Suzy had come to adore Nick. He might tease, torment and heckle her unmercifully, but he was such a good guy. He and Beth had taken turns fixing dinner each evening and, just as Gray had indicated, he and Nick did truly know how to cook. Nick helped out around the house, ran errands and even kept the minivan so they could all travel in comfort. Suzy had to admit, he was a complete stud, as well. She could see why he had the reputation as a ladies’ man because women admired him everywhere they went. To his credit, other than a lazy grin here or there, he hadn’t gone out on a date nor had anyone over since he’d been staying with them. Someone like Nick was bound to have an active social life, but he seemed content to stay in with them each evening and watch a movie after dinner or just sit around and chat. She thought not for the first time that there was a lot more to Nick than she’d first imagined. She truly couldn’t understand why Beth seemed to loathe him so much.
As great as Nick was though, he didn’t make her heart beat fast when he entered a room or make her palms sweat or her thighs tremble when she heard his voice on the phone. He might be as gorgeous in looks as his brother, but for all of the attraction he held for her, he might as well be her brother, too. Gray turned her on more from thousands of miles away than his brother would have walking through the bedroom naked. It just wasn’t there for her.
~~~
Soon the three amigos, as Suzy had taken to calling them, arrived at Broadway at the Beach. This was a shopping area of Myrtle Beach that she really loved. Dozens of shops and restaurants were built around a lake, and large bridges at each end allowed you to cross to the shops on the other side of the lake. The development also contained a movie theater, putt-putt course and an aquarium. She and Beth often came here on the weekend to spend a day relaxing.
Nick had dropped them off at the curb so that she wouldn’t have to walk so far on her crutches. They stood at the railing that surrounded the lake laughing at all of the fish that bobbed their heads from the water hoping to be fed. Beth took mercy on them and walked over to one of the feed dispensers that were located around the lake. The fish were soon in a frenzy, fighting for the food Beth was tossing in. Nick walked up beside them laughing at a small fish that was determined to beat his bigger brothers and sisters to the rest of the snack.
As the last of the fish swam away, they all took off at a slow pace careful to give her plenty of time to maneuver her crutches on the walkway. When they reached Victoria’s Secret, Suzy turned to Nick with an amused look on her face. “So comrade, does the all for one and one for all thing still apply when we are underwear shopping or do you need to sit out front with those retired gentlemen over there?”
Nick threw back his head and laughed. “Honey, Victoria doesn’t have a secret left that I haven’t seen. I’ll not only accompany you ladies in, I’ll help you pick out some stuff if you like.”
Suzy saw Beth clench her teeth, clearly not impressed with Nick’s offer to help. Suzy, however, was amused and intended to see if there was anything the store had to offer that would embarrass him. She had to draw the line, however, at letting him help her pick anything out. Somehow it seemed really wrong to let Nick see what she was buying to wear for his brother.
Nick started off admiring the displays in the store and then led them over to a see their new selection of micro-thongs. He held up a small black pair to Beth, saying, “Hey princess, what’d you think? Maybe a nice push-up bra to match? You can look for your size in the bra and I can look in the thongs,” Nick offered helpfully. As Beth’s mouth opened and closed like a guppy fish, Suzy took her chance and left them to their argument in the underwear aisle while she moved on her crutches towards the other side of the store where the nighties were displayed.
She looked wistfully at the displays showing the bustier with garters and stockings. There was no way she could pull that off with a cast. After browsing for a few moments, she found what she was looking for. It was simple, yet oh so sexy. She held up a black lace baby-doll top that would tie in the center of her breasts while the sides fluttered open to reveal her stomach and matching G-string panties.
She was grateful to see that Nick and Beth had moved on from the underwear aisle so she could go back there and pick up a few new sets for herself. She cringed when she looked towards the back of the store and saw Nick holding up a red corset and Beth looking at him like he’d just grown horns. Those two were something else. She wondered how Gray had talked Jason into letting Nick be her babysitter while he was away. She knew that Nick worked at home a lot in the evenings and he was at the office as long as Beth was with her. Apparently Gray had been firm on Nick not traveling until he returned home.
Suzy was surprised to see Beth bring some items of her own to the register beside her. Beth’s face turned red as she noticed Suzy studying her purchases. She decided to walk away and give her some privacy. If her sister was finally trading in her cotton for silk, there was no way she was going to do anything to discourage her. She intercepted Nick as he was coming towards the check-out and steered him out the door so that Beth could have some privacy.
As Beth walked out of the door, Suzy was surprised by the size of the bag she carried. If there was a moment she’d ever been prouder of her sister, she couldn’t remember it. Could Beth finally be seeing what everyone else already saw? It was at least a good sign because she couldn’t remember the last time Beth had actually bought something from a girly type store. She didn’t want to embarrass her or make her regret her purchases so she kept up a constant stream of chatter to distract Nick and they grabbed a burger at Johnny Rockets before heading back to the house.
