Page 14 (1/2)

Emily found his nificent thing to behold, even draped in darkness Shelves upon shelves of every kind of shoe iinable took up the opposite wall A drawer systener clothes hung from wall-to-wall rods in the rest of the room

She couldn’t help running her hand over the delicate fabrics, appreciating all this luxury in one place The closet was bigger than her bedroom at her mother’s house Any one of these outfits probably cost more than she spent on rent for the business eachto know that there were people in the world with that much money to spare

Of course, her lamour, wealthy people were just as miserable as the rest of us It was important never to feel like she was beneath them

Her curious fingers landed on a plush, white fabric She pulled it out, revealing the robe that Michael had mentioned It was softer than her co off her wet outer clothes, she wrapped the robe around her body and reveled in its comfort She wanted to be buried in that robe

Her candle flickered dangerously, reer’s home, alone in the dark She swept up her wet clothes and hurried for the hall, her bare feet padding down the exquisite oak floors A photo fraht her eye and she paused, only for a moment

It was a picture of a young fa behind a boy and girl The girl had long dark hair and chubby, baby cheeks The boy definitely looked familiar Emily could see hints of Michael in his childhood photo — the dark eyes, the angle of his jaw, and the stiff posture

It was a sweet picture, but it brought a pang of regret to her chest E up All she had was her one, too It hurt too much to think about

“Emily? Come join me in the parlor when you’re done”

Michael’s voice drifted down the hallway toward her She juerously fro toward the sound, she found an open door through which golden candlelight spilled Peering around the door fra on a settee, his arm draped over the back

He’d changed into jeans and a casual gray t-shirt that stretched tight over his buff chest Two dozen candles burned on the coffee table in front of hi her heart not to get caught up in the setting

“There you are” He gazed up at her, his dark eyes trailing from her face and down her body to her bare feet

She blushed and pulled the robe tighter, hoping she looked decent enough “Your ot lost in there”

With a chuckle, he wiped a hand through his wet hair “Yeah, she calls it her happy place” He patted a hand on the cushion beside him “Why don’t you have a seat?”

Hesitation kept her glued to the doorway for a long ht and the utterly gorgeousfor her This was not the date she’d prepared herself for

“I pro on his face “But I figured we couldn’t go out looking like we’d just taken a dip in the pool The staff has already gone hoht So, I raided my parents wine stash How does one hundred year old French Grand Cru sound to you?”