“Why?” Mrs. Flannigan asked.
Phoenix couldn’t say what he wanted it for, as it was to drown the horrible smelling and looking haggis in it. But Cait took pity on him and got up to go get some from the kitchen. “I’ll get some, Phoenix.”
He grabbed her hand and gave her a grateful expression. “I think I love you.”
She laughed and went to go get the ketchup and shook her head as she went. Phoenix was incredible. If he hadn’t just been using her, things would have been so different. A great different.
Griff and Jess ate in silence as he kept one hand on her knee, giving it a squeeze now and then. Jess had wanted to see the movie he’d taken her to pretty damn badly. But she had no idea how it turned out as she and Griff had made out the entire time, instead of watching it.
Jess was falling for him. His hand on her knee had her insides going wild. All she could think about was getting physically closer to the man. Even the smell of haggis on his breath when he leaned in close and whispered, “I’ll take you to see the movie when it comes out, since I ruined it this time” didn’t bother her one bit.
She sighed as she looked at him. Sinking into his hazel eyes, she was feeling like a drowning victim as she whispered, “You didn’t ruin a thing, Griff.”
It was beginning not to matter to her at all that he had a bet with his friends about who would get laid first. She knew he couldn’t be faking everything with her.
There was just no way he could!
He looked at her with more feeling than anyone ever had. Jess knew she was young and inexperienced. But she wasn’t without any experience at all. She could tell when someone was being genuine. And Griffin Houser was being genuine and sincere.
When Cait came back with the ketchup, her mother gave her the stink eye. “That’ll take away the unique flavor,” she said as she looked at Phoenix. “But go ahead and ruin it. If you must.”
Phoenix looked pitiful, and it had Cait’s ire bubbling. “Mother, people use ketchup all the time. Don’t give Phoenix a hard time about it.”
When Phoenix smiled at Cait, it took her breath away. And he found himself feeling more for Cait then he had before. She’d stand up for him! It wasn’t a thing anyone had done for him before.
Phoenix hadn’t had it easy growing up. Tall from the start, he was made fun of plenty in his school days. Being poor was also a thing that had made him stand out as a loser. When his mother was sent to prison for selling drugs, he was labeled a bad person by the only people he’d known his entire life.
Cait took the chair next to him again, handing the ketchup to him. “Thank you,” he said as he took the bottle from her.
“Not a problem,” she said with a smile. “As a matter of fact, put some on mine too, please.”
As he poured the ketchup on her plate, he began to feel the slightest twinge of something.
Was that guilt he felt?
Chapter 21
The smell of over-ripened fruit hit Kel’s nostrils as she entered the old grocery store on the edge of town. For most things, she’d go to the new supermarkets, but for steaks, she always went to the tried and true, Old Buck’s Pantry. Her family trusted the butcher, who’d been there forever and a day.
“Hi, Kel,” her Aunt Stella called out to her as she came around the corner with a basketful of white wrapped meat.
“Whoa,” Kel said as she looked at the basket. “Did you leave any meat for anyone else, Aunt Stella?”
The old woman laughed. “I have men to feed, and I thought some fresh breakfast sausages and steaks to go with the fried eggs they love so much would get them to stick around a bit longer. And you’re welcome for that, my dear niece.”
“And what does that mean, Aunt Stella?” Kel asked with a clueless expression.
“Your men are staying at our bed and breakfast, of course. Didn’t they tell you girls that?” Stella looked confused and put her hand on her hip as Kel shook her head. “Well, I wonder why that is.”
“Did the guys ask you things about us?” Kel asked her aunt. “Because they all took us on exceptional dates yesterday, and we all thought they were a bit on the psychic side.”
“Oh, yes!” Stella said with a grin. “They asked your uncle and me about things you girls like. So they made good impressions, then?”
“Great ones, actually,” Kel said. “But it’s kind of not that great now that I know you told them what we like.”
