Rainier, Heather - Their Divine Doctor, A Holiday Ménage [Divine Creek Ranch 9] (Siren Publishing Ménage Everlasting)

by Heather Rainier

  Emma did a double take when she noticed a tiny pair of sandals on the table beside Grace. “Are those what I think they are?”

  Grace chuckled and held them out to Emma to inspect. Small enough to fit in the palm of her hand were a pair of teeny-tiny Birkenstock sandals. Grace said, “My friend Nell Flanders from Colorado sent those for the baby. She’s concerned about Rose Marie’s environmental footprint and said that they were biodegradable.”

  “Wait. Is Nell the one who wanted you to ask me for…”

  Grace bit her lip. “Rose Marie’s placenta? Yes. She promised me that if I buried it at the base of one of the oak trees in the backyard it would grow taller. She said that might offset Rose Marie’s methane gas output.”

  Emma blinked a couple of times. “Her farts?”

  “She asked us during a video chat. You should have seen the guy’s faces. It’s hard to look someone that sincere in the eye and lie, but they did it. If you ever meet Nell, just remember that I told her you helped bury it…at midnight on a full moon, okay?”

  “You did not tell her that!”

  Grace nodded with all sincerity. “Be glad I didn’t promise her that we would do a dance around the tree afterward. The guys adamantly but lovingly refused that request. Can you imagine those guys dancing around a tree?” Grace burst out laughing and Emma joined her, finally wiping tears of mirth from her cheeks.

  They spent time talking about the baby and getting caught up on how things were progressing with Duke and Gage. Grace marveled that the three of them had gone skydiving together.

  “Emma, I swear I never saw that one coming. You, with Duke and Gage. I don’t know why I didn’t see it before.”

  Emma smiled and replied, “We do have a lot of similar interests. I need to ask for your help with something. Your hands are full, I know, but if you could at least point me in the right direction…”

  Grace’s blue eyes sparkled. “Sure. What do you need?”

  “The guys are planning a big night out. It’s a large step out of our comfort zones for all of us.”

  “The bucket list you mentioned?”

  “Exactly. They’re taking me out and we’re supposed to be going dancing too. I—um. All I wear are these—” She gestured to her scrubs and white coat and zebra-striped clogs. “I hardly ever wear makeup. My closet should be declared a clearance-sale disaster area, it’s so full of hodgepodge and chaos. And don’t even get me started on shoes…”

  “Makeover time?”

  Emma slumped and said, “I stood in front of my open closet this morning after they told me and realized that is exactly what I need. I’m a terrible clothing shopper. If it’s not jeans and a nice sweater or my scrubs…I’m lost.”

  Grace pondered what Emma said for a few seconds as she put Rose Marie over her shoulder to burp her. Somehow Grace Warner managed to look sexy as hell, even in a nursing bra and top. Emma honestly didn’t know how she accomplished it. Grace obviously was losing sleep like any new mother did, caring for an infant around the clock. Emma could only attribute it to the fact that the men were taking turns staying home to help out around the house and with the baby.

  Once Rose Marie was burped and happy, Grace took her to her daddy, who was in the study working on a house plan. Jack beamed at the baby when Grace turned her over to him, and he laid his pencil down and put his boots up on the corner of his desk to cuddle her in his arms while she fell asleep. He pressed a kiss to the top of Rose Marie’s downy little head.

  Emma thought this was where new families sometimes went astray. That moment of discovery and wonder when the baby came quickly turned into reality, when work sometimes had to wait and interruptions happened and a mother and father and other family members had to pull together to make it happen. Mom couldn’t do everything all the time.

  Grace said, “Come on, Emma. I have a website to show you. Thank you, Jack. I’ll be in my office with Emma.”

  Grace bent to kiss Jack, and then he replied, “Okay, darlin’. Y’all take your time. Me and sweet pea got some talkin’ to do about icky boys and how she’s never gonna date.”

  Grace giggled and replied, “Poor girl. She doesn’t have a chance with three protective daddies.” She led Emma across the house and down a hallway to one of the bedrooms on the back side of the house.

