Big Girls Don't Cry

by Linz, Cathie

  “On achieving self-esteem,” Skye said as she joined them, her hands on her hips. “How typical of you testosterone-driven males to jump to the wrong conclusion.”

  “I’m so sorry.” Nathan tugged her onto his lap and nuzzled her neck. “Let me make it up to you.”

  Watching them made Cole miss Leena even more.

  Leena pulled her blue Sebring into the parking lot. Donny had driven it up to Chicago with a pal of his so she’d have wheels. Not that she’d really needed them in the city, but they were a requirement for her new plan to succeed. Her palms were damp with nerves. She flipped down the vanity mirror to check her appearance. This gig could be the most important of her entire life. She couldn’t blow it.

  Color her shallow, but she’d needed two days to plan what she was going to wear today. She’d do better, be less superficial for her next life-changing milestone, but for today she’d need the boost.

  The irony, which her life was so full of these days, was that this morning she threw all those wardrobe plans out the window and instead put on her Wal-Mart jeans and LOVE YOUR BODY T-shirt. Beneath it all, however, she wore a very impressive lingerie set in a gorgeous shade of peach. For good luck she wore the Bakelite bangle she’d gotten at the thrift shop all those weeks ago.

  Okay, this was it. Her big moment. Leena walked into the Rock Creek Animal Clinic to find utter pandemonium. The Great Dane with anxiety issues was cowering and whimpering in one corner of the waiting room while a mutt howled in another. A parrot kept repeating, “Shit, this is just shit!” from inside its cage, and two Siamese cats hissed and growled at each other from neighboring cat carriers.

  She grinned. She could manage chaos. She couldn’t manage a life without Cole.

  “What’s going on here?”

  “Leena, you’re back!” Mindy hurried to her side and gave her a quick hug.

  “Mindy, you look great.”

  Instead of denying it as she once would have, Mindy said, “Thanks, I feel great. I’ve joined Skye’s belly-dancing class. Sorry about the mayhem. Mrs. Petrocelli quit two days ago.”

  Leena gave her attention-getting whistle and started issuing orders. “Great Dane in empty exam room one. Dueling Siamese, retreat to opposite corners, please.”

  Everyone scrambled to obey and the place soon quieted down. “Where’s Cole?”

  “In exam room two.”

  “Is he with a client?”

  “Not exactly.”

  Leena didn’t wait to hear more. When she opened the door to the exam room, she found Cole cornered by Evil Edie. “Everyone knows you take pity on strays,” she was saying. “That’s what you did with Leena. I get that.”

  “You better get your hands off my man,” Leena growled. “And I am not a stray.”

  Edie backed up so fast she almost fell on her fanny.

  “Don’t let me keep you.”

  Edie raced out.

  Leena focused her attention on Cole. His hair was shaggier than when she’d left and he had that sexy stubble thing going on. “I brought you something.”

  “Who’s this?” He took a cat carrier from her outstretched hand and set it on the stainless steel exam table.

  “Her Prozac is wearing off.” Mine too. Not that Leena had taken any, but that herbal tea she’d had with breakfast that was supposed to soothe and relax hadn’t done a thing. Of course, she had followed that with two cans of Diet Pepsi and a Red Bull drink. She was going to stick to green tea from now on, she really was. Or skim milk. That was real healthy, right? What were they talking about? Oh yeah, the cat.

  “Her name is Petra and I brought her from Chicago with me. She was a stray I’d been feeding by the Dumpster. I asked a neighbor to feed her when I came here in April. Anyway, I couldn’t just leave her there, so I brought her with me this time.”

  “You couldn’t find a vet you liked in Chicago?”

  “Not one I could love, no.”

  “You just love me for my veterinary talents?”

  “I love you because you’re bag love.”

  “Huh?”

  “There’s shoe love and there’s bag love. Shoe love wears off because your feet get too big, but bag love stays with you no matter what. Never mind. You’re a guy so you wouldn’t understand. The important thing is that you’re it. When I left, you said if I came back it had to be because I wanted to, not because I had to. Well, here I am.”

  She moved toward him and almost fell over a suitcase. “What’s this?”

  “I was taking a few days off and coming to Chicago after work today. To remind you of what you’re missing.”

  “Remind me right now.”

  He tugged her into his arms.

  She placed her fingers on his lips, stalling his kiss. “And I’m not a stray.”

  “I never thought you were.” He nibbled on her fingertips. “You’re infuriating, bossy, smart, sexy as hell, and full of surprises.”

  “You’ve got that right,” she murmured against his mouth.

  Everything was right. The way he kissed her, the way she kissed him back. After three weeks apart it was no surprise that things got quickly out of hand. His hand was beneath her T-shirt while hers was undoing his jeans.

  “Wait.” She pulled back, breathless. “We can’t do this here. Not in front of Petra. She’s still traumatized.”

  “So am I,” Cole muttered.

  “I’ll meet you in your bedroom in two hours when the clinic closes.”

  He stole a quick but intense kiss before she left. “The front door is unlocked.”

  Leena was waiting for him on his bed. She was on her tummy, her bent legs languidly moving to and fro as she typed on a laptop. Looking up, she saw him and smiled. “You’re early. I was just finishing my blog entry.” She quickly set aside the computer. “I made Petra comfortable in your spare bathroom. Set up a kitty box and food for her in there. You do know that Elf feels left out as the only dog, right? And that Midnight and Buddy are okay as long as you honor their space and don’t butt into it. And Tripod just wants her tummy rubbed.”

  “What about you? What do you want?”

  “You.” Grinning, she took hold of his T-shirt and tugged him closer.

  “You’ve got me. I love you.”

  “I love you too.”

  Absence not only made the heart grow fonder, it also made the body desperate for satisfaction. He pulled her T-shirt off and tossed it in one corner of the room while she did the same with his. The remainder of their clothing was discarded with similar speed. He paused a second to admire her lingerie before removing it.

  His mouth was hot and wet as he adored her nipple, seducing her with his tongue touches that moved from her breasts to her tummy and below. She went up in flames. The second he had the condom rolled on, she guided him to her, whispering how good he felt inside her. He rocked against her, creating an erotic friction that swiftly brought her to climax. He followed moments later.

  When coherent thought finally returned, she found herself cuddled in his arms.

  Cole had the power to make her believe in their love. And Leena had the power to believe in herself. . . just the way she was.

  Broke and skinny might beat broke and chunky in some people’s eyes, but no longer in hers. At ease with her healthy curves, Leena now knew that being in love and loving in return was the very best of all worlds.