Lori rolled her eyes. “Unless you’re waiting for an illicit rendezvous, what else would you be doing topless in a bathroom?” She inched her outstretched hand closer. “Now let me feel it.”
Mandy shook her head frantically. “Don’t even think about it.”
“Fine.” Lori peeled off her scrub top and hung it over Mandy’s. “If it makes you more comfortable, we’ll both get naked.” She slipped off her bra, revealing perky, apple-sized breasts with large mocha-colored nipples.
“You’ve lost your mind.” Mandy clutched her breasts so hard they ached, at least, the real one ached. The reconstructed one was numb as always.
“We’ve seen each other naked before. What’s the big deal?”
That had been before her surgery. Other than nurses and doctors, no one had seen her topless since her mastectomy. “It’s embarrassing now.”
“You don’t have to take your hands off your breasts. Just give me the general vicinity, and I’ll find it.”
Mandy took a deep breath through her nose and blew it out through her mouth. “Will you get your boobs out of my face if I let you do this?”
“Yep.” With the satisfaction of victory written on her face, Lori flexed her fingers. “Now let me cop a feel.”
Mandy reluctantly dropped her hands and watched with embarrassment when Lori’s gaze locked on her mutilated breast.
The little ‘v’ between Lori’s eyebrows deepened. “I’ve never seen a reconstructed breast before.” Her eyes seemed to get bigger the longer she stared, and her frown grew more pronounced.
Mandy cringed at Lori’s expression. She ran her finger across the red scar, fighting the urge to cover herself. “It’s hideous.”
“No.” Lori cleared her throat. “Actually, your surgeon did a good job. The nipple looks real.” She leaned down to take a closer look, then peered up sheepishly. “Am I making you uncomfortable?”
“We’re two topless women in a three-by-four space. I don’t think it gets more uncomfortable than that.”
Lori continued to study Mandy’s breast, her head cocking to one side. “Is it sensitive? Your nipple?”
“Not a bit. It’s a tattoo.”
Lori nodded and straightened. “Okay, time to feel that lump.”
Mandy pointed to the spot just below her real nipple. “It’s not very big, but it’s hard.”
Lori gently massaged the area with her fingertips. “It feels fibrous.” She placed her hand on her own breast and massaged. “Actually, I’ve got some pea sized lumps, too.” She thrust her perky breast toward Mandy and took her hand. “Here, feel.”
Mandy jerked back. “No. Really, that’s okay.”
“Feel,” Lori demanded, her expression suddenly fierce. “It’ll make you feel better.”
Mandy held her breath as Lori guided her fingers toward the outside of her nipple. She applied pressure and felt a lump just like the one in her own breast.
“I think we have lumpy boobs,” Lori said matter-of-factly. “Some women do.” She smiled brightly. “Feel better?”
Mandy blinked a few times, surprised that her anxiety had actually eased a bit, though she wasn’t sure if it was from the embarrassment of her best friend feeling her up, or from their identical lumps. “I do feel better. But if you ever make me touch your boob again, I’m breaking off our friendship.”
Lori shrugged as she pulled their shirts and bras from the hook. “Fair enough.”
They dressed quickly and exited the stall. The janitor had left, but a woman was washing her hands in one of the sinks. In the mirror, Mandy saw her raise an eyebrow at them. They politely ignored the woman while they washed their own hands.
“Kirsten and I are going to Moe’s tonight,” Lori said as she grabbed a paper towel and dried her hands. “Wanna come?”
Mandy stared at her pallid reflection, pondering Lori’s invitation. “What if Ty’s there?” She pinched her cheeks, trying to force color into her skin.
Lori sighed dramatically. “You can’t stay holed up in your apartment forever because of that jerk. Besides, we can go somewhere else.”
Mandy threw her paper towel into the trash, and they headed out the door. “I think I’d rather stay home.”
“I’m giving you one more month of moping. After that, you’re going out… even if I have to drag you by your hair.”
Mandy chuckled and ran her hands through her short blond locks. “Then I’ve got nothing to worry about. Thanks to the chemo, there’s hardly anything to grab hold of.”
“You know you’re lucky, right? Most women can’t sport a haircut that short and still look hot. I think it’s your high cheekbones.”
“Of course, I’m lucky.” She jabbed her elbow into Lori’s arm as they strode toward the cafeteria. “I have a friend who let me molest her to make me feel better.”
Lori chuckled. “Dr. Stegnar would’ve paid good money to see that. That pervert’s always staring at our ta-tas.”
Mandy cringed, remembering all too vividly the look on Lori’s face when she’d seen the scar. “He’d have paid to see you, not me.”
“Both of us. And if you don’t get out of this funk soon, I’m taking you to a psychiatrist.”
“I promise I’ll perk up next month, and we can hit the town.”
Lori tossed her an encouraging smile. “I’ll hold you to it.”
God, she hoped she spoke the truth, and things would take a turn for the better next month.