~~~
Claire and Jason arrived around seven and Suzy was surprised to hear the doorbell chime again a few moments later. Beth came back in the living room with an attractive woman around their age that Suzy didn’t recognize. This must be the new friend at Danvers that Beth had mentioned making. Claire walked towards them and, ever gracious, threw an arm around the new guest. “Ella, you look beautiful. I’m so glad you could come.”
Suzy only knew one Ella and this wasn’t her. Claire looked at her saying, “Suz, you remember Ella from the office, don’t you?”
As Suzy hobbled over to the trio on her crutches, recognition hit her, and before she could catch herself, she loudly exclaimed, “Holy shit, what happened to you?”
Ella blushed furiously, and Claire and Beth looked at her like she’d lost her mind. Was she the only one here who remembered how Ella looked just a few weeks ago? “Your sister helped me, um…make some changes.” Then blinking as if tears weren’t far behind, she asked, “You don’t like it?”
At that moment she saw Ella for maybe the first time. She tried so hard to be helpful because she wanted everyone to like her and she’d bet that there had been very few times in her life that she’d fit in. Whereas she’d dismissed her at first glance, Beth had obviously bonded with her and the result of the make-over was nothing short of astounding. Her teased beehive hairdo was gone and in its place, her brown hair had been straightened and now hung past her shoulders in waves. Blond hi-lights had been added to accent the color. Wow, who knew she had all of that hair under the bad hair-do? Her eyebrows had been waxed and instead of looking like one big eyebrow, now she actually had two well defined ones.
Suzy noticed that Ella actually had beautiful skin and the only thing that had been added there was a light blusher on her cheeks and a glossy pink lipstick on her lips. Her hair and face were not the only changes though. She actually had a figure. She was wearing a sleeveless, silk sundress in a light turquoise color that ended several inches above her knees and a low heeled pair of beige strappy sandals. She looked pretty, fresh and about ten years younger.
As her sister poked an elbow in her side, Suzy realized she’d been staring at Ella for several minutes without saying a word. Ella looked as if she were ready to bolt, obviously taking her silence for disapproval. Suzy reached out and took one of Ella’s hands between her own. “You look beaut
iful Ella and you know I wouldn’t say it if I didn’t mean it. Now come on in and let’s get a drink. I want to hear all about your make-over.”
A smile broke out on Ella’s face as they all started towards the living room. The doorbell chiming once again stopped them. Suzy rolled her eyes, saying, “Geez who is that?”
Claire stepped forward and walked towards the door saying, “That’s probably Declan; I hope you don’t mind but Jason invited him. He thought it would be good for him to meet a few people from Danvers since he’s new in town.” As she finished her sentence, Claire opened the door and Suzy could see a huge figure filling the door-way.
As Declan walked inside, Suzy couldn’t help the murmur of appreciation that escaped her lips. Beth and Ella both looked at her when the Mmmm, escaped her lips. She arched an eyebrow and said under her breath, “Oh come on, you were both thinking the same thing. There is nothing wrong with appreciating a good piece of art work.”
Claire led Declan over to them and took care of making the introductions. As Claire kept the conversation flowing smoothly with small talk, Suzy took a moment to study the new addition to Danvers. He was another prime piece of eye-candy, there was no denying that. He was similar to Nick, Gray and Jason with dark hair and tanned skin. You could not be a woman and not appreciate the masculine beauty of Declan Stone. There was also almost a darkness about him that both pulled you in and made you want to run. Suzy had a feeling that there was a lot more to him than any of them knew. If there was one thing she was sure of, Declan would bring variety to their little group because she just knew that he’d never conformed to normal a day in his life.
They all made their way out onto the back deck where Jason and Nick were drinking a beer and arguing over who could grill the best steak. Beth had made a pitcher of daiquiris for the women and a virgin daiquiri for Claire. Suzy hobbled over to a seat and Beth helped her put her foot up onto a stool. Declan walked over to join the men and Claire motioned Ella to join the ladies at the table.
Claire smiled at her saying, “You must be glad that Gray will be home tomorrow. I know he’s been giving Jason hell about being gone so long. I’m glad we have Declan now to spread some of the travel to. Jason said he’s flying out tomorrow to take Gray’s place.”
Suzy leaned over and took her friends hand. “You don’t worry about us. I’ve had two babysitters with me the whole time. Jason needs to stick close to you. I’m afraid you might pop at any second.” Wrinkling her nose in confusion, she continued, “You don’t think it’s getting like over-done in there, do you?”