  A double bed made up with a plush comforter and pillows rested against one wall, but the room was clearly used as an office, judging by the large oak desk that dominated one corner of the room. Tall windows provided natural light, and books lined an oak bookshelf nearby. A large framed boudoir portrait of Grace hung on one wall, in which she was dressed in a pink nightie and pink satin robe.

  Emma was in awe of the change that Grace had gone through in the last couple of years. She remembered her being shy, downtrodden, and overworked. Unhappy. All of that had changed since she’d met her men. The difference in her was almost miraculous.

  She was now invested in two different businesses, Harper’s Embroidery in Divine and Discretion in Morehead, plus she was a best-selling erotic romance author, writing under the pseudonym Caressa MacFarland. Emma owned all her titles. The same was true for Rachel Wolf, Grace’s friend, who was known in the e-publishing world as Jane O’Malley. Grace and Rachel had introduced Emma to the world of erotic romance, and she was eternally grateful.

  “So this is where it happens, huh?”

  Grace chuckled. “Yup. This is Jack’s bedroom, but he hardly ever uses it, so he had Wes and Evan Garner build me a big desk since the light is so good in this room. Have a seat.” Grace offered her a chair and then pulled up another and opened her laptop. “I want to show you a website. We’ll start there for basics.”

  Grace clicked on a browser bookmark and a web page loaded on the screen. “Hips and Curves dot com. I’ve heard you mention them before.”

  “I love them.”

  “Oh wow, look at that gorgeous model.”

  Grace clicked through various pages showing her around the website, giving Emma an idea of what they offered. All the models were built like her and Grace with curvy hourglass figures. Grace suggested some basic foundation garments and apparel items. With a twinkle in her eyes, she clicked on the Halloween costume page. They both giggled when a naughty nurse costume came up on the screen, and it gave Emma an idea.

  Grace printed out the items Emma was interested in and turned to her with speculation in her eyes. “Exactly how far do you want to go with this makeover, Emma? Are we talking about a new outfit for one night out or do you want to go ‘whole hog’?”

  Emma thought about that for a moment and knew she could do with a full makeover. It didn’t have to mean getting rid of who she was, but she definitely needed help in the style and poise department. “Whole hog,” she replied decisively.

  “All right. I have connections that can help.” Grace slipped her phone out and started dialing.

  Oh, shit! What have I gotten myself into?

  * * * *

  The next day after work, Emma checked the clock in her phone as she pulled up in front of the white house set back amongst thick shade trees in the older residential neighborhood.

  Rachel and Grace had suggested Emma visit their friend Camilla O’Neal, who was an assistant manager at The Dancing Pony. Prior to taking that job, she had worked her way through college as an exotic dancer at a club in Morehead.

  Camilla didn’t broadcast that part of her life far and wide, but she did offer private striptease and pole-dancing lessons to interested women.

  “You can do this, Emma Guthrie. If you can skinny-dip and have outdoor-in-broad-daylight sex, you can certainly handle shaking your booty a little.”

  She stepped from her vehicle, checking her bag to make sure she had all the things she’d been asked to bring. Trying to imagine herself moving like a stripper, she somehow managed to trip over her feet as she walked up the shady sidewalk to the front porch. Who in the hell am I kidding? Heat stole over her cheeks, but she took the last few steps
with determination.

  The doorbell echoed inside the house, and a few seconds later a gorgeous, petite strawberry blonde answered the door. She had to be at least nine or ten inches shorter than Emma. Soft music played in the house as Camilla held open the screen door for her.

  “Hi, Emma. I’m Camilla. Don’t look so worried. I’ll have you gyrating and grinding in no time.” She had a twinkle in her eye and an easy smile that helped put Emma at ease as she stepped into the living room.

  Emma said, “Gosh, I hope so because I’m as clumsy as I can be.” Please don’t let me break my ankles wearing the hooker heels in my bag.

  Camilla giggled and replied, “No more talk like that. You just have to find your rhythm, that’s all. You’ve probably been trying to fit into somebody else’s idea of what is sexy. It’s time to find out what works for you. I’m glad you wore something comfy and easy to take off.”