Stella threw her arms up as she said, “That doesn’t matter one bit. They took the time to ask questions and find things out. Now, that’s what’s important. They made the plans, and they made the effort. Not many men do that nowadays. I hope you consider yourselves lucky that they want to know that much about you so they can make you happy!”
Kel didn’t want to tell her elderly aunt why the men would go to all that trouble, so she nodded. “And how long did they say they’d be staying at your inn?”
“They didn’t. I’m not sure how long we’ll have them there. All I know is that they were going to go have lunch at Peterson’s Grill. They said they’d be out for the night. I supposed they’d made plans with you and your sisters.”
Kel shook her head. “No, they haven’t. But I expect a call soon. They can’t seem to leave us alone.”
“And how lucky you should feel about that!” Stella said. “Those men are some handsome devils, I tell you what!”
“That they are,” Kel agreed. “Thanks for the intel, Aunt Stella. I need to pick up steaks for dinner.”
Leaving her aunt’s company, Kel suddenly didn’t want to cook steaks anymore. She opted to leave the store and call her sisters. If the men were all out eating, then maybe they could show up and surprise them.
She made the call that had her sisters heading to the little café where Stella said the men were. And with any luck, they’d catch them in the middle of talking shop about their bet.
Chapter 22
Nestled in a corner booth, Kel spotted the three men who’d made a bet on her and her sisters. The waitress who greeted them was an old friend of hers. “Peggy, my sisters and I are going to do a bit of eavesdropping on those men in that booth over there. Do you mind leaving us to that?”
With a wink, Peggy nodded. “Sure thing, Kel. You just wave at me if you need anything.”
Kel, Cait, and Jess slipped around the edge of the dining room, staying out of the men’s sights. They took the booth just behind them and settled in to listen to what the scoundrels were up to.
Ethan was boasting about something, and when Kel heard the name Julia Loveless, she froze as he said, “That Julia Loveless could really show a man a good time.”
“Tell me, Ethan,” Phoenix said. “Did you ever get her special kiss?”
When all three men laughed, all three sister’s faces went red with anger. Kel and her sisters exchanged looks as they gritted their teeth to keep quiet.
Griffin added, “I never had anyone give me a rim job before. And I haven’t since her, either.”
Jess mouthed, ‘Gross!’
Phoenix chuckled. “Can you imagine asking one of our girls for something like that?”
When they all laughed a hearty laugh, the girls were livid. Kel made the sign of slitting her throat as a reference as to what she was going to do to Ethan.
Ethan said, “Kel is much too classy to do something like that. No, I think I would never even ask her to do such a thing. She’s a good girl. A very good girl.”
“Jess is too,” Griffin said. “How about Cait?”
“Oh, she’s good too,” Phoenix said. “But to tell the truth, I think if it weren’t for her sisters being involved, she’d have given in to me.”
Cait smiled and nodded, prompting Kel to punch her in the arm and mouth, “Tramp!”
Cait shrugged as Phoenix went on, “Want to know the truth?”
“Sure,” Ethan said.
“Julia was sexy, hot, damn great in the sack, but I think Cait will make me forget I ever knew Julia and her e
rotic ways,” Phoenix said, making Cait’s heart speed up.
“You think so?” Griffin asked. “I mean, Julia knew her way around a man’s cock, that’s for sure. Jess is young. Inexperienced. I’m not sure she’d make me forget all that Julia could do.”
“You could teach her, Griff,” Ethan joked. “Not that we’ll be around long enough for you to teach her too much.”
“Yeah, we have to get this bet over with,” Griff said, making Jess frown.
“You need to get back to work, Griff?” Phoenix asked.
When all three of the men laughed again, the women were puzzled. But they knew then that they were only going to be notches on the guy’s bedposts and nothing more than that.
They’d all been lied to.
“I’m not going to lie,” Ethan said. “I’ll miss Kel. But I’ll have at least one night of pure pleasure to remember her by.”
