If there was a time when I’d had this much trouble with my stupid cuff links, then I couldn’t remember it. I also couldn't remember a time when I'd looked forward to an event this much either, and I knew the reason for both was one singular thing. One person.

Allie.

I was going to see her tonight, and I couldn’t quit thinking about it.

After some prodding, Thomas had told me about how yesterday had gone, and I was both irritated and amused by the fact that she’d bought her dress from some woman in a train car. She’d invited Thomas to take a look so he could tell me that her choice was appropriate, and he’d assured me she looked lovely. I'd been a little annoyed that she hadn't just let me buy her a dress, but she had given in and gotten a pair of shoes on my account.

At my insistence, he gave me the name of the designer and I’d looked her up. The name had sounded vaguely familiar, which meant it was probably someone Paisley had talked about, although I couldn't see my fiancée having gone to a train car for a dress.

It wasn’t the designer, however, that kept bugging me. It was how Allie had ended up with the designer in the first place. When I'd pressed the matter, Thomas had said Allie's…friend had recommended the woman. The pause had made something inside me twist uncomfortably.

I knew this friend was a guy without asking.

I couldn’t push for more because it shouldn’t matter that Allie had a guy friend. Boyfriend, some sly voice mentioned in the back of my mind. He’s her boyfriend. And what should that matter? I was engaged. It wasn't as if I'd asked her out with romantic interests in mind.

“Doesn’t matter,” I said out loud as I finally managed to get the second cufflink into place. I shot a last look at my reflection, pushed a hand through my hair, and headed out the door.

My evening driver was waiting and greeted me with a smile. “Hello, sir. How are you?”

“Doing well, Eli. How's traffic looking?” Eli was a little older than Thomas but had only been my driver for the past couple years. He was nice enough, and professional, but I didn't have a connection with him like I did with Thomas.

“I’ve been checking. Shouldn’t be much of an issue. I’ve already got the route planned out, and it shows just the typical traffic delays.”

“Good.”

He held the door open, and I slipped inside, noting the wine that had been opened and the glasses set out. No champagne. I’d been specific on that. Wine was a courtesy. Champagne was romantic. There was a cheese and fruit tray out as well, and while I hadn’t had time to eat much since breakfast, I wasn’t hungry. I wanted to see Allie.

I hadn’t been this excited to see a woman since…I couldn’t think of a time.

A few times in high school, maybe. The time when I’d asked out a junior even though I'd only been a sophomore, and she’d said yes. She’d also said yes when I slid my hand up her skirt, then inside her panties. I’d lost my virginity in the backseat of her car, and we'd dated for the next six months.

That first date was the only time I could remember being excited like this.

I knew I should feel guilty for feeling this way, and I supposed that, in a way, I did.

But I wasn’t going to cancel the evening. I'd keep all of this to myself. I’d keep my hands to myself. I’d be friendly and polite, do nothing that could be considered inappropriate.

I couldn't ignore the fact, however, that I was going to spend an evening with a woman who made me laugh and think and…feel.

That was the problem, I realized on the drive to the address Allie had given Thomas. The minutes whisked away in silence as I turned the new knowledge over in my head. I hadn’t felt anything with a woman in so long that it was a shock to do so now. I could feel pleasure with Paisley if I was fucking her, but even that was only a physical connection, not emotional. And I’d been surprised, then thrilled at the idea of a baby. But that wasn't even about her. It wasn't the idea of she and I having a child together that excited me. It was becoming a father. Paisley almost felt like an afterthought.

I knew that was a horrible way of thinking about my fiancée, but it was true.

It didn’t matter to me if she was going out of town for a few days. If she was spending a few hours at the salon for a “massage.” I suspected she was getting “personal” service from her preferred masseuse, Daniel, but I didn’t care enough to ask. Paisley would never risk what she and I had by not being careful. Case in point, she'd already scheduled a paternity test after her fourteenth week to assure me that the baby was mine. Not that she'd been faithful, but that I was the one who'd gotten her pregnant.

And I still couldn't bring myself to really care about whether or not Paisley had another lover.

Allie, however, made me smile when I thought of her. I wanted to spend time with her, talk with her. Get to know her.

“We’re here, sir.”

This wasn't the best neighborhood in Philadelphia, but it wasn't the worst either. I looked up at the old three story building we'd parked in front of. I knew the type. I owned more than a few, and this one was in good shape although it was getting a little shabby.

Allie lived with her family, didn’t she? She hadn't said whether that was in an apartment or a house.

“You sure this is the place?” I asked Eli.

“This is the address she gave Thomas.” He exited the car and came around to open my door.

I was halfway out of the car when Allie came outside. She glanced back over her shoulder, talking to someone. I couldn't hear her, but I saw her lips moving. Her lips.

Her…everything.

Letting my eyes slide down her body, my heart began to race. The blue-green material drifted around her, and when she turned back, smiling toward me, my heart did a stuttering two-step in my chest.

Beautiful…

She started down the steps and was already on the third one before I managed to move toward her. Holding out my hand, I tried to find something casual and easy to say, but there was nothing casual or easy in mind.

Actually, I couldn’t come up with much of anything.

My brain had turned into one giant void, and the only thought I could summon up was so simplistic, so not me, that I was better off not saying anything.

Allie put her hand in mine, smiling slowly. She’d slicked her mouth with a deep, wine red color that made me wonder how long I could kiss her before the color was gone...and then kiss her some more...

No. Idiot. Engaged. She’s not yours.

But damn if I didn’t want her to be.

I started to lift her hand to my lips but stopped just in time.

“You look…” I searched for anything that wouldn’t be bordering on inappropriate, but I couldn't lie to her. “You look beautiful.”

“Thank you.” Her lips bowed up in a curve. “I hope you didn’t give Thomas any trouble about the dress debacle.”

My eyes dropped to the dress again. The bodice had a faint shimmer to it, something that sparkled under a thin mesh of fabric, and when she shifted, even when she breathed, those sparkles caught the eye and held it. “If this dress is the result, trust me, nothing was a debacle. You look lovely.”

“Again, thank you.” She glanced down and held out a foot. Like the dress, her shoes shimmered. It looked like she was walking on nothing more than air and crushed diamonds, the heel a clear material that I could see straight through. “You bought the shoes, if it makes you feel any better.”

“They look like glass slippers.”

“That’s what I thought.” She laughed and rotated her ankle, watching as they sparkled in the slowly fading light.

I wanted to kiss her.

I wanted it so bad, I could all but taste her already.

“We should go,” I said gruffly, standing off to the side.

As she moved in front of me, my gaze slipped to her back. Her bare back. Naked, dusky skin that my hands itched to touch.

What in the hell had I been thinking?