Claire burst out laughing. She’d so missed seeing her friend at the office every day. Suzy could make her laugh when nothing else in the world could. From the expression on her friend’s face, she could tell that she was dead serious as well. “No, you can’t overcook them, Suz, I think they have a self-timer or something that lets you know when they’re ready. It’s pretty normal for a first baby to go past its due date so it could still be quite some time yet.” As she moved around trying to get comfortable in the chair, Jason walked up behind her and helped her put a pillow behind her back. He reached down and dropped a kiss on her lips, caressing her cheek with his hand before returning to talk with the men. Suzy was certain there wasn’t a dry eye at the table at the obvious love that sparkled between Claire and Jason.
Suzy cleared her throat and steered the conversation to Danvers. She got caught up on the latest gossip just as the steaks were finished, and Beth went to get the roasted potatoes and the salad from the refrigerator. Ella went to help her and soon they had the table set and everyone settled into a chair. Suzy sat between Claire and Beth with Nick on Beth’s other side, and Jason on Claire’s other side. Ella somehow ended up sitting between Nick and Declan. She looked like she hoped the deck would open up and swallow her whole. She saw that Beth had also noticed the same thing and neither of them could figure out a way to save Ella from the seating arrangement without embarrassing her.
Luckily, Nick could always be counted on to keep the conversation going and, as if he’d also noticed Ella’s discomfort, he took great pains to draw her into the conversation and make her comfortable. Suzy had to admit, Gray’s brother was an all-around great guy. She thought she caught Declan studying Ella a few times from under his lashes but it was so fleeting she couldn’t be sure. Ella was nowhere near in his league; he’d chew her up and spit her out and that Suzy would never allow.
The evening passed far too quickly and Suzy was sorry to see everyone leave. As she went into the kitchen to get a glass of water before bed, Nick’s back was to her and his conversation was completely out of character for the Nick she knew. “Listen, you nut job, you better never call me again. If it were me, you would be rotting in jail somewhere and if I have anything to do with it that will happen sooner rather than later. I meant what I said, don’t ever call me, the sound of your voice makes me sick.” With that last line, Nick roughly hit the end button on his call and swung around to leave the kitchen. Surprise colored his face as he saw an amused Suzy standing there.
“Wow, sounds like you have yourself a stalker there, Nick.”
A strained laugh erupted from him as he lightly said, “Yeah you know how it goes. Some women just have a hard time letting go of all of this. Sometimes you just can’t be Mr. Nice.”
Suzy laughed along with him, but was still unsure about exactly what she’d walked in on. Nick was far too nice and easy going to let someone push him to the point of the rudeness that she’d heard. Whatever this woman had done, it was bad. Maybe she should mention it to Gray when he returned; she hated to think that Nick had to deal with something that was obviously upsetting him so much. They both said their goodnights and Suzy settled in to wait for Gray’s call.
As her cell phone rang, a thrill shot through her body. If a ring tone could turn her on this much, imagine how it would feel to have Gray in her bed tomorrow night. She could practically have an orgasm just thinking about it. She answered the phone smiling as she heard Gray’s voice.
“Hey baby, how are you?”
“Hi yourself, I’m good, how about you?”
With a chuckle, Gray said, “I’m much better for hearing your voice. God I can’t wait to see you tomorrow. I wish I could have gotten an earlier flight out.”
“That’s ok, all that matters is you will be home tomorrow.” Dropping her voice to a whisper, she continued, “You better get some rest tonight because we aren’t going to get much sleep here tomorrow night, big boy.” Suzy smiled in satisfaction at the groan she heard on the other end of the line.
“You’re killing me babe. Everyone here probably already thinks I have some issues. I seem to keep a hard-on and I know you love it, you little witch.”
Suzy laughed, admitting, “You’re right, I do. Why should you be any better off than I am? I ache for you every minute of the day Gray; I need you inside me to ease that ache.”
After taking a deep breath, Gray said, “If we don’t change the subject, the people next-door might have something to talk about in the morning.”
“Yeah, I agree. Nick and Beth probably don’t want to hear me in here alone moaning. Oh, speaking of Nick, does he have some kind of girlfriend problem?”
“Baby, this is Nick we are talking about, so I’m sure he always has some girlfriend. As for problems, why do you ask? He hasn’t had anyone over has he?”
“No, nothing like that. I walked in the kitchen on him this evening and he was having a rather heated exchange with someone on the phone. He was threatening to have them arrested if they didn’t leave him alone. I think he might have messed with the wrong woman this time.”
Gray was silent for so long, she thought they had lost their cell phone signal. “Hellooooo, Gray are you still there?”
“Oh, sorry sweetheart, Jason was beeping in on the other line. Don’t worry about Nick; I’m sure he will be fine. I’ll talk to him about it when I get back. I’ve got to run and make a few calls before it gets too late. I
can’t wait to see you tomorrow.”
“I can’t wait either, Gray. Please be careful on your travels.” As Suzy was starting to end the call, she heard Gray add one more thing as he hung up.
“Oh and Suzy, it wouldn’t offend me in the least if you were completely naked when I get home.”
Not Planning on You (Danver's Book 2) Page 11