” My gaze drops pointedly. “Especially of the shoes. You know they’re my favorite.”

“I was hoping you’d notice.” Her grin widens.

She absolutely did this on purpose.

I bend down, brushing my lips over the spot just behind her ear that makes her melt every time. “I’ll show you exactly how much I love them tonight.”