  Emma’s eyebrows shot up at that comment, and Camilla giggled playfully. “What? That’s part of it. You want to learn how to get out of your clothing in a way that has your men’s jaws hanging open and them begging for more, right?” she asked encouragingly, like the only answer to such a question was “Yes!”

  She pictured Gage with his intense green eyes riveted on her, ready to pounce, and Duke’s sensual gray gaze as he watched her peel off each layer. A little seed of confidence began to grow inside of her. “Yes, I do!”

  Camilla beckoned her and said, “Then come on back to my studio and we’ll get started.”

  * * * *

  Late September…

  Duke stood at the living room window watching the activity below. “There they go again, Gage. What do you suppose is going on downstairs?” Duke asked as he observed Summer Heston, Maya Warner, Rachel Wolf, and Camilla O’Neal carry another round of full black trash bags to the back of Rachel’s SUV.

  Their apartment complex was built on the outskirts of Divine. A pecan tree orchard was located on one side, an open pasture was on the other side, and across the road was a field used for growing hay. Parked on that side of the street was a faded, blue van. It had been there when he’d seen the girls take out the first load of bags.

  “She just moved in,” Gage said as he looked over Duke’s shoulder. “What could she be clearing out already? Was that blue van there earlier?”

  “Yes. I don’t recognize it. Someone was looking at the vacancy in the other building. Maybe it belongs to them.”

  Emma had been tied up for a couple of weeks working on a special project and had promised that she would be ready for their big evening out, which wasn’t until that weekend. They had asked her in advance so she’d have time in case she wanted to shop for a nice outfit.

  “I think she’s planning something,” Duke said. “She sounded bubbly on the phone earlier.”

  “I miss her.”

  “I do, too. Want to hit up Jelani and Marcario? They’re back in Toronto for a couple of weeks before leaving for the Congo.”

  Gage sighed. “Cool. I guess. For some reason Call of Duty doesn’t appeal to me lately.”

  Duke stepped away from the window. “I know. Me too.”

  It didn’t really interest him tonight, either. It was more of a fallback option since Emma was tied up. Duke sat back on the couch and put his boots up on the coffee table, feeling a funk coming on. It had only been a couple of weeks, but it felt like a month. He missed Emma.

  * * * *

  “Go big or go home, right?” Rachel asked as she stood next to Emma, gazing at her now blessedly empty closet. It had been packed from floor to ceiling with odds and ends from two decades of buying and not wearing. She’d get brave, buy something, be too afraid to wear it for fear of being noticed, and then let it languish in her closet until it went out of style.

  “The vintage clothing store in Morehead is going to love you, Emma,” Rachel said. “Now you have room for the things that worked and room to buy some new things. Want to open your box from Hips and Curves?”

  Emma squealed, “It came?”

  “Yeah, UPS just brought it,” Rachel replied then chuckled. “Duke and Gage are wondering what is going on down here, I bet.”

  “How do you know that?”

  “Camilla said one of them peeked over the railing when she opened the door for the UPS man.”

  Emma fought the urgent need to rush upstairs. She knew the old saying that “absence makes the heart fonder” was true because she was missing her men like crazy this week. In order to accomplish her makeover, she’d needed the evenings free and wanted it to be a surprise for her men, so she had been keeping them in the dark for the time being.

  “Aw, you miss them, don’t you?” Rachel asked as she rubbed her lower back.

  Emma nodded, “I do. You okay?”

  “Yes, my back aches, that’s all. This little guy has been jumping on my bladder all day long. I’ll bet you have more than your fair share of aches and pains too, don’t you?” Rachel asked knowingly.

  “Mostly in my legs. Camilla really knows her stuff.”

  “It will help with your balance and walking too. How is it coming with the shoes?”

  Emma giggled thinking of last night as she rubbed her aching hip. “It was great. I only fell one time! And you’re right. The lessons are helping with my balance and poise. I never learned how to walk in heels properly.”

  “Practice makes perfect. Ready to get to work?”

