Page 115 of My Best French Wedding

When she had slipped the last button free of the fabric, Hildy spread her palms over his stomach, sliding them up and over his rib cage, past the wild beating of his heart to the smooth muscle of his shoulders. The shirt slipped down, and he eased his arms free of the sleeves.

Hildy took a moment to appreciate Walter’s upper body withher eyes before running her hands back down to his stomach. She pressed one thumb into the hollow of his belly button.

“Find anything?” he asked, choking back a laugh.

“All clear so far.” Her hands settled at his waist. “Looks like the only thing you’ve been hiding are these muscles.”

“You’ve seen me without a shirt before.”

“I know. But that was incidental nudity. Now it’sforme.” She slid a finger across his nipple, just because she could.

“I was always for you.”

Walter was deliberate with language, so she knew his use ofIinstead ofitwasn’t an accident.

“Hildy.”

She wet her lips. Was he waiting for her to make a declaration in return?

“I should do you now,” he said, eyeing her dress. “To keep things equal.”

It was a fair point. She held her arms out to the side, silently offering permission.Have at it.

Walter reached for the bow at her neck. “It’s like a present I get to unwrap.”

“I thought you were going to say it’s like checking each other for ticks.”

“Am I that much of a downer?”

“I wish,” she sighed. “It would have been easier to resist you.”

“Is that so?” The pads of his fingers skimmed her bare shoulder. “You have the softest skin I have ever touched.”

Hildy suppressed the urge to tell him about her new body oil. He probably wasn’t looking for product recommendations right now. Turning her back, she shimmied the dress down to her waist, glancing at him over her shoulder before cutting her eyes in the direction of her bra strap. “A little help?”

There was a faint pressure, followed an instant later by the relief of the band loosening.

“Smooth.”

“I’ve been practicing.”

“Department store mannequin?”

“My apartment is full of them. I hope you don’t mind a little competition.” His arms came around her from behind so she could feel his laughter against her back.

Being wrapped up in Walter made her whole body feel like softened wax. She’d been right to think they needed to shed those last scraps of restraint, so they could finally come together like this, skin to skin, slow and careful so they both knew it was a deliberate choice, not a momentary madness.

Or maybe her libido talked a good game when all it really wanted was to get him naked. Sometimes Hildy was a mystery even to herself.

Whatever. It was working out well. “The end justifies the means.”

He kissed the back of her neck, a slow press of breath and lips. “I’m glad you think so.”

When the rest of Hildy’s clothes had joined Walter’s in a pile on the floor, she turned in his arms, watching him lose the battle not to stare at her breasts. She hadn’t really expected him not to enjoy her body, but Walter’s transparent admiration felt like bathing in milk and honey.

“Hildy.” He pressed his face against the curve of her neck, inhaling deeply. “I’m afraid you’re going to wreck me. In a whole new way.”

She knew exactly what he meant. Because it wasn’t just today they were looking at. Once they broke through the dam of old wounds, the only thing stopping them was… them.