She flipped on the TV and settled next to him as if he didn’t have a raging hard on and it wasn’t all her fault.
Was she really that innocent? That―
“What do you want to watch?”
Her.
“Doesn’t matter.” If his voice sounded tight it was because every ounce of his willpower was restraining him, holding him still, not letting him turn and gawk.
He focused on his computer monitor and navigated to the real estate website.
“See anything you like?” she asked a little while later.
That was an understatement. “I do,” he said, glancing her way. She was focused on his monitor so he had the opportunity to study her from head to toe.
His will power only lasted so long especially when he noticed her toenails matched her jammies. Yep, he was a goner.
“Let me see.”
He shot her a look and saw that she was still staring at the monitor.
“I’m looking at her.”
For the second time in less than an hour he made her blush.
“Oh.” She sighed the word.
“I wish you’d come closer,” he whispered, holding out his hand. His mission was twofold. Get her to touch him and the throbbing in his knee would disappear and he’d get to feel her soft skin against his. Win-win.
She scooted toward him a few inches.
“That seems like a bad idea.”
“Why?”
“Do I really need to tell you?”
“Yeah.”
She sighed good naturedly and slid her palm against his. Win number one.
“Show me the houses you’re looking at.”
He opened his bookmarks and selected the old house two blocks off main street. “So far, this is my favorite. It’s actually in Roseville, not too far from my dad.”
“Can you make the pictures bigger?”
“Yes, ma’am.” He swiped his finger across the touchpad and clicked the small magnifying glass icon. The old Craftsmen home tripled in size and centered on the screen.
“I love the wide walkway. Great symmetry.”
“That’s what grabbed my attention. You can tell the place is owned by a little old man who loves to putter around the yard. The inside needs updating.” He clicked the right arrow.
“Outside needs painting.”
“Yeah. That too. I’d need a thorough appraisal.”
“Are you worried? Renoing a house rather than a condo?”
“Nope. Sounds like fun, doesn’t it?” His fingers were itching to paint something. He’d only been out of commission for five days but he’d willingly peel wallpaper if it meant no more achy joints and getting back to his old speed. Heck, right now, he’d probably enjoy the laborious task.
“Keep going,” she said, waving at the screen.
He clicked through to the next picture and heard her slight intake of breath.
“The foyer has a fireplace. Am I seeing that right?”
He laughed and was pleased when his ribs didn’t protest. “Yep.”
“I think my whole bedroom would fit in there.”
“It’s probably just the camera lens. They make everything look bigger.”
“How many fireplaces does that thing have?” she asked as he flipped through the pictures.
Yeah, there was a ton of old wall paper that needed to go. And even though the original hardwood floors were there, several of the rooms had old, worn carpet installed on top. That meant lots of pulling nails, sanding, and refinishing. All of which assumed the wood was in good enough condition. But the house was old. Like a century-and-change old. He didn’t care. It was charming and big and beckoning for love. And a few kids, a dog and a cat. A wife of course, sitting there on the front porch swing waving as he cut the grass. Damn he wanted that. Sooner rather than later.
“A few,” he finally answered, once he back tracked long enough to remember the question.
“I don’t know,” she said as he flipped to the final photo. “That looks like a lot of work. What does JJ say?”
He shrugged. “Haven’t showed it to her yet.”
“It’s in a good location. And it’s got plenty of space, inside and out.”
“But?”
“But you might be renovating for the rest of your life.”
“It’d be worth it, don’t you think?” He flipped back to the first picture that showed the wide front porch that stretched all the way across the house. “Imagine her with a fresh coat of white paint. A colorful front door. Red maybe. Or a sunny yellow. And then Christmas lights hanging from the eves. Windows all clean and lit up. Pots of pansies on the steps to welcome you home.”
She squeezed his hand but didn’t say a word. When he turned to look at her, there was a shimmer of tears in her eyes. “That sounds wonderful,” she whispered.
Oh hell. Did she have to sound so sweet and breathless all at once? He was trying his darnedest to stay on his side of the bed but― Her tongue snaked between her lips, just a hint of pink but it was enough to have him shoving his computer aside and pulling her into his arms.
23
“Did Greg show you the house?” Gretchen asked JJ as they leafed through bras at Armoire, the new lingerie store in downtown Roseville. JJ paused, holding a pale blue bra in the air.
“House?”
Since Greg had mentioned texting JJ last night, after that smoking hot make out session, she figured he’d mentioned the heavily wallpapered home to his sister/business partner. But holy cow, maybe he melted his brain too. Gretchen had been in a state of near constant arousal since their lips parted ways. It was a good thing she’d insisted on sleeping in the guest room again. In the fog of sleep she couldn’t be responsible for her actions if she were in the same bed as him, no matter how platonic they were trying to be at the moment.
“We were looking at real estate last night and he found this house he likes. I thought he’d sent you the link.”
JJ’s hands dropped and she shook her head, her blond hair skimming her shoulders and she frowned slightly. “House? Like with a driveway and everything?”
