by Selena Blake
“Yeah, but they should know better. Greg’s wanted to settle down for a while now and so have you. Sometimes their teasing goes overboard and I want to bop them on the head.”
A full body surge of what felt like adrenaline made her feel weightless and euphoric. Was JJ right? Greg wanted to settle down? Since when? Suddenly that made perfect sense. His comment about the house with the Christmas lights and the pansies on the porch was not from a man who cherished his bachelor lifestyle. He obviously looked at that house as if it had a picket fence out front.
“Anyway, I’m just surprised is all,” JJ said.
Gretchen paused, up to her forearms in panties.
“I don’t follow.”
“I’m glad he’s staying with you. And I’m glad that you’re not worried of what other people might think. Did I thank you for rescuing him? I know he’s my baby brother–”
“By a few months,” Gretchen inserted. JJ stuck out her tongue.
“But I love him and I was so worried what I was going to come home to. Some people never fully recover.”
Gretchen straightened and ran a hand up and down JJ’s arm. “He’s doing rather well. Making progress daily on the pain front. And he’s not as moody as he was.”
“When’s the funeral?”
“Saturday. Peter’s father was in Africa somewhere. Greg said he’s a doctor.”
JJ nodded.
Then, as if trying to physically switch her mind to a new topic she shook her head. “Let’s find you a bra.”
Before she could object to the help, JJ called Liz over.
“My friend hates bra shopping. Can you help?”
Gretchen frowned, not because JJ was telling anything but the truth, rather she didn’t like calling attention to her discomfort.
“Of course. That’s what I’m here for.”
Liz surveyed Gretchen with a keen eye and she thought there wasn’t much the other woman didn’t see. Thought it was probably only fifteen seconds, perhaps less, to Gretchen, it felt like a lifetime. Her breasts were not her friends.
Somehow she managed to stand still under the scrutiny.
“When was the last time you were measured?”
“Um...” Never.
That answer was the beginning of a crash course in proper measuring. Evidently she’d been doing it wrong for years. And when she slipped on the bra Liz gave her, in a brand new size, she realized a few things simultaneously.
Number one, Liz was a genius. Two the bra was insanely comfortable, supportive and dare she say sexy. And number three, bending over and measuring around the fullest part of the bust was in fact the best way to find her proper size.
There was no crazy, confusing math. Liz walked her through subtracting the band size from the bust measurement. They compared that number with a hand dandy chart and bam. Bra size.
“How did I not know this?” she asked, glancing at her reflection, turning to the left then back to the right.
“Know what?” JJ asked from the other side of the door.
“That I’ve been wearing the wrong size forever. That cups larger than double D exist. That the girls don’t have to look like overgrown cantaloupes stuffed in a sausage casing.”
JJ’s laughter echoed through the small room and Gretchen joined in.
“That liberating, huh?” her friend asked.
“You have no idea.” For the first time in a very long time she felt light, liberated as if a weight had been lifted from her shoulders. Gretchen wanted to climb up on the roof and start shouting at anyone who would listen. The world needed to know how to properly measure a bust.
“Now you’ll really knock ‘em dead at your meeting Friday. Will there be any guys in attendance? If so, I’m sure he’ll notice your new and improved cleavage.”
JJ was right. Even though this bra held the girls in a better location, there was less cleavage. There was less stuffage. There was no backache and the straps didn’t dig into her shoulders. A weight literally had been lifted from her shoulders.
A sigh of bliss hissed through her lips as she turned to study her profile.
She pulled on her blouse and was amazed at how much better it fit. She looked five pounds lighter and the shirt didn’t pucker across her chest. When she opened the dressing room door, JJ and Liz were right there waiting and a stream of compliments met her ears.
“Have anything else in my size?” Gretchen asked, confidence rushing through her like a tidal wave.
Liz had a fairly good selection in Gretchen’s size once she showed them where all the extra sizes were. JJ and Gretchen were up to their elbows in satin, lace and itty-bitty bows in no time.
