He still broke out in a cold sweat when he thought about becoming a father. But he wasn’t worried. He had months to get his head around the whole concept of family life. And if Erin decided that she didn’t need children to make her life complete, then he was more than okay with that too.
“Can I borrow a deodorant?” Sam yelled down the hallway. “I’ve left mine at home.”
“Sure. There’s one in the second drawer down in the bathroom.”
“Have you got an extra pair of black socks as well?”
Jake fished a pair of socks out of his closet and walked down the hallway to the spare bedroom. “Tell me why you’re here again?”
“Don’t worry, I remembered my wallet,” Sam grinned. “The paint fumes would have suffocated me at my place long before I woke up in the morning. You helped create them, so it only seems fair that you have to put up with my snoring tonight.”
Jake stared at the overstuffed suitcase sitting on the floor. “It’s just as well you convinced Nicky to stay with Emily. Otherwise, we wouldn’t have gotten any painting done at your place.”
“It wasn’t easy, believe me.” Sam picked up his jacket and put it on. “She thought something strange was up as soon as I mentioned her staying away from the house.”
Jake believed him. Erin had been trying to find out what they’d been doing as well. Hiding anything from a determined woman was hard work.
“How did the meeting go last weekend?”
“Okay. The formal dinner at the end was interesting.”
“Interesting?”
Jake flicked the curtains closed. “I took Erin. Let’s just say she made a big impression. I spent most of the night keeping all the single men away.”
“I can commiserate with you there, buddy. At least the girls are traveling together tonight. Nicky’s mom’s going with them. She’ll keep them on the straight and narrow.”
It would take more than Nicky’s mom to keep them safe if Erin wore the black dress, and he used the term loosely, that she’d worn last weekend.
Sam threw his cell phone into his pocket. “Okay, buddy. I’m armed and dangerous. Let’s hit the road and see what trouble we can find.”
“I never thought you’d be ready,” Jake growled, with a smile on his face.
“It’s just as well I’ve got a thick skin. A man could get an inferiority complex if the friend he’s known for twenty years suddenly decides he likes the company of a woman better than him.”
Opening the garage door, Jake stared at Sam. “That’s rich coming from someone who’s getting married soon. You gave up your single days months ago.”
Sam grinned. “I’ve got to tell you buddy, living with Nicky is like living with a human dynamo. She’s full of energy and has me spinning in circles. But I wouldn’t have it any other way.” With a laugh, he added, “My single days were over two years ago. It just took me a while to figure it out.”
Jake could understand that. Figuring things out wasn’t one of his strong points, either.
***
Erin paced backward and forward, nervously waiting to be let into Emily’s spare bedroom for the big reveal of tonight’s costumes. Emily had hired the bridal party’s outfits for the bachelorette party. Erin already regretted the impulsive decision that had given the green light to her friend’s whacky imagination.
When she walked into the bedroom, she couldn’t believe what she saw. “What on earth were you thinking?” Lying on top of the bed were three identical white, shiny creations, made of the sheerest satin she’d ever seen.
“Don’t be such a prude. Put it on and see what it looks like.”
Emily was deluded if she thought the dresses would make them look like anything other than up-market hookers trying for angelic sophistication. A white piece of fabric fluttered toward Erin.
“You’ll need to put this on first. It goes underneath.”
Erin held the skimpy piece of fabric in her hand. “I have dusters that are bigger than this.”
“Don’t judge the costume until you’ve got it on. You’ll love it.”
Erin wiggled out of her jeans and t-shirt, pulling the scrap of barely there material over her head. Next came the satin handkerchief she’d seen draped across the hanger.
Looking at herself in the mirror, Erin grimaced. At some point, the dress must have started its life looking like a traditional white toga. Someone with half a brain and a sick sense of humor had slashed most of the skirt off. A diagonal hemline that went from the top of her left thigh to just below her right knee revealed an impressive expanse of skin.