“Yeah.”
“Hmm.” She looked thoughtful. “He mentioned it the other night but I thought it might have been the pain meds talking.
JJ studied the bra in her hand but Gretchen could tell her mind was racing in other directions.
Likewise, Gretchen was starting to wonder if this store had anything in her size. So far, all the garments on the racks were made for tooth picks...like JJ, Cindy and Baby. Although, maybe not Baby. She was tiny in circumference, not cup size.
“Let me know if you ladies need help with anything,” Liz, the store owner, called from behind the counter.
Gretchen nodded her head in acknowledgment.
“Do you want to flip a house?” Gretchen asked, curious about her friend’s plans now that she was getting married and changing careers. “Plus, this one’s really old. Like over a century.”
“I bet it has great character.” JJ sounded wistful.
“From the pictures I saw it has great character and a ton of old wall paper.”
“I’ll text Greg about it. Can’t believe he’s been holding out on me.”
Well, he’d had his lips locked with Gretchen’s for quite a while, rendering all other thoughts and actions pointless. But she couldn’t tell JJ that.
JJ picked up a sheer cupped black number and inspected it. It must have passed muster because she added to the growing collection draped over her arm.
Gretchen needed one bra. Just one bra that would lift and perk up the girls. That was it. And really, was that too much to ask out of life? Why had she thought this shopping experience would be different than any of the previous ones; she hated bra shopping with a passion. At least the store was pleasant and quiet. And JJ was here to keep things fun.
“Speaking of holding out on me... how are things between the two of you?”
“Who?”
“You and my brother. He is st
ill living at your house, right?” There was something about the way JJ said the words that pulled Gretchen’s interest from the hook and eye closures.
“Yeah. Where else would he be?”
“With one of my brothers?”
Gretchen frowned and hooked a hand over her hip. “Why would he be at your brothers?”
JJ feigned innocence and shrugged. Pouting she pegged Gretchen with a look that made her a teeny bit uncomfortable. Did she know about the kissing?
“I’m still upset with them for their little trick the other night. That wasn’t funny, getting my hopes up like that and all.”
Gretchen wanted to say ‘how do you think I felt?’ but since she’d never uttered a peep about her interest in Greg, she wasn’t going to share the turmoil that second round of teasing and JJ’s response had caused. Luckily, Greg didn’t let them get away with it.
“You know how guys are,” Gretchen said, although sometimes she thought she didn’t have a clue about the male of the species. Despite the fact that she wasn’t anything like Greg’s normal type, he seemed perfectly happy to be locking lips with her.
“Yeah, but they should know better. Greg’s wanted to settle down for a while now and so have you. Sometimes their teasing goes overboard and I want to bop them on the head.”
A full body surge of what felt like adrenaline made her feel weightless and euphoric. Was JJ right? Greg wanted to settled down? Since when?
She chose her next words carefully. “He wanted to settle down with Baby?”
“He told you about that?”
Gretchen hunched over a drawer and sifted through lingerie so JJ couldn’t see her face. “We talk a lot.”
“That was silly of him. I love Baby but I have no idea what he saw in her and I warned him that she wasn’t ready for wedding bells. I don’t know how serious he was about her though. It was probably a passing fling.”
Thinking of Greg and wedding bells at the same time gave Gretchen a hot flash. At the same time she wanted to throttle him for wanting Baby over her. How clueless could he be?
She sighed. He wasn’t clueless, exactly. She’d never let him know she was interested. But he had to know now, didn’t he? He was sleeping in her bed, kissing her senseless every chance he got.
“Anyway, I’m just surprised is all,” JJ said.
Gretchen paused, up to her forearms in panties.
“I don’t follow.”
“I’m glad he’s staying with you. And I’m glad that you’re not worried of what other people might think. Did I thank you for rescuing him? I know he’s my baby brother―”
“By a few months,” Gretchen inserted. JJ stuck out her tongue.
“But I love him and I was so worried what I was going to come home to. Some people never fully recover.”
Gretchen straightened and ran a hand up and down JJ’s arm. “He’s doing rather well. Making progress daily on the pain front. And he’s not as moody as he was.”
“When’s the funeral?”
“Saturday. I’m not sure what time.”
JJ nodded.
Then, as if trying to physically switch her mind to a new topic she shook her head. “Let’s find you a bra.”
Before she could object to the help, JJ called Liz over.
“My friend hates bra shopping. Can you help?”
Gretchen frowned, not because JJ was telling anything but the truth, rather she didn’t like calling attention to her discomfort.
“Of course. That’s what I’m here for.”
Liz surveyed Gretchen with a keen eye and she thought there wasn’t much the other woman didn’t see. Though it was probably only fifteen seconds, perhaps less, to Gretchen, it felt like a lifetime. Her breasts were not her friends.
Somehow she managed to stand still under the scrutiny.
“When was the last time you were measured?”
“Um...” Never.
