Page 34 of Twice as Tempting

She plucked the dress out of her closet and held it up to herself in the bedroom mirror. The coral hue popped against her bronzed skin. Kelly had been blessed with a caramel-colored complexion thanks to the Latin American blood on her mom’s side of the family. While her dad was as pale as could be, Kelly had inherited her mom’s skin tone, along with her rich brown hair and golden brown eyes. She also attributed her curves to her Latino heritage, and while she used to curse them in her junior high school days, she came to embrace them during high school. While many of her friends had been “late bloomers,” Kelly was fully developed by the time she was thirteen. It didn’t take long for her to learn how to use her looks to her advantage, which sometimes got her into trouble. She recalled her mother’s constant reminder that beauty would fade and that it was what was inside that counted. Kelly agreed, but tonight, while she was still fairly young, she would embrace her beauty and milk it for all it was worth!

She had just slipped her sandals on when the doorbell rang. When she opened the door wide, her mouth opened to match it. A more polished version of Damian stood before her, and she perused him from head to toe just to make sure that it was really him! Kelly realized that she had never seen Damian dressed in anything other than worn jeans, t-shirts, and his favorite scuffed work boots. Even though he was still dressed casually, tonight he had on olive green cargo shorts with a collared black polo shirt. Instead of work boots, he wore what looked like hiking shoes, but they were clean and maybe even…new! His face was void of the usual scruff, and his hair was actually in place, although a few errant strands stuck out adorably. He still had the rugged good looks that she was drawn to, but he had neatened up—for her!

“Wow,” Damian said approvingly. “Love the dress.”

Kelly sent a silent thank you to Brett and then said, “Thanks. You’re looking pretty spiffy yourself.”

“Spiffy?” He quirked his eyebrows at her.

“Well, you know what I mean. You look…”

“Different. Yeah, I know.”

His cockiness was gone, and in its place there was…uncertainty? Kelly placed a hand gently on his forearm. “I like it, Damian. You look good.”

He brightened up and gave her a huge grin. “Ok, so let’s get going.”

Damian held her hand down the three flights of stairs, presumably so that she wouldn’t fall, even though she was an expert at walking in heels. Kelly enjoyed the feel of her hand clamped tightly in his, so she kept it there while they walked across the parking lot and when he helped her up into his truck. They had been out to dinner numerous times before, but somehow tonight felt like the first time.

“So, what sounds good? Mexican, Italian, burgers, seafood…?”

Greek! I feel like Greek! “How about Italian?” Greece, Italy—same part of the world, right?

“According to Zack, there’s a really good Italian restaurant in Rochester. Do you know it?”

“Bravo.”

“Well, thank you, but it wasn’t my idea.”

Kelly burst out laughing. “No. Bravo is the name of the restaurant!”

“Oh. My bad.”

Somehow his expression made her laugh even louder. Here he was, trying to impress her, when he would have easily settled for a carry-out pizza and a beer. She was touched that he was taking her dating idea so seriously, and she had to stop herself from flinging her arms around his neck and kissing him.

When they were seated at a table for two a short time later, Kelly leaned across the table and said, “Thank you for bringing me here.”

Damian’s face lit up in response, and then he turned his attention back to the menu. “What is all this frou-frou stuff anyway? Where’s the spaghetti and meatballs?”

So much for fine dining, Kelly thought. But that was Damian, a man of simple tastes, and she wouldn’t want him any other way.