The fabric had been chosen to cling seductively around the body of the woman mad enough to wear it. One shoulder was totally exposed and the fabric over the other shoulder was clipped together with a diamante encrusted broach.
“Put the sandals and headband on as well.”
Erin pursed her lips. “Oh right. As if a headband and silver sandals are going to make a difference. It needs twice as much fabric to make it decent.”
Emily laughed. “And this from the person who wore a sheer black lace dress in a room full of lawyers? Where’s your sense of adventure gone?”
“109 Trophy Bull Road.”
“What are you talking about?”
“That’s Jake’s address. I prefer to keep my sense of adventure for him.”
With a careless shrug, Emily stood her ground. “Well, I must admit, you’ve got good taste. If I had a man like that, I’d probably want to explore my sense of adventure with him too. Think of it as Nicky’s last night of freedom. All for one and one for all, or something like that.”
She gave Emily a dirty look. Muttering unladylike things under her breath, she laced the silver sandals up her calf muscles. Out of everything she had on, she had to admit that the sandals were pretty cool.
“Headband.” Emily passed over a wide silver band that sat across her forehead.
“And voila. Faith has arrived. Now I just have to get Nicky into her costume, slip on mine, and we’ll have Faith, Hope, and Love in all their glory.”
“Are you nuts? I look like something, but it’s got absolutely nothing to do with the Bible.”
Nicky knocked on the door. “Oh, my. Don’t you look…sexy.”
Planting her hands on her hips, Erin scowled at Nicky. “Don’t laugh too hard. You’ll pee your pants.”
“No chance. I’ve got another three months before bladder control becomes as issue. Give us a twirl, Wonder Girl.”
Emily blanched in horror. “She’s Faith, not Wonder Girl. I’m Hope and you’re Love.”
Deadly silence filled the room. “You mean I have to wear one of those as well?” She glared at Emily. “No way. I’m a pregnant woman. It wouldn’t be proper.”
Erin grinned. “Not being proper got you into that state in the first place.”
Nicky gave her a haughty look as she held her toga in front of her. “Good grief, Emily. You’re mad. I’m not going to wear this poor excuse for a negligee in public.”
Emily stared at her sister and best friend. “Come on girls. We’ve got exactly twenty minutes before the rest of the females arrive. Don’t be wimps. Just think of the fun we could get up to.”
Erin and Nicky looked at each other. Throwing her arms in the air, Nicky said, “I wouldn’t do this for anyone else, but if Erin is okay with it, then it’s all right with me.”
Erin looked uncertainly at Nicky and nodded.
That was good enough for Emily. The hem of her toga flicked in the air as she grabbed it off the bed. “You’d better hurry. Bozeman’s about to roll out the red carpet for us.”
Curlers, hairspray, and makeup flew across the room as three excited females raced against the clock to get out of the house fast.
Nicky’s mom and Auntie Julie were the first to arrive.
“Oh wow,” said Auntie Julie in hushed tones. “You girls look quite spectacular. If my legs still looked that good, I’d be tempted to join you.”
Nicky
’s mom didn’t say a lot. She just kept tweaking the end of her stepdaughter’s dress to see if it would come down any further.
Within minutes, the house was full of women ready to paint the town red with a rather saucy rendition of Faith, Hope, and Love.
“Here, Nicky. You forgot the bridal bouquet.” Emily threw a large posy of fake white roses across the room.
“It’s the most demure thing I have on me. Where’s the glitter and white doves?”
Emily gave Nicky a cheeky smile. “Click the black button on the back of the handle.”
Nicky looked down and pushed the button. Fairy lights glowed merrily and a high-pitched bridal march sounded from inside the posy. With a grin in Emily’s direction she said, “I think you’ve really outdone yourself this time.”
Erin laughed. Then she looked at the time. “Come on everyone. Let’s go.”
