“I love this idea.”
“Sort of like a boys and girls club, but for girls. Teaching them how to be a renaissance woman.”
“Hey! That would be a great name for it, too.”
Tiffany practically squealed with excitement. “Or maybe it could be for both boys and girls. I don’t know, but let’s set up a time to really talk it through.”
“Awesome.” Emily thought for a moment then said, “Renaissance Kids.”
Tiffany squealed again.
“Something smells like it’s burning over here with all of this thinking. Should we be nervous?” Dr. Drew came over to talk.
“We’re just coming up with ways to solve the world’s problems. Nothing big,” Emily shrugged with a smile.
Drew turned to Tiffany. “You know, we never did have that dinner to talk about your charity idea.”
Tiffany immediately began to move her mouth like a fish out of water.
“Yeah,” Emily interjected trying to help her out, “now that you’re feeling better, you guys should definitely do that.” She gave Tiffany a pointed look.
“Let’s get together this week,” Drew said to Tiffany. “I know Saturday night works for me.”
“I’m pretty sure that works for me too, but I just need to check my calendar,” Tiffany said coyly.
Oh, brother. Although Tiffany still looked star struck, it was obvious her nerves were currently under control. And she was pretty sure Drew didn’t stand a chance.
……
“And what date were you guys thinking?” Janie was saying to Luke, writing things down on a piece of paper as Emily entered the kitchen to grab another slice of pizza.
“We always do it the second Saturday night in December,” Luke said then smiled at Emily as she appeared. He turned his attention back to Janie. “If you remember, I wanted you last year, but you blew me off.”
Janie gave him a surprised look and nearly fell over at his words. When he realized what he’d said, he clarified with a smirk, “The catering company, Janie. We asked you to do the party last year, remember?”
“I remember,” she said, regaining her composure. “But I wasn’t ready for something that big yet. Now that I have another year under my belt and I have Ayanna, I think we can swing it.”
“Of course you can swing it. You could’ve handled it last year. You just needed a little more confidence.”
“Is this for your big holiday party?” Emily asked.
“Yeah. It’s a huge bash each year. Brings all the important and beautiful people out to play,” he said dryly.
“It would be great for the business, that’s for sure. But it’ll be the biggest we’ve ever done,” Janie said. “We’ve never done more than a 250 person wedding reception. And you’re talking about a lot of people, Luke. I’ll have to bring in more help. It ain’t gonna be cheap.”
“Money isn’t an issue.”
“Money is always an issue,” Janie snorted.
“Not for this shindig. And you’re right. Five hundred is a lot of people. So if you guys just wanna do one portion of it, like the appetizers, or just the entrées or desserts, we can do that if that makes you more comfortable. But whatever you decide, I want the bacon wrapped dates, both recipes, the French toast appy, and the Thankgiving one on the croissant. I’ll have Carolyn get in touch with you,” he said, referring to his personal assistant.
“Is the party just for the employees, or are there others that go?” Emily asked.
“Employees, designers, models, the higher ups.”
Janie pointed her pen at him. “It’s gonna cost you, buddy. I’ll be sure of that,” she said with a smile, dollar signs already appearing in her eyes.
“I would expect nothing less from you. You’ve always had good business sense,” he complimented.
She smiled at that. “Thanks. That was awfully nice to say,” she gushed.
“I don’t know why you sound so surprised. I’ve always been proud of how much you’ve accomplished. You’re gonna go far, baby girl. And if I can help push that along, then all the better. There are gonna be a ton of big names there, so you should plan on meeting some folks and doing some networking. I’ll introduce you around.”
“Nice! I can change after all the food’s gone out.”
“You can stay in your chef’s jacket. Changing won’t be necessary.”
“Are you kidding me? This’ll gimme an excuse to go shopping for a new dress.”
He chuckled and said in a wry tone, “I can recommend a few places.”
“And shoes,” her eyes gleamed. “I’ll need some of those too.”
His own eyes sparkled. “Of course you will. What woman doesn’t need more shoes?”
“If my time wasn’t going to be taken up with working half the night, I would bring a date,” she pouted giving him a pointed look.
His eyebrow lifted at her comment. “Then it’s a shame you’re gonna be working. Oh, well. No date for you.”
“Jerk,” she grumbled. “I’ll have to find a dress that’ll knock some guy’s socks off. Maybe I’ll find someone while you’re introducing me around,” she teased.
He mumbled something in Spanish but neither of them caught it.
“Alright, Daniels. Let me talk to Yan and see how we can make this work then we’ll talk about menu, etc.”
“Sounds good,” he said grabbing another slice of pizza then leaving the two girls alone in the kitchen.
They both gave each other knowing looks for a moment then Janie spoke.
“I’m gonna make him take me clothes shopping.”
Emily bit her lip to hold back her chuckle.
“And then I’m gonna torture him with every skimpy outfit.”
“You’re awful.”
“Hey, I’m done playin’ around. Ayanna said he needs to see me as a woman, not as a little sister. No more ‘baby girl’. That’s my plan. Show him I’m a woman.”
“He looked like he was looking at you as a woman on Saturday night,” Emily pointed out.