That answer was the beginning of a crash course in proper measuring. Evidently she’d been doing it wrong for years. And when she slipped on the bra Liz gave her, in a brand new size, she realized a few things simultaneously.
Number one, Liz was a genius. Two the bra was insanely comfortable, supportive and dare she say sexy. And number three, bending over and measuring around the fullest part of the bust was in fact the best way to find her proper size.
There was no crazy, confusing math. Liz walked her through subtracting the band size from the bust measurement. They compared that number with a hand dandy chart and bam. Bra size.
“How did I not know this?” she asked, glancing at her reflection, turning to the left then back to the right.
“Know what?” JJ asked from the other side of the door.
“That I’ve been wearing the wrong size forever. That cups larger than double D exist. That the girls don’t have to look like overgrown cantaloupes stuffed in a sausage casing.”
JJ’s laughter echoed through the small room and Gretchen joined in.
“That liberating, huh?” her friend asked.
“You have no idea.” Gretchen wanted to climb up on the roof and start shouting at anyone who would listen. The world needed to know how to properly measure a bust.
“Now you’ll really knock ‘em dead at your meeting Friday. Will there be any guys in attendance? If so, I’m sure he’ll notice your new and improved cleavage.”
JJ was right. Even though this bra held the girls in a better location, there was less cleavage. There was less stuffage. There was no back ache and the straps didn’t dig into her shoulders.
She pulled on her blouse and was amazed at how much better it fit. She looked five pounds lighter and the shirt didn’t pucker across her chest. When she opened the dressing room door, JJ and Liz were right there waiting and a stream of compliments met her ears.
“Have anything else in my size?” Gretchen asked, confidence rushing through her like a tidal wave.
Liz had a fairly good selection in Gretchen’s size once she showed them where all the extra sizes were. JJ and Gretchen were up to their elbows in satin, lace and itty-bitty bows in no time.
“So what are your plans on the house flipping front? Now that you’re a soon-to-be-famous author and getting married.”
“I haven’t decided. I love flipping. I have much more time now that I’m not traveling for work.”
“But you travel with Trevor.”
At the mention of her fiancé, JJ’s expression relaxed and she smiled. Gretchen could practically see animated birds circling her friend’s head, tweeting out hearts and stars.
“Yeah.”
JJ playfully pushed Gretchen toward the dressing rooms. “Have you heard from Cindy?”
“Not lately. Things must be going really well,” JJ said.
“Adam’s perfect for her.”
“If only they could work out the living situation.”
She closed the levered door behind her and glanced at her reflection in the mirror. Despite her best attempt at livening up a stuffy suit, it hadn’t worked. She needed cuter blouses and better accessories. Not that she had the first clue about either but she was too young to be dressing like Mrs. Roberts, the fifty year old kindergarten teacher three classrooms down from Gretchen’s. Right?
She could be conservative and cute at the same time, surely. Another trip to Michelle’s shop was required.
JJ tossed a beige demi bra over the dressing room door. That would never hold the girls in. Gretchen shook her head, uttered a quick ‘no way’ and threw it back.
A racy red bra appeared at the top of the door and Gretchen stared at it wide eyed. The thing was see through, how was that supposed to provide any support.
“That’s not a work bra,” JJ said quietly.
“How did you know what I was thinking?”
“Um…because we didn’t meet yesterday. Besides, you need something pretty, you know, in case you decide to show it off.”
“Who would I show it off to?” Gretchen replied even though her mi
nd was already racing with possibilities. What would Greg do if she showed— No way. She couldn’t do that.
Could she?
Gretchen stared at the little red number. The size on the tag was correct. She should try it.
Since she was already wearing her dream bra, any others she found were icing on the cake. She stripped out of her shirt and carefully removed the dream bra.
“If one were to…ugh…show off such a thing, how would one do it?”
Deafening silence greeted her ears and she worried JJ had stepped away. Then a squeal of excitement rent the air and Gretchen jolted.
“You have someone in mind! Who? Tell me? Who is he?”
“Why do I have to have anyone in mind?”
“The hair, the shopping, I knew there was someone new in your life.”
JJ’s voice faded in and out and Gretchen could tell her friend was pacing back and forth in front of the dressing room door.
Technically, Greg wasn’t new to her life. Little bits of courage, that was new. Going after what she wanted, well, she was still working on that.
The door knob jangled.
“Spill it sister.”
“I—”
“Do I know him?”
Gretchen nibbled her lower lip as she contemplated coming clean. Normally, this was the kind of thing they all shared over wine on Thursday nights. And Greg was JJ’s brother. Plus, the only way out of here was through that door. Through JJ.
She slipped the red bra straps up her shoulders and adjusted the girls. Holy smokes.
The sheer cups left a bit of mystery at what lay beneath and somehow, her breasts appeared both smaller and perkier. She turned to the size and sucked in her stomach. Okay, that was amazing.
“Gretchen?”
“Yeah?”
There was another moment of drawn out silence that made Gretchen antsy.
Falling for His Fake Fiancée (Book 2, Girls' Night Trilogy) Page 20