***
Their arrival at Logan Brown’s Restaurant caused a small stir among the up-market clientele enjoying a quiet dinner. Once everyone realized they were part of a bridal party and not a triple dip package of high-brow hookers, they found themselves on the receiving end of good-natured jokes and lots of smiles and winks. Nicky’s step-mom still looked slightly uncomfortable at the length of Nicky’s dress, but Auntie Julie was doing a good job of keeping her distracted.
Just as their entrees were being served, Nicky gasped. “Don’t look now, but the boys have arrived.”
Emily choked on a mouthful of wine. “What are they doing here? Sam promised we wouldn’t see them.”
Erin buried her head in her hands. “Oh no,” she muttered as she heard the rest of the group moving around to make room for the men. As long as they didn’t stand up they’d be okay. She tried to get Nicky and Emily’s attention to warn them not to stand, but it was too late. Nicky, in all her pre-wedding pregnant finery, moved through the restaurant toward Sam.
His eyes grew as round as golf balls and his mouth opened in what Erin could only describe as a cute, but weird fish-face look. It was quite a reaction from a high-powered chief executive and a man who kept his feelings pinned to his chest.
Nicky flicked on her fairy light bouquet and moved in time with the bridal march. Instead of looking like he’d pass out in shock, Sam looked besotted. Three cheers for crazy love, she thought, as Sam gave Nicky the sweetest kiss she’d seen in a long time.
Erin tried hard not to look in Jake’s direction, she really did. She’d felt his eyes willing her to turn toward him from the moment Nicky had made her first move across the room. She wouldn’t get out of her seat. The bottom half of her toga would stay out of sight under the table for as long as she could manage it.
At some point during the evening, she’d figure out a way of getting her long jacket from behind the reception desk.
Nicky’s dress would have given him a pretty good idea of what she looked like. Only the hem of her dress happened to be about four inches shorter than Nicky’s and half a foot shorter than the crazy person that had chosen the costumes.
Emily pushed back her chair and made a move toward the male contingent. “Don’t you dare,” Erin hissed.
Smiling innocently across at her, Emily said, “Jake’s on his way over. Good luck.”
He most certainly was on his way over. Her insides turned to jello as she stared into sexy blue eyes that were glowing with anticipation. He looked incredible. His deep red shirt and black pants turned the dark smudge of after-five shadow hugging his jaw into a devilish accessory. She gulped.
He sat down beside her. “You look beautiful.”
“Jake.” She tried for sophisticated nonchalance, but even to her ears his name came out in a husky whisper. Her heart skidded out of control at the look of longing in his eyes.
Raising her hand to his lips, he pressed a soft kiss in her palm. “Are you okay with us gate-crashing the dinner?”
If he kept rubbing his thumb in small circles around her palm, she could just about forgive him anything.
Nicky looked across at her and smiled. “Do you mind if we change plans and spend the rest of the night with the men?”
Erin had the same thought, but with one man in particular. “Sure,” she managed to say.
Halfway through their delicious meal, Sam made a speech to Nicky. Most of the females in the room were dabbing tears from their eyes before he’d finished.
Throughout the evening, Jake’s hand never strayed away from Erin’s for too long. Every time their eyes collided, instant heat flared between them.
“Hey, Faith. Come over here for a photo.” Emily and Nicky were standing a few feet away with what looked like half a basketball team surrounding them. Maroon blazers and gray ties were the perfect foil against the not-so-demure cut of their white togas.
She looked at Jake. She really, really, didn’t want to move from behind the table. But Nicky’s arm started waving her flashing bouquet in the air like a police officer conducting traffic to get her across the room.
A wicked gleam lit Emily’s eyes. The woman had a really sick sense of humor. With a sigh of impending doom, she looked at Jake. “Duty calls. I’ll be back soon.”
***
Erin stood up and Jake nearly passed out. Nicky and Emily’s dress had given him a sneak preview of what she looked like from the waist down, but until now she hadn’t moved from behind the table. He’d had to use his imagination to fill in the blanks.