Janie bit her smiling lip. “I was working it all over him on the dance floor.”
“Yes, you were,” Emily chuckled. “Did he say anything to you about,” she flitted her hand in the air, “you know, anything?”
“Just that he’d rather me shake it around him than the ‘predators’ at the club,” she said, putting up her fingers to place quotations around the word. “That way I’d be safe.” Janie laughed and shook her head at the absurdity of it all.
“He’s protective of you.”
“Yeah, yeah. But not like a man is to a woman.”
Emily shrugged. She wasn’t too sure about that. “And what about Vanessa?” Emily said, lowering her voice. The woman in question had been in the living room mingling while Luke had been in the kitchen.
Janie blew out her breath and made a raspberry sound with her mouth. “What about her? I’ll never be her. She’s all tall and willowy, sophisticated. I bet she never has flour on her face or nicks on her hands from cutting vegetables. She’s a model after all.” Janie’s face took on an expression of determination.
“But?”
“But I’m gonna be me, the best me I can be. And I’m gonna make myself gorgeous as sin and practically throw myself at the man to see if it sticks. I’ve got nothing to lose anymore. Except maybe my self-respect,” she snorted, “but I’ve been in love with the jerk since I was eight years old. I’ve gotta at least give it the old Callahan try. And if it doesn’t work, then at least I know I still have our family friendship.” She got a faraway look then she looked at Emily. “He’ll always be my Luke, you know?”
Janie sighed, bringing Emily’s attention back to the present. “Other than my brother and Jem, he was the only guy who actually took the time to talk to the younger sister overweight redhead.”
“Oh, Janie. I’m sure he enjoyed you. You’re not giving yourself any credit. You’re always fun to be around.”
“Uh, huh. I have a great sense of humor
, a great personality. The kiss of death for any single woman.”
“You worked hard and lost the weight a couple of years ago. You’ve kept it off. And now in addition to that great sense of humor and personality, you have a kick ass body that makes men salivate.”
“It’s just my boobs. They’re so frickin’ huge,” she said looking down at them.
Emily laughed. “They’re gorgeous and you know it.”
“They are pretty spectacular,” she said with a smile.
Emily laughed even harder.
“What’s spectacular?” Mike asked as he walked in behind Emily, winding his arms around her waist.
“Your sister’s boobs,” Emily deadpanned and leaned back into him accepting his warmth.
Mike groaned. “Thanks for that visual.”
“Well, it’s not like they’re easy to miss. The visual is always there in front of you,” Emily snickered.
Luke walked in on the tail end of her comment and everyone immediately became silent. He reached for another beer and twisted off the top. While looking at everyone, he took a swig. “So what are you all talking about in here?” They all looked at each other. “Hmm. Something mysterious apparently,” Luke said, narrowing his eyes.
“Not really. Well, I don’t know. Maybe they are a little mysterious. We were just talkin’ about Janie’s boobs,” Mike quipped.
Emily bit her lip and they all watched Luke as he nearly choked on his beer. It was obvious Luke was fighting not to look at Janie’s rack, but once the topic of discussion was thrown out there, he had a hard time not zeroing in on them. For just a second. Janie smiled brightly and leaned back against the counter so they’d be out there to see.
Then Luke turned on Mike.
“Would you stop talking about her like that in front of people? You don’t need to be drawing men’s attention to her,” Luke pointed in the general direction of Janie’s chest and stuttered, “womanly attributes.”
“What?” Mike said as if he didn’t know what Luke was talking about. “It’s just you. And you asked.”
“Well, you didn’t have to answer me. Cristo,” Luke grumbled then stormed out of the room.
Janie looked at her brother with humor, surprise, and with a question in her eye.
“Just trying to help him along, is all,” Mike murmured innocently to his sister with a pointed look.
Janie looked at Mike in shock, then love, then she practically pushed Emily out of the way to tackle him with a hug. “I love you, Mike.”
He chuckled. “I love you too, hon.”
……
“So you’re no longer afraid she’s gonna get hurt?” Emily whispered into Mike’s ear after Janie left the kitchen and they were holding each other.
“Everyone keeps telling me she’s a big girl. And he does look at her differently than he used to. But you can tell he’s not sure about it. Or at least I can tell. I don’t know,” Mike sighed. “I just -” he interrupted himself then looked away. “I know he’s a little dominant in certain areas, if you catch my drift.” He threw a side glance her way.
“What, you mean sex?”
He looked at her and nodded.
She made a ‘ooh’ sound and wiggled her eyebrows.
“Alright. I don’t need to be picturing this,” he groaned. “He would never hurt her intentionally. I know that.” He appeared to be thinking about something.
“Of course he wouldn’t. And what are we talking, like whips and chains here?”
“No, I don’t think it’s anything too hardcore, but who knows? It’s not like we sit around in a coffee klatsch and talk about it.”
She chuckled. “Well, like we keep saying, your sister’s a big girl. Plus you never know. She might like that aspect of him.”
He winced, putting up his hand to stop her from talking about his sister’s potential sex life with his best friend who had a penchant for dominance in the bedroom.
She laughed again at his reaction.
