The Big Girl's Guide to Buying Lingerie: A Cowboy Love Story (Bluebonnet, Texas Book 4)

by Amie Stuart

  I blew out a heavy breath and spun in a circle, eyeing two racks crammed full of clothes, including the hangars full of tens, twelves, and other assorted sizes that I couldn’t wear anymore. I bypassed a maroon turtleneck dress, a black pantsuit, and my red bandana skirt. A lilac silk dress caught my eye but it was short, hitting me just at the knee. I’d bought it on impulse about five months ago, shortly after I’d “met” Rowdy. Only to get home and discover it was too tight, but I’d never bothered to take it back.

  HH would have a fit. I lifted the hangar off the bar, stripped and quickly shimmied into it, pulling the back together with my hands. Perfect.

  The dress looked like a mini-sarong, and left my shoulders bare, catching in a banded collar around my neck.

  With a grin, I hung it back up and headed for the shower.

  I’d just finished fixing my hair when the door slammed.

  “Jade!”

  “I’m up here!” I threw a t-shirt on over my bra and nylons and went back to work on my makeup while listening to Rowdy’s footsteps on the stairs.

  I smelled his aftershave before I saw him. I must admit one thing I’d missed the last couple of years was the smell of a man—cologne, aftershave, shaving cream or even honest sweat.

  He leaned against the wall separating the vanity/dressing area from my bedroom. “You going like that?”

  “Yeah, I thought I might,” I quipped, giggling and turning to face him, hands out in a model’s pose.

  “Nice!” He wiggled his eyebrows at me for emphasis.

  “You’re a perv, Rowdy Yates.” I shook my finger at him but couldn’t hide my smile. He was obviously in a better frame of mind. And he looked great too, in a black jacket, light green shirt with matching paisley tie, and charcoal slacks.

  “You didn’t seem to mind last night.”

  I gave him a couple of once-overs and blatantly sniffed the air.

  “Do I pass inspection?”

  “Absolutely, and you smell good enough to eat.”

  “Maybe later.”

  I giggled and gently tugged him down by his lapels for a quick kiss. “You smell so good,” I purred, repeating myself. Then pulled him down for a slow kiss too.

  “I’m gonna have to wear aftershave more often.”

  “What is that?”

  He grinned and shook his head. “No clue. Something Rene got me for Christmas.”

  “Where you goin’?” he asked as I stepped into the bathroom.

  “To get dressed?” I wiggled my dress at him.

  “But I wanted to watch.”

  I gave him my most pained look.

  “What?”

  I opened my mouth to speak. Naked in bed I’d finally gotten used to, but this...Words went on strike.

  “Dare ya,” he whispered, looking me up and down.

  I suppose, even if I couldn’t say it, my reasoning was pretty obvious. I was still the same woman I’d been when all this started. But Rowdy didn’t care.

  He held out his hand and I gave him the dress. I reached for the edges of my T-shirt, but stopped at the sound of his voice. “You don’t have anything to be afraid of. It’s just me. Shy.”

  I smiled, despite the heat in my face, and pulled the shirt over my head, dropping it on the floor at my feet. Then refused to let myself suck in my gut while I kept my breathing slow and steady.

  He frowned at my chest. Not exactly the reaction I’d expected. “Why do you wear that damned bra? Is that the same one that leaves those marks in your back?”

  “Yeah, it’s a convertible torture device, and I need it to wear that,” I said, pointing to the dress in his hands. The convertible bra could be worn four ways, including strapless and halter-style. Tonight’s choice was halter-style.

  I unzipped my dress from the hanger and stepped in, pulling it over my hips. Then shivered a bit as the cool silk tickled my legs.

  “Zip me?” I asked, spinning around and presenting Rowdy with my back.

  “Guess I won't be bitchin’ about my tie, huh?”

  A REDNECK KNIGHT’S TALE

  ROWDY ZIPPED JADE'S dress and planted a kiss just beneath her ear. Her unexpected show of shyness made him smile. She’d have to stop it. The idea of spending many of his future Sundays naked in bed with her held a lot of appeal.

  “Does my butt look big?” He frowned at her question, until he saw the twinkle in her eyes, then grinned and gave one plump cheek of her ass a squeeze.