“The hell he will!” Kel mouthed to her sisters, who nodded in agreement.
“I’ll miss Jess too,” Griffin said.
Phoenix echoed him, “Yeah, I’m gonna miss Cait.”
The women sat and waited for the guys to say anything else, but all that came was silence followed by the sound of heavy mugs being sat down.
“We could keep in touch with them, I suppose,” Griff said.
“The explaining would be too hard,” Ethan said. “Can you imagine if one of us accidentally told our girl about the bet and she told the others? Well, it’d end up with the others being dumped. Left with broken hearts. And none of us need that mess in our lives.”
“I think Ethan’s right,” Phoenix agreed. “Cait would put my balls in a vise. I can almost feel it now.”
The men laughed again, then Ethan said, “Those ladies are marrying material.”
“I know,” Griffin agreed.
“I’m sure they’re already talking amongst themselves about how to get us all into holy matrimony with them,” Phoenix said.
“I wonder if Kel is coaching them on it,” Ethan said. “It’s not beyond her to do such a thing. You know, telling them to hold out until they get a ring on it.”
“Oh, hell!” Phoenix gasped. “What if that’s true? What if they plan on holding out until that happens? Do women really wait until the wedding night?”
“Some do,” Griffin said. “But I don’t think that’s what’s happening here. I mean, our girls don’t seem to be that religious or that manipulating.”
“How much longer are we going to give them?” Phoenix asked.
“We have nothing but time,” Ethan reminded him. “But we should put a limit on it, shouldn’t we?”
“Hey, what if we made them jealous with other chicks?” Griff asked.
Jess smacked her fist in her hand as she thought about Griff’s hands on another woman. Cait looked at her and put her finger to her lips.
“That might work,” Phoenix agreed.
“Or it might backfire, and they might shut us out for good,” Ethan said. “I do believe that if Kel saw me with another woman she’d cut me out without a second thought.”
More silence followed, then there was the sound of glasses being sat back down, letting the girls know the men were stumped by what to do to win their bet and get the girls into their beds.
So Kel decided it was time to make themselves known, but not entirely. She leaned up and whispered, “Just go along with me, sisters. I think I have an idea.”
With their nods of agreement, Kel got up, and the others followed her. She went to the waitress and got her to seat them at the same table, but this time she wanted the men to notice them. But they’d act like they didn’t see them.
It was time to make a little deal of their own.
Chapter 23
“How about three beers and some cheesesteak sandwiches, Peggy?” Kel said after the waitress had seated them.
“Sure thing, Kel,” Peggy said and noticed the men all looking around to see who was in the booth behind them. She saw the Scottish guy put his finger to his lips and the other two men nod. “I’ll be back right back with your drinks.”
Kel was all smiles as she said, “So, which one of you thinks you have your man right where you want him?”
“I know I do,” Cait said. “I think three more days of holding out and I’ll be able to tell Phoenix to take me to Vegas and marry me if he ever wants to get to the good stuff.”
“Yeah, this was a great idea, Kel. Find three men and get them to marry us so they can pay our student loans and let Dad off the hook is pure genius,” Jess said.
“I know,” Kel agreed. “And how lucky for us that we got three men interested in us all at the same time. Talk about great luck!”
The looks on the men’s faces were priceless. They couldn’t believe what they were hearing.
“I think we’ll all be married before this month is up,” Cait said. “Have you seen the way they look at us?” Cait nudged Jess. “And Griff is smitten with you, baby sis.”
“That little make out session in the movie theater helped with that,” Jess said as she laughed.
The waitress brought their beers and thought she’d add a bit to their game as she said, “No charge today, girls. Some men at the bar are taking care of your bill today. Should I give them your phone numbers? They look like they have money.”
“No, just tell them thanks, but we’re all in committed relationships, Peggy,” Kel said.
“I really think these guys have money. You sure?” Peggy asked and saw the men in the booth behind them looking at the bar to find out what guys were paying their tab.