“So what are your plans on the house flipping front? Now that you’re a soon-to-be-famous author and getting married.”
“I haven’t decided. I love flipping. I have much more time now that I’m not traveling for work.”
“But you travel with Trevor.”
At the mention of her fiancé, JJ’s expression relaxed and she smiled. Gretchen could practically see animated birds circling her friend’s head, tweeting out hearts and stars.
“Yeah.”
JJ playfully pushed Gretchen toward the dressing rooms. “Have you heard from Cindy?”
“Not lately. Things must be going really well,” JJ said.
“Adam’s perfect for her.”
“If only they could work out the living situation.”
She closed the levered door behind her and glanced at her reflection in the mirror. Despite her best attempt at livening up a stuffy suit, it hadn’t worked. She needed cuter blouses and better accessories. Not that she had the first clue about either but she was too young to be dressing like Mrs. Roberts, the fifty year old kindergarten teacher three classrooms down from Gretchen’s. Right?
She could be conservative and cute at the same time, surely. Another trip to Michelle’s shop was required.
JJ tossed a beige demi bra over the dressing room door. That would never hold the girls in. Gretchen shook her head, uttered a quick ‘no way’ and threw it back.
A racy red bra appeared at the top of the door and Gretchen stared at it wide eyed. The thing was see through, how was that supposed to provide any support?
“That’s not a work bra,” JJ said quietly.
“How did you know what I was thinking?”
“Um…because we didn’t meet yesterday. Besides, you need something pretty, you know, in case you decide to show it off.”
“Who would I show it off to?” Gretchen replied, hoping she sounded innocent even though her mind was already racing with possibilities. What would Greg do if she showed— No way. She couldn’t do that; they were taking it slow.
And who knew how much longer he’d be staying with her. What if she was just a passing fling?
Gretchen stared at the little red bow between the cups of the bra. The size on the tag was correct. Go for it, Gretchen.
Since she was already wearing her dream bra, any others she found were icing on the cake, right? And if the nude colored, every day bra had boosted her confidence this much; surely the red bra would make her feel like queen of the world.
She stripped out of her shirt and carefully removed the dream bra.
“If one were to…ugh…show off such a thing, how would one do it?” Just walk in and strip? Hint that she’d purchased something she thought he’d enjoy?
Deafening silence greeted her ears and she worried JJ had stepped away. Then a squeal of excitement rent the air and Gretchen jolted.
“You have someone in mind! Who? Tell me? Who is he?”
“Why do I have to have anyone in mind?” Gretchen teased. To hell with worrying what JJ would think about her and Greg dating. To hell with that little voice that always made her doubt that she was the kind of woman he’d find attractive. The bulge she’d felt last night had answered that question, definitively.
“The hair, the shopping, I knew there was someone new in your life.”
JJ’s vo
ice faded in and out and Gretchen could tell her friend was pacing back and forth in front of the dressing room door.
Technically, Greg wasn’t new to her life. Little bits of courage, that was new. Going after what she wanted, well, she was still working on that.
The doorknob jangled.
“Spill it sister.”
“I—”
“Do I know him?”
Gretchen nibbled her lower lip as she contemplated coming clean. Normally, this was the kind of thing they all shared over wine on Thursday nights. And Greg was JJ’s brother. Plus, the only way out of here was through that door; through JJ.
She slipped the red bra straps up her shoulders and adjusted the girls. Holy smokes.
The sheer cups left a bit of mystery at what lay beneath and somehow, her breasts appeared both smaller and perkier. She turned to the size and sucked in her stomach. Okay, that was amazing.
“Gretchen?”
“Yeah?”
There was another moment of drawn out silence that made Gretchen antsy.
“It’s Greg isn’t it? I thought you were watching him rather dreamily Sunday.”
Trust JJ to figure it out.
Gretchen sighed and unlocked the dressing room door. The knob turned and Gretchen sat down on the bench.
“You know I’m okay with this, right?”
“You are?”
JJ sat down next her and Gretchen tried to ignore the fact that she was practically topless.