Mike finally said, “It might come back to bite me in the ass, but I kinda want them to know that if they are interested in each other, it would be okay with me. Not that it’s all about me, but Luke would definitely have a hard time with that. He’s very analytical and I can see him not making a move because of his fear of what our family, or what Jem and I would think. Considering we know about his sexual history,” Mike muttered. He let out a huge sigh.
Emily took a moment to look at the man she loved, then she smiled and said, “I’m proud of you, Detective. You’re actually looking at your sister as a woman. That’s a big step for you and a very good thing. And you’re just an old romantic softy at heart,” she said, standing on her tippy toes to kiss his mouth. His arms went around her, pulling her front fully against him.
“That’s me. I should probably be rewarded for that or something, right?” He began kissing her neck.
“Geez. You two are worse than Ry and me,” Jeremy laughed when he walked in the kitchen. Ryann came in right after him.
“I heard that. And it’s you who’s bad, Mr. McCallister. I know how to keep my hands to myself,” Ryann muttered with humor.
He turned to her and wound his arms around her, lifting her off the floor. “Yeah, but what fun is that?” Jeremy murmured.
Ryann blushed madly and squirmed, completely embarrassed. “Would you put me down, please?” He did but didn’t let go and had a lazy grin on his face. She smoothed down the back of her khaki mini skirt. “Nothing like givin’ everyone a free show,” she mumbled, thinking her skirt had come up too high.
“And what a show it would be,” Jeremy said then whispered in her ear.
Ryann turned even redder and cleared her throat, a tell-tale sign that she was overheating from Jeremy’s blatant sexuality. Jeremy pulled back and chuckled at her reaction. Ryann just shook her head and smiled with exasperation.
“Have you asked Ayanna how her fast is going?” Emily began to say to Ryann.
“Did she give up sex again?” Mike asked.
“No!” Ryann and Emily yelled back and laughed.
“She’s giving up saying the F word,” Emily explained.
“No fuckin’ way,” Mike said with a twinkle in his eye.
“Dork,” Emily said shaking her head, and picking up her slice of pizza. She pulled off the cheese to eat. She loved cheese.
“She’s still holdin’ strong.”
“What happens if she says it?” Mike asked.
“She has to do all of the food prep for the next catering gig,” Ryann said with a smile. “She hates cutting vegetables.”
“Jon should withhold sex. That would keep her mouth clean,” Mike said swigging his beer.
Emily pushed him and the beer spilled on his shirt.
“Hey!” he yelped, wiping at the spill.
“So how are you two doin’?” Ryann asked, knowing full well they were doing great.
“Couldn’t be better. Well, we could be better, but I have some convincing to do before we get there,” Mike said, his arm around Emily’s neck while he pulled her in for a kiss.
Emily was trying to stay focused, wondering if maybe his comment had something to do with what he had been talking about with Lacey. But then he looked at her and she nearly melted at the lust in his eyes. He seriously put her in such a physical state of mush whenever he touched her in public. Or private for that matter. Then his words finally registered.
“Convince me about what?”
“Chaining you to my bed inside my apartment so you have to live with me.”
His image caused arousal to snake its way through her system. She knew he wanted to move in together because he hinted at it all of the time. And she wasn’t opposed to it, but she just wanted to make sure he was ready. Although, thinking like that was bizarre, she knew. It was he who always brought it up.
Jeremy threw his head back and looked at Ryann. “Do you remember him saying at the 4th of July barbeque that he would never fall in love? Now look at him three months l
ater.” Jeremy looked at both Mike and Emily. “Dude, you couldn’t have found a better woman for you. She’s perfect. Looks like you’re just gonna have to work a little harder at convincing her.” Jeremy raised an eyebrow. “I can give ya some pointers if you need ’em.”
Emily stayed quiet but enjoyed their bantering.
“Fuck off,” Mike said off handedly then contemplated. “Maybe another rematch is in order.” He looked at her with promise in his eyes. “Whattaya say, Counselor? You ready for me to beat you yet?”
“As if,” she said, her eyes twinkling.
Jeremy laughed and took Ryann’s hand as they left the kitchen. He grabbed a beer and yelled back, “Let us know how that turns out for ya, Mikey.”
Epilogue
They’d been at it for the last 20 minutes.
When Mike had declared on Columbus Day he’d wanted another rematch, she’d quickly complied. They made another wager. She’d thought about it long and hard, and she was determined to win it fair and square. She knew he wouldn’t balk at it. In fact, she knew he would be thrilled. But she wanted to make it happen her way.
He had yet to share what he’d been talking about with Lacey, but she figured she would give him some time. When he was ready, he would talk to her.
Now the Friday after that ‘rematch’ discussion at the party, they circled each other on the mat sizing each other up and strategizing how to win the game point. Very much like their first rematch, he was shirtless in sweats and she was clad in Yoga pants and sports bra. Both of them were shoeless.
Since they’d begun sparring that night, they’d both pinned each other, twice. The third would be the win and they’d see who’d win the wager.
Emily took the moment to catch her breath and study the gorgeous man before her. Mike was working hard for his win and that was mainly because he really wanted to win his side of the bet.
Revelation: A Contemporary Erotic Romance (Iris Series) Page 40