He’d been a lawyer for far too long. His imagination needed a lot of work. As she maneuvered out of her chair and walked toward the crowd of appreciative males, his heart nearly stopped beating. Long legs, wrapped in silver straps up to her knees, left him drooling at the mouth. Her dress was even shorter than Nicky’s, if that could be possible, and caressed every curve of her body. When she reached across to give Nicky a hug, the hem of her dress rose within a whisker of her panty line. His body went into overdrive as his gaze followed the soft curve of her bottom.
He swallowed deeply as the level of testosterone in the room suddenly spiked off the meter. He wasn’t the only male to notice the long-limbed beauty posing with the big burly males. And it made him slightly uncomfortable in a beat-the-chest caveman kind of way. He wanted to stand on a chair and shout, ‘Hands off. That woman belongs to me’.
He looked on in dread as the basketball team arranged themselves around Faith, Hope, and Love for a photo that would make the rounds of more than one social media site. After a lot of good-natured cheek kissing, the three girls made their way back to their table.
He stood up, blocking Erin’s seat. “We managed an impressive waltz at the charity ball. Would you like to dance with me now?”
She bit her lip, looking at him suspiciously. “Should I be worried?”
He nodded, smiling at the soft blush on her cheeks. He had more than a slow waltz in mind for her tonight.
A smile lit her face and all of the air punched out of his lungs. It looked as though she had other plans as well. He led her toward the dance floor. As he spun her in his arms, the look in her eyes sent a bolt of pure adrenaline surging through his body. Her green eyes glowed softly, like a wild cat about to pounce on her next victim. She devoured him with one glance and his body surged to life.
Taking a deep breath, he tried to concentrate on where his feet were going rather than what his hands wanted to do. There was no point admitting he had a one-track mind when it came to her anatomy. His body was doing a mighty fine job telling her he had more on his mind than quarter turns.
As the orchestra began to play another slow dance, he moved them toward a balcony overlooking Bozeman.
Erin looked over his shoulder, smiling at the exit sign above the doors. “Are you taking me on a sightseeing tour?”
He could hear the smile in her voice. “No. I’m finding somewhere quiet where I can have my wicked way with you.”
She rubbed her body against his, dragging a groan from his lips. “Just be good for a few more minutes.”
“Do I have to?” she
whispered.
He needed to get her alone. Fast. She was driving him insane with her body pressed against his and looks that made him go weak at the knees. The balcony was deserted.
Relief and a whole lot of lust tore through him.
He led her into the shadows at the far end of the concrete and glass platform and rubbed his hand along her cheek. A slow smile fell across her face and his heart melted. Touching his lips to hers, he felt a tremor roll through her body.
The rest of the world spun out of existence as they hungrily pushed mouths and bodies into each other, fuelling every aching need building to a raging blaze.
She pulled the bottom of his shirt away from his pants, running her hands lightly over his back. Heat prickled his skin as her hands roamed further, teasing him until he was breathless and needy and wanting a whole lot of something that he’d never needed before.
A burst of laughter filled the still night air. He pulled back, shocked at how quickly he’d lost himself in the taste and touch of a bewitching librarian. He rested his chin on the top of her head while his breathing raged out of control. Erin squirmed against his body when he pinned her eager hands to her sides. “I don’t know whether dressing as Faith was supposed to be a virtue or a vice,” he murmured.
Rubbing her face against his chest, Erin whispered, “I like the idea of being your vice. Especially after a week of not getting anywhere near your naked body.” She moved away from his chest and he released her arms. She looked up at him with deep, sea green eyes. With a mischievous smile, she traced the outline of his lips with her fingers. “I’ve got slightly immoral thoughts running through my mind, Jake Williams.”
“Oops.” Emily hovered by the balcony doors. “Sorry to interrupt, but dessert’s being served. Inside.” A cheeky grin spread across her face. “You might want to pull the hem of your toga down.” With a flirty little wave, she left them alone.
Erin’s face turned cherry red. Stepping back, she yanked the back of her dress.
Forever Wishes (Montana Brides, Book 4) Page 16