There were around twelve men at the bar, and not one of them hadn’t noticed the three women when they’d come in. A thing Phoenix was seeing as most of the men were looking at their women.
“We’ve found some men, Peggy,” Cait said.
“Yeah, some hot men,” Jess said. “And they have to have money and plenty of it.”
“Yeah,” Kel added. “None of them need to get to work anywhere, and all of them spent some pretty good money on us yesterday taking us on dream dates. You know, I never thought we’d find love too, but I think we just might.”
“And Griff and I will make gorgeous babies,” Jess said.
Cait smiled as she said, “I’m going to get Phoenix to buy me a little house with a white picket fence all the way around it. And we can sit on the front porch each night and hold hands while the sun goes down.”
“Sweet,” Peggy said. “And all the while you get those student loans paid off. I bet none of you thought you’d find love too when Kel came up with this great plan.”
“Not me,” Kel said. “I thought we’d find men to pay it, but I’d figured we’d have to deal with ugly, old men to do it. It’s refreshing to know that we’ve got hot men to use.”
“What about you, Kel?” Peggy asked. “You and your guy going to make babies?”
“Lots and lots of them,” Kel said. “I have the man wrapped around my little finger. He’d hop in bed with me right now if I let him. But that’s not how you trap a hubby. No, if he wants this, which he does, then he’ll put a ring on it and change my last name.”
Cait began to get worried the men would confront them, so she said, “You know what, Peggy? You better go ahead and make those sandwiches to go. We need to get back home and make our men something good to eat for dinner. Mom fed them haggis last night so whatever we cook will taste like heaven to them tonight.”
“You have dates again for tonight?” Peggy asked.
“Not yet,” Jess said. “But with a phone call, we’ll have them. The guys are falling all over themselves for us. It’s a given they’ll come if we wiggle our little fingers in their direction.”
“Sweet deal,” Peggy said. “I’ll wrap those sandwiches up for you. I’ll be right back with them.”
“I never expected to get men we’d actually like,” Kel said, then took a drink of her beer. “Lucky us, huh?”
“I’ll say,” Jess added. “I can hardly wait. Mayb
e we should all get married in Vegas at the same time. That’d be cool, don’t you think?”
Cait nodded. “Yeah. I mean, I know I can get Phoenix to. Do you girls think you can make your man do it too?”
The other two women laughed, making the men seethe with anger. They were being played by the women. They’d had no idea of what the women were capable of.
The men waited patiently for their women to leave before they spoke again. “So, what do we do now?” Phoenix asked.
“Isn’t it obvious?” Ethan said. “We show them what they’ll get if they get us. And it won’t be pretty. They won’t want to marry any of us after we show them what they’ll be getting in us all.”
With smiles, the three set about making their plans.
Chapter 24
When Griff’s cell rang a few minutes later, he picked it up and held it out so the others could see it was Jess who was calling him. “Hi, baby.”
“Hi, Griff. We wanted to make you guys something for dinner tonight. Spaghetti. Wanna come over around five?”
“Let me ask the guys; we’re eating lunch right now,” Griff said. “Hey, fellas, the ladies would like to invite us for dinner this evening. It’s spaghetti.”
“Count me in,” Ethan said.
“Me too,” Phoenix said. “And tell Cait I can’t wait to see her. I’ve got something to ask her.”
“Did you hear that, baby?” Griff asked.
“I did hear that. So, we’ll see you then. Why don’t you bring wine?”
“Anything you want, baby. I can’t wait to get my hands on you,” he said with a growling sound.
“Oh, but you will,” she said with a giggle, then hung up.
“The girl is the devil,” Griff said as he put his phone away.
“Can you imagine using sex to get yourself a husband to pay your bills for you?” Ethan asked as he slammed his beer mug on the table. “The audacity!”
The Naughty One: A Doctor’s Christmas Romance (Season of Desire Book 2) Page 55