When she left, she’d been wearing jeans. Now she wore a gorgeous dress that skimmed her curves and flowed down in long lines to her calves. Her sandals laced up over her ankles and met the bottom of the dress, looking like something a gladiator would wear. And what made Will’s self-control nearly snap completely was his realization that the gauzy material of the dress was almost see-through in the light from the open barn door behind her.
The faint outline of long legs made his mouth dry up. The neckline dipped low, cushioning a teardrop necklace between her breasts. A hint of lace peeked out. The sun was a halo around her hair, a gentle breeze lifting the locks, and her lips were the luscious shade of ripe plums, a deeper color than the usual pink she wore.
She stole his breath.
She made his jaw hit the floor.
She drove him crazy.
Which was exactly where Will wanted to go with Harper—utterly crazy.
*
The look on Will’s face was worth every single penny she’d spent. He seemed stunned, unable to speak, unable to move, able only to look.
And to want her in the same way she’d been wanting him.
Oh yes, definitely worth it. What’s more, she felt sexy and desirable, from the new makeup to the new sandals to the new dress. And everything new underneath. It had been a really long time since she’d treated herself...and she wondered suddenly why she’d waited so long.
“We had a good day,” he told her. “Got a lot accomplished.”
“We even marked a bunch more panels that we still have to match up,” Jeremy rushed to add.
“That’s great.” She beamed at them both, easily able to see how happy they were with the day’s work. Two peas in a pod...who would have thought? The billionaire and her brother.
She was still marveling at that when she realized Will was saying, “Jeremy has given me his permission to take you out to dinner tonight.”
“He has?” She felt a kick in her pulse, as if he’d stepped on the accelerator. All afternoon, she’d been trying to figure out how to make her move. The problem was that she’d never made a move on anyone before, so she didn’t have the first clue how to do it. But now, thankfully, that problem might very well be solved for her.
Will and Jeremy both nodded. “We were thinking he could stay with Mrs. Taylor.” Will patted Jeremy’s shoulder. “And you’re excited about streaming any movie you like, aren’t you? Action. Comedy. Animated.”
“Will has everything.” Jeremy widened his arms to encompass the enormous expanse of Will’s streaming library. “And me and Mrs. Taylor can have pizza. Will says she makes the best one ever in his pizza oven.”
“As long as you don’t mind Jeremy having pizza and watching a movie,” Will added.
“Pizza’s fine,” Harper said with a smile she knew must be bordering on giddy. “And so is a movie. Or three.”
She didn’t care if Will had talked Jeremy into staying with Mrs. Taylor, or that he seemed to have it all mapped out as if she were an opponent whose every objection he had to overcome.
All she cared about was being alone with him tonight.
“So is that a yes?”
She was surprised to realize that the powerful billionaire standing in front of her actually seemed a little nervous as he waited for her answer. She had assumed she’d always be the nervous one, not he. And she’d certainly never thought that she could hold the power in a relationship with a man like him. But while she knew that might be a huge stretch, at the very least, it was lovely to be wanted. Beyond lovely, actually.
“Yes, I’d love to go out with you tonight, Will.”
For a moment, she thought he might kiss her right then and there in front of her brother. Instead, he simply stroked her cheek with the back of his hand and looked at her as if she were the most beautiful woman he’d ever seen. She knew that couldn’t possibly be true, but she didn’t care.
The three of them took the golf cart down the hill, both men still in their overalls. Once in the house, Will led them along a back hall past the kitchen, laundry room, and a bedroom, which she assumed was used by Mrs. Taylor.
“Make yourselves at home,” Will told them as he pushed through a swing door that led into the main house. “I won’t be long.” He disappeared up a wide staircase. It wasn’t a second floor, but another level sitting on the rise of the hill on which the house was built.
Harper took a few minutes to appreciate Will’s beautiful home. The open floor plan consisted of a dining area on one side of a long marble floor that ended at the double front doors, with a massive living room on the other side. Picture windows faced the driveway and rock garden, then flowed around into a huge wall of windows overlooking the infinity pool and a valley below it all. And what she’d thought was a putting green was actually a small golf course.
“Wow,” Jeremy said at her side.