  Emma smiled and nodded. If she was going to do this thing, she was going to do it right. She could keep doing what she’d been doing and accept her own personal status quo, or she could make some changes that might knock her men, and maybe herself, for a loop.

  Rachel cut the tape on the box and dumped the contents on the bed. Soon Maya, Summer, Camilla, and Emma were squealing over the contents.

  Later, after everyone had gone home, Emma looked around her bedroom with fresh eyes. Her closet was positively spartan now, but she looked forward to her shopping excursion with Summer and Maya. They were hitting Discretion, Macy’s, and points beyond the next day.

  She slipped her unreasonably priced, but fairly comfortable, high heels from her feet and placed them on their shelf then removed her clothing and put on her comfy SpongeBob SquarePants pajama bottoms and a snug white T-shirt that she’d been sleeping in.

  She’d bargained with Rachel to keep these two pieces. Emma let them take everything else they thought didn’t work for her, but she’d held her ground on her jammies. Rachel gave in, making her promise that since the satin pajama pants and camisoles had arrived from Hips and Curves she would save the jammies for emergencies only. This wasn’t technically an emergency, but she didn’t want to go upstairs in her scrubs and she didn’t want to give her surprises away.

  She took one last look in the mirror and smiled at what she’d accomplished with her hair and makeup on her own tonight, without any help, then brushed out her hair and washed her face. Slipping her feet into her bunny slippers, which she’d hidden in the pantry because she knew there was no way the girls would let those stay behind, she grabbed her keys and looked at the clock. She heard a soft thump directly above her, so Duke and Gage must have been up late watching television.

  Quietly, she slipped out of her apartment and tiptoed up the stairs, her bunny-ear slippers flopping with every movement. She rapped lightly on the door and giggled to herself when she felt the vibrations as they must’ve both jumped up and ran for the door.

  The door jerked open, and they both stood there, looking so happy to see her all she could do was fling herself at them. “How have you been?”

  They simultaneously wrapped their arms around her and buried their noses in her hair. Duke growled, “Better, now. We missed you.”

  Gage chuckled and murmured, “Emma’s feeling frisky tonight.”

  Emma turned to look into his mischievously twinkling green eyes. “How can you tell?”

  “You’ve got the bunny slippers on.”

  * * * *

 
That weekend, in early October…

  Saturday night, Emma stood in front of her mirrored closet door making a final inspection. Half her closet was filled with her work clothing. The other half was now occupied by the items she’d gone shopping for with Maya and Summer. She’d almost felt foolish as the girls had demonstrated how she could mix and match all the pieces she’d purchased.

  She’d been so enamored with reading and learning as a child that she’d never gotten into playing dress up and learning about fashion like other girls did. Her mom had always assisted her with putting her clothes together, and she’d just never worried about it.

  Once she was in college she’d always worn blue jeans and T-shirts, besides the required clothing for medical students. Her roommate had offered fashion help with special occasions, and Emma had honestly never given it that much thought as long as she was decently covered. As an adult the pattern had only been further ingrained.

  Feeling like a new woman, she gazed at her reflection and smiled. She was still the same person, and still Doctor Emma, but she liked this new facet of who she was, too. It was healthy to break out of ruts, and she’d discovered while shopping with Maya and Summer that one of her ruts was buying clothing that was too large for her. When they’d asked why she wanted to try on such large sizes, Emma had told them it was so she could be comfortable. But she knew deep down that she was also hiding inside her clothing because she was self-conscious about her curvy figure.

  Looking at herself in her sleek black dress, Emma was glad that all the voluminous tops and bottoms and matronly dresses were gone from her closet. The girls had also confiscated almost all of her shoes, even her floppy leather sandals. When they’d gone shopping, they’d made a point of buying comfortable, casual clothes and shoes that fit her properly since she enjoyed so many outdoor activities. The excursion hadn’t been just about buying sexy dress-up clothes and high heels. It had become a full wardrobe overhaul. Her pocketbook had squealed in protest, but she hardly ever shopped for clothing and had determined she was long overdue.