A Knight in Cowboy Boots
by Suzie Quint
Available Now
When Zach McKnight, an irresistible oil rig worker with a thick-as-honey Texas drawl, first pokes into the secrets surrounding the mysterious Maddie Wells, he has no idea that the chance encounter will change his life forever. Maddie Wells is on the run with Jesse, the infant son of her murdered sister. The boy’s father isn’t far behind. He wants his son and is willing to kill to get him. Zach is intrigued from the first moment he sees the dark haired beauty in a hotel, but getting his hard working hands on her delectable body is more easily dreamt than achieved. He gets shot for his trouble, by Maddie no less, and sucked into the web of lies and fear that are her constant companions.
Excerpt:
“So what’s a nice girl like you doing in a place like this?”
Maddie laughed. It should have sounded old, trite, and corny, but nothing said in that drawl could sound anything but enchanting to her. Her laughter lit something deep in Mr. East Texas’s dark eyes. She suddenly felt warm. Sitting-in-front-of-a-raging-fire-on-a-cold-winter-night warm. The flutter in her heart moved into the pit of her stomach.
“Don’t tell the bartender, but I’m casing the place to see if I want his job.” Maddie said, keeping her voice conversational. The bartender’s eyebrows rose, but he didn’t comment. He’d no doubt seen this dance often enough.
“Ah, well. Looking for employment. That’s respectable then.” Mr. East Texas nodded sagely. “Though I gotta admit, I was hoping you was here for less reputable reasons.”
“You mean like looking for a man to take me away from all this?” Maddie’s open-handed gesture included the entire bar.
“Even the best watering holes have a long tradition of that sorta thing. Why, my daddy met my mamma in a place a lot like this.”
Maddie fought to keep a grin from breaking out across her face. How long had it been since she’d engaged in light-hearted banter, never mind flirting? It seemed like eons. “Really?”
“Well, maybe there wasn’t as much brass and mirrors. Or the selection of beverages this fine establishment has. And there ain’t no straw on the floor nor fiddle player in the corner . . . ” He looked away as though seeking a fiddle player. “And they had dancin’.” His nostrils narrowed with an indrawn breath. His eyes came back to hers. “Damn. A man oughta take a woman dancin’.”
The flutter in Maddie’s stomach moved lower.
“What kind of dancing do you do to fiddle music?”
“The spirited
kind.” He let a beat pass before he continued. “But I think you’re the kinda woman a man takes slow dancin’. Someplace where there ain’t much light, so’s nobody’d see when I kissed you.”
He held her eyes, waiting for her response.
Someone down the bar hollered for Pete’s attention and he moved away. Their audience gone, Maddie swiveled on her barstool to face him straight on.
“What if I didn’t want to be kissed?” she asked, knowing her body language sent a completely different message.
“Why, ma’am . . . ” He leaned slowly closer as he spoke. “I don’t think I’d ask first.” His lips brushed hers lightly. Just a gentle touch, as though she’d been kissed almost in passing. He pulled back, but only a couple of inches. Neither of them had closed their eyes. Maddie swallowed, trying to work up some moisture in her suddenly dry mouth.
“My daddy says sometimes it’s better to ask for forgiveness than for permission.”
“Does he?” Maddie forced out.
“Oh, yeah.” His tone was heartfelt. “And I think I may need a passel of forgivin’,” he said just before he kissed her again.
A Dark & Stormy Knight
by Suzie Quint
Available Now
Young and stupid go together like peanut butter and jelly.
Sol McKnight, rancher and rodeo bull rider, married Georgia Carston, the love of his life, at eighteen. So maybe they were too young and maybe he was stupid to believe it would last forever because six weeks later, she left him. Now she’s back in Hero Creek for the summer. This is his chance to win her back. Little does he know, this may be his last chance because Georgia has her eye on the divorced father of their daughter’s best friend. If Sol ever wants to feel whole again, he’s going to have to figure out what went wrong so many years ago and fix it. If he doesn’t he’ll lose her forever.
Excerpt:
Sol walked over to the jukebox and fed in a couple of dollars. Did she still like Garth Brooks? He punched in several numbers. The Dance started as he walked back to bar.
Georgia held on to the bar and leaned back, swaying to the slow strains of the song with her eyes closed.
“Careful, honey.” Sol put a hand against her back in case she lost her grip.
“I love this song.”
“I know.”
“Dance with me?”
He fought to keep the surprise off his face. How many did she have before I got here? “Sure.”
He led her to the open space by the jukebox and opened his arms. She wrapped her arms around his neck and leaned against him. He didn’t even try to lead; all he really wanted to do anyway was hold her.
They didn’t get through the first chorus before he knew this was a bad idea. At this close proximity, he wasn’t going to be able to hide his body’s response to her. But even though she couldn’t possibly miss his erection pressed up against her, she didn’t pull back. She was, in fact, rubbing against it every time they swayed back and forth, making it worse by the minute.
He dropped a hand to cup her ass and pull her closer. She didn’t protest and, for the first time, he thought he really might have a shot at getting her to go home with him.
Don’t be stupid, he told himself. But she felt so right in his arms, the way no other woman ever had. And he was sick of missing her.
“Sol.”
“Yes, honey?”
“Sol.”
“What, baby?”
“Sol.”
He pulled back to look at her. She looked green around the gills.
“I think I’m going to puke.”
He grabbed her wrist and dragged her toward the ladies’ room, shoving her through the door when they got there.
So much for taking her home.
Summer's Temptation Page 34