  “Yeah,” he drawled. She giggled at his lecherous smile. “You almost ready?”

  “I just need to finish my makeup and put my earrings in.” She patted his chest and smiled up at him. “Nervous?”

  “A little. I know it’s all show but...” Rowdy searched for the right words and watched her slip what looked like diamond studs in her ears.

  “But?” Jade took a big fluffy brush and added some color to her cheeks, then used another to apply powder to her face.

  He watched her, every little movement, unable to keep a smile off his face. It wasn’t all show. Her gentleness and quiet understanding the previous night had been just what he’d needed after his afternoon with Liv. Yeah, he was a little nervous, but damn she looked so pretty. “Jade.”

  “Hmmm?”

  “You look beautiful.”

  She paused, a lip lining pencil halfway to her mouth, and smiled at him through the mirror. “Thank you.”

  Thank you, be damned. “You’re supposed to say ‘I know, Rowdy’.”

  Jade chuckled softly, and turned her attention back to her lip liner. He moved up behind her, watching her through the mirror, his hands gently kneading her shoulders. She stood up straight and leaned back against his chest. Rowdy smiled at her, almost laughing at the urge to say ‘I Love You.’

  “Do you have any idea how beautiful you are?”

  Her lips twitched and finally curved into a smile before she ducked her head.

  “Look at me, Jade Skye Ballard.”

  She did, from under her lashes, that shyness he rarely saw anymore now back full force.

  “You’re perfect,” he whispered, smiling at her. “You remind me of a china doll with that pretty skin and those big green eyes.”

  “I’m not perfect, Rowdy, and I never will be.” Some of the light faded from her eyes. “I’m just me.”

  He could see the uncertainty, the sudden unease in the tense lines of her face and spun her around to face him, wrapping his arms around her. He’d developed a weakness for her hugs. She made him feel needy, but he didn’t mind anymore. “You’re perfect for me, Sassy Skye. Just the way you are.”

  Once they got on the highway and were headed north in Jade's Lexus, she pinned him down about lunch and his mom and Joseph.

  “Guess I can’t avoid your questions now, huh?” He wasn’t used to sharing this part of himself with himself, let alone anyone else. But he wanted to with her.

  She turned down Ed Sheeran and glanced at him out of the corner of her eye. “So, tell me everything.”

  “You sound like Liv.”

  “How come you call your mom Liv?”

  “How come you call your mom HH?” he countered with a grin.

  “Alright, I’ll give you that one.” She smiled and squeezed his fingers with her free hand. “Come on, this is about her leaving you with Tim, right? After your dad died?”

  “There’s a lot more to it than that,” he said huskily.

  She glanced over at him and touched the brake as a semi changed lanes in front of them. They kept hitting pockets of early evening traffic, and he watched her maneuver in and around it a few minutes before he answered.

  “Dad was a drunk. A real mean one, and after Charlene ran off, things got worse. One night I found him choking Liv on the living room floor, and I went after him.”

  Rowdy took comfort in the slight tightening of her grip on his fingers. Telling her wasn’t quite as bad as he’d feared.

  “My God,” she whispered. “How old were you?”

  �
�Sixteen.”

  Her grip on his fingers tightened again. “Poor baby—”

  “I’m not a poor baby, Jade.” Rowdy swallowed the lump in his throat, and focused on the scenery passing by his window until the slowing of the car caught his attention. Jade pulled over onto the shoulder of the road, put the car in park and took off her sunglasses.

  He hadn’t expected to see tears.

  “You’re so damned touchy!” She scowled briefly then sniffed and kneaded his fingers. “I didn’t mean to imply you were. But I can’t imagine...” She sniffed again and wiped away a tear.

  Rowdy leaned closer. “It’s just the way things were. Don’t cry. And I didn’t mean to get all touchy. It’s still hard to talk about.”

  “Nobody helped y’all?” Jade ducked her head, and he let her cry for just a minute, then continued, gently fingering her hair.

  “Not until that last time. Someone finally called the cops.”

  “And now? How’s your mom now? Is everything okay between you two?”

