And maybe look good for Chase at the same time?
While Natalie and Logan went one way, Scottie veered toward the buffet set-up on her left. Natalie hadn’t been wrong. The main course food was nearly gone, and the desserts she’d already set out were just as scarce.
Glad she’d gone ahead and made extras, just in case, she began making her mental selections of dishes and desserts to put together for Logan and the team. Setting the tray down, she retrieved a paire of disposable gloves from one of the dress’s two hidden pockets and began stretching them over her hands, one at a time.
Protected from the spread of germs, Scottie carefully began arranging the mini cheesecakes on the decorative platters already in place. When she was finished, she picked up the empty trays, spun around to head back to the kitchen, and…
Nearly ran smack dab into Chase.
“Whoa!” He reflexively threw his hands up and backed up a step to prevent a collision.
At the same time, Scottie let out a little cry of surprise as she stopped just short of jamming a tray square into his chest. It was a broad, masculine chest that made the air in her lungs freeze, and her lower belly fluttered with need.
Chase Boyer in jeans and a T-shirt was hard enough to handle. But put the man in a tuxedo, and…
Helllooo suit porn.
“Everything okay?”
“Huh?” She blinked herself out of her own head. “Oh. Yeah. I, um…I-I was just refilling the desserts before I start putting the other stuff away.”
“The food all looks and smells incredible, Scottie. Not that I’m surprised.” Those piercing blue eyes slid from the remnants on the table back to her. “I gotta say, it doesn’t hold a candle to you, though. You look beautiful, Scottie. That dress is…”
As his eyes fell slowly down the length of her body, Scottie blurted out a disparaging “Plain.”
What? The dresswasplain. It was one of the reasons she loved it so much. Plain. Simple. Classy.
Apparently Chase disagreed.
“There are a lot of words rolling through my head right now, sugar, and I can assure you, plain is not one of them.”
Sugar?
Her heart thumped with a happiness she hated to feel. That was the nickname he’d given her when they’d been high school sweethearts. He’d told her once, way back in the day, that he’d chosen to call hersugarbecause she was sweet, and she loved to bake.
Scottie flashed him a blushing smile. “Thanks. You, uh…you look really nice, too.”
A potted plant looks nice, dumbass. The man looks good enough to eat.
“What, this old thing?” Chase dramatically waved her compliment away. “It was just collecting dust in the back of my closet, and I figured…when in Rome, right?”
That last part filled her chest with a wave of warmth she hadn’t expected. That saying…when in Rome…it was one they’d used countless times in the past. Whenever they were together and wanted to try something out of the ordinary, they’d look at each other, give a little shrug, and say…
When in Rome.
Scottie’s smile grew a bit more. “Well, I have to say, the look suits you. No pun intended, of course.”
“Of course.” His boyish smile sparkled all the way up to his eyes. “I guess we both still clean up good, huh?”
“I guess so.”
He stood there with his hands in his pants pockets, looking like the sexiest version of James Bond she could imagine, and she couldn’t think of anything else to say. Several awkward seconds passed as she continued to stare, that smile of hers still frozen in place while she held the empty baking sheets between them.
Say something. Say anything. Just…speak!
“I’m putting together some to-go plates for you and the guys,” she finally managed to announce. “So if there’s anything specific you’d like, just let me know and I’ll?—”
“I trust you, Scottie,” Chase rumbled low. “Whatever you choose, I have no doubt it’ll be amazing.”