She went into the bedroom and slipped into the babydoll nightie and the tiny briefs. It covered more of her than the bustier had, and the off-white color made the garment seem more demure, but if Ian looked closely he’d be able to see her entire body through the nearly transparent fabric. Her nipples were dark pink buds under the tea rose pattern.
When Kate returned, Ian was semi-reclined on the couch, holding the bourbon glass loosely in his hand. He stared, eyes half-lidded, lips parted. “Come closer.”
Maybe it was the way he was looking at her or maybe it was the wine, because at that moment Kate suddenly found herself with very few inhibitions. Slowly she approached him and then turned in a circle so he could see her from every angle.
“Beautiful,” he said, his voice heavy with desire. “Now take it off.”
CHAPTER TWENTY-ONE
When Ian came out of the bathroom on Christmas Day, Kate did a double take and clutched her chest as if she were having a heart attack. “You’re killing me. You know that, right?”
He grabbed her hand and dragged the back of it along his clean-shaven cheeks.
“No, no, no,” she said. “Way too smooth.”
“Respectable,” he countered.
Kate watched as he pulled a suit out of her closet and got dressed. “One minute you’re a free-spirited hacker, and the next you’re suiting up to meet the parents,” she said. “I never know what I’m going to get.”
He tightened his tie. “That’s because being with me is never boring. I believe I promised you that, Katie.”
“That it would not be boring was a bit of an understatement. You might have downplayed a few things.”
Kate stood in front of the dresser mirror and ran a brush through her long curls, loosening them slightly. Then she applied her lipstick and spritzed on some perfume.
“You look gorgeous,” Ian said. He watched as she stepped into a modest pencil skirt and pulled on a sweater. “What about the dress I gave you?”
“That one’s a bit short for Christmas Day.” She paused. “And my dad. Plus I’m saving it for New Year’s Eve. It’s perfect for downtown.” Paige had invited Kate and Ian to join her and her husband at a party at the W Hotel. Audrey and her fiancé would be there too. Kate stepped into her shoes, grabbed her purse, and said, “Okay. Let’s go.”
They were meeting Kate’s parents for dinner at Nicollet Island Inn. She had no worries regarding any questions that might arise over dinner about Ian’s occupation, but it had been a long time since she’d introduced them to someone new, and she took a deep breath to calm her nerves as they got out of the car.
Ian seemed relaxed, smiling at Kate and holding her hand as they walked into the restaurant. Diane and Steve were waiting for them by the door. Her mother looked elegant in a wrap dress and silver hoop earrings, her hair blown out in a sleek bob that reached her shoulders. Kate thought if she looked half as good at fifty-five as her mother did, she’d be very happy. Like Ian, her dad had worn a suit, and after seeing his face light up when he spotted her, Kate realized how happy she was to be seeing her parents again.
After she hugged them, she turned around. “Mom, Dad, this is Ian.”
Ian shook her mother’s hand and Diane held it warmly in hers. “It’s nice to meet you, Ian.”
Kate’s dad and Ian shook hands. Steve smiled, but Kate knew he was going through the mental checklist he’d been using to measure Kate’s boyfriends since she’d been old enough to have them.
“It’s nice to meet you both,” Ian said. “Kate speaks of you often.”
Diane couldn’t stop smiling at Ian, and it was adorable. Her mother had always been close to Stuart and had been genuinely fond of him, but Kate didn’t think it would be long before Diane pledged her allegiance to Ian.
They placed their drink orders once they were seated in the dining room: wine for Diane and Kate and single malt whiskey for Steve and Ian. Kate felt herself relaxing as they made small talk and looked at their menus.
“Have you heard from Chad?” Kate asked. Her brother was spending Christmas with Kristin’s family in Ohio.