  “Everything’s okay, I think,” he whispered. “And now, Mom doesn’t look like Mom, but she acts like her. I think that was almost a bigger shock than finding out she had a boyfriend.” He laughed and leaned over to kiss her. “She’s changed a lot.”

  “You didn’t actually think about her changing, too,” Jade said softly once he was done smearing her lipstick.

  “No, I didn’t,” he said, regret filling his voice. “Shit...Sorry.”

  “Why do you always apologize for swearing?”

  “Mr. Boudreaux used to give us extra chores if we swore in front of the ladies.” He waited for her giggles to die down, then added, “She thinks we’re getting married.”

  “We’ll deal with that later. I wanna ask you something.”

  “Huh?”

  “If your mom’s changed, doesn’t it stand to reason your sister’s really changed, too?”

  She’d thought of the one thing he hadn’t. Or maybe the one thing he’d ignored. He slowly nodded. “Yeah, but I’ll deal with that after we get done with the prospective in-laws.”

  “Prospective?” She quirked one slender eyebrow at him.

  “Yeah.” He snorted. “Okay, would you prefer bogus?”

  “That sounds worse. And I feel awful dragging you into all of this.”

  “Jade.”

  “Hmmm?” He didn’t miss that look in her eyes. There was no doubt she felt everything he did. Now if they could just get through dinner with her mother.

  “If you don’t get this car back on the road, we’ll overheat and not make dinner.”

  “Fine, I can take a hint.”

  After an onslaught of vehicles passed by, they pulled back on to the highway.

  “Music?” Rowdy redid his seat belt and settled in the bucket seat.

  Jade reached into the console and pulled out an iPod she kept in the car just for music. “Take your pick.”

  He scanned through the menu, looking for something to listen to. “Chris Cagle, Chris Cagle, Chris Cagle,” he mumbled.

  “Oh please, he’s not the only singer I own every album of.”

  “Why ya gettin’ all het up?” He couldn’t hold back a snicker at her frown and her slightly irate tone. As he scrolled past Lana Del Rey in favor of some Chris Cagle and hit play, an idea began to form in his mind. Tomorrow at the barbecue, he’d sing for her.

  “I’m not. So, you never answered my e-mail about ShyCowboy.”

  “That was a nice change of subject.”

  “Well?” She changed lanes, and he could feel the car accelerating as she blew past an oversized SUV.

  “I did answer your e-mail.”

  “Amazingly, I’ve been so busy lately I haven’t had a chance to check,” she quipped. He recognized the slightly haughty tone from their run-in’s at the dancehall, before he’d known she was his.

  “Alright, I'll bite. Would you have talked to a man named ShyRedneck?”

  Her laughter filled the car and he joined in.

  “Why didn’t you pick a musical nickname?”

  “Blues Man sounded old. It made me think of B. B. King. And before you ask, all the Cagle related nicknames were taken.”

  They both laughed again, and she swatted him on the arm for that one.

  “Okay, smartass, how’d you end up on that Chris Cagle list?”

  “I was trolling for chicks.” He smiled out the passenger window, waiting for an indignant explosion.

  “Robert Rowdon Yates!”

  He howled with laughter, then sang along for a few minutes before picking at her a bit a more. “Unlike you, his wasn’t the only music list I’m on. Besides, is it a crime to like a person’s music?”

  “I suppose not.”

  “He doesn’t just sing...ballads, ya know,” he goaded again, watching for her reaction.

  “I know what he sings, thank you very much. And you say that like singing ballads is a crime.”

  “It’s not. I just like givin’ you a hard time.” He tucked her free hand in his and watched her while she drove.

  Rowdy felt strangely calm as they pulled through the gates of the country club. Unlike Jade, who’d begun to fidget and squirm in her seat. He eyed the passing scenery, the perfectly trimmed hedges and perfect grass. The tennis courts they passed as they rounded the last curve and the drive opened into a parking lot. Rowdy snorted at the sight of a gold Cadillac Escalade.

  “What was that for?”

  He didn’t miss the edge to her voice. “The Escalade. Breathe, baby.”

  “What about the Escalade?” she snapped as she whipped her car into a parking space next to an older Mercedes.

  “It’s not a real truck. There isn’t one real truck in the parking lot.” He unsnapped his seat belt and studied her. Jade's lips were pursed, and she was clutching the steering wheel despite the fact that the car was in park.

  “This isn’t the Bluebonnet Dancehall,” she shot back.

  “We ain’t in Kansas anymore? Is that what you’re saying?” He climbed out, not bothering to wait for a response. Jade was wound tighter than a nun in a whore house. Rowdy circled around to the driver’s side and opened her door.

  She clutched his hand, swung her legs out and stood up. Her palm was sweaty, and she looked up at him with a frown on her face. “We ain’t anywhere near Kansas, Honey!”

  “I can hack it if you can. I know which fork to use. Promise.”

  How she managed to laugh and cry he had no idea, but she chuckled and her face crumpled. Her quivering bottom lip nearly did him in. “I know you do. It’s me.”

  “You start with the fork on the outside,” he whispered, pulling her near. This time her chuckles turned to giggles.

  “I know that.” She took a deep breath and clutched at his lapels.

  “You’re beautiful.” And she was, even with the tip of her nose turning a nice shade of pink beneath her makeup.

  Jade sighed and shook her head. “I know, Rowdy.”

  “That’s my girl.” Rowdy chuckled and leaned down to nuzzle her neck. “Now, what about you?”

  “She—” Jade heaved another deep sigh and licked her lips, “—she makes me....I know—”

  “Stop it, Jade.” He wiped the tears that began to pool beneath her eyes. “She’s not worth this! She’s just a woman, same as you.”

  “I know...you’re right.” She paused to wipe the last of her tears away and pulled herself together. “I know I shouldn’t care so much, Rowdy, but she is my mother.” With a watery giggle, she added, “I said some really awful stuff to her last time I saw her.”

  “Mothers can be real pains in the ass sometimes.” That one earned him a real smile.

  “And I don’t trust her not to pull something!”

  “You got me. We’ll be fine.”

  “I don’t know what to say.”

  He pulled her tight against him and tucked a few stray hairs behind her ear. “Don’t say anything. Tomorrow you get to pay me back when I take you
to meet Liv.”

  With a nod, she pushed herself away and blew out a long breath. “Let’s get this over with.”

  “Not until you kiss me. For luck.” He pulled her back against him and covered her mouth with his. Her silky dress was soft under his hands as he reached down to cup her bottom and pull her closer.

  His blood warmed and he reminded himself they probably had an audience, they had to be somewhere real soon. She moaned in his mouth as he reluctantly broke the kiss. “This isn’t the time or the place for foolin’ around. Be a good girl, don’t crack jokes about your Christmas card list to Her Holiness, and we’ll see,” he said, wiggling his eyebrows for emphasis.

  Jade giggled. “Her Holiness? Now that’s carrying things a bit further than she deserves.”

  “I’ll say,” came a voice from behind him. Jade's face lit up as she leaned around his arm.

  “Tricky Nicky!”

  With his arm wrapped around Jade, Rowdy turned to face the newcomer. Tall, but not as tall as Rowdy, and slender, he was clean shaven and clean cut with his summer tan and streaked hair. Nicky looked like money.

  As they approached, he spoke up. “Introduce us, Pork Rind.”

  Rowdy pokered up at the insult, but Jade's grip on his arm tightened so he stayed silent—for now—while she introduced him to her little brother. Good natured and a bit spoiled were the impressions Rowdy got. Not spoiled as in bratty, but in the way of someone things naturally came easy for. Funny, he’d never picked up that same vibe from Jade.

  The trio approached the entrance to the country club, which reminded Rowdy of nothing more than an oversized restaurant with fancy architecture on the outside and lots of landscaping.

  “I hope you wore your big girl panties, Pork Rind, because here she comes,” Nicky quipped.

  That was enough. Rowdy pulled Jade to a screeching halt and stepped in front of Nicky so they were nearly chest to chest. He looked down at the younger man with narrowed eyes. In return, Nicky grinned up at him.

  “Rowdy,” hissed Jade.

  “Don’t call her that again.”

  “Rowdy, it’s okay. It’s just a nickname.”

  Rowdy ignored her harsh whispers and repeated himself since Nicky was slow to respond. “Don’t call her that again. Ever.”