“Of course I am. My brothers would be lucky to date any of my friends. Greg would be especially lucky to have you.”
“Then why was he interested in Baby? I don’t get it?”
“I don’t know, but I finally understand why you haven’t said two words to her in the past month and a half.”
“I didn’t think you noticed.”
“We did.”
“It wasn’t about him liking her. It was about her wanting to have sex with him at the Super Bowl party and when he said no, she came right back downstairs and flirted with football players.” She could still feel the shock, the disbelief, echoing through her body as she’d watched Baby settle onto some jock’s lap. At the time, she’d thought that Baby had just finished having sex with Greg and it’d made her question not just their friendship, but her friend’s morals.
Baby was a go-getter. Gretchen was fine with that, admired the trait in many ways. But now that Greg had confirmed there hadn’t been any hanky panky, what was Baby thinking? Had she been so hurt by Greg’s refusal? Was she really that attracted to him?
That would explain so much. And if Baby was, in fact, carrying a torch for the youngest Fairchild, what would she say when she found out how hot and heavy he and Gretchen had been lately?
“I know,” JJ said with a sigh. “This isn’t related, but I’m going to flog my brothers the next time I see them.”
“Why’s that?”
“Because teasing like that was extra mean to you. They didn’t know about your feelings, but still.”
“Thomas does.” But Gretchen got the feeling he was trying to help her somehow.
“He does?”
“He figured it out.”
“He always was the smart one,” JJ said with a sigh.
“I’m over it. Besides, you should have seen the look on their face.” She quickly explained how she’d played along with their faulty marriage assumption shortly after they’d arrived. By the end JJ was laughing hard.
When they finished giggling, JJ stared at the frothy red bra. “Think you could show that to my brother? It looks amazing on you so I’m reasonably sure that would get his attention.”
Gretchen was sure one would have to be blind to not notice that bra, even on someone with a little extra around the waist line. That little extra went to her boobs as well.
“We’ll see.”
JJ’s smile was mischievous and she vaulted off the bench. “I’ll leave you to it.”
But she paused and turned back in the doorway. “I like this new side of you. You seem…happier.”
Gretchen smiled, feeling light and carefree. She had to admit, she was glad to have a confidant. Some secrets were better when shared. And it was nice to know that JJ believed in her, believed that Greg would be lucky to have a woman like Gretchen by his side.
“I feel happier.” She glanced down at the bra. She’d be even happier if Greg decided he couldn’t live without her, but she wasn’t holding her breath…no matter how fabulous he was at kissing.
JJ gave her two thumbs up. “I say go for it.”
“I’m going to need matching panties,” she said bravely. JJ grinned.
CHAPTER TWENTY-FOUR
As she drove home from Roseville, Gretchen pondered the contents of her refrigerator. Even though she was on a high after a smoother than she’d ever thought possible bra-shopping trip, she was also tired. The kids were in rare form this week, counting the hours until their spring break. Two weeks she’d be free of them. Two weeks to work on her business, clean out her closet, and if the stars aligned just right, she’d spend more time with Greg.
But right now she just wanted to kick her feet up and that meant no cooking. Some nights just called for pizza from her favorite parlor. Her stomach let out a ferocious growl.
“Guess that’s settled,” she murmured, wondering if Greg still hated olives on his pizza.
Just before turning into her little driveway she noticed a sleek, dark green car parked in front of the garage. No one she knew drove a car like that. Perhaps it belonged to a friend of Greg.
She parked on the street and grabbed her purse and purchases. Despite her eagerness to vegetate, she was excited to see him and ask him about his day.
Her conversation with JJ gave her the push to figure out what to say to Greg when the time was right. She didn’t want to be the woman who blurted out “I love you” in the middle of a make out session. And there was that little sliver of doubt poking around in the back of her mind. What if this was just a sickbed diversion for him? Despite his claim that her touch distracted him from the pain she needed to be sure that he wasn’t just passing the time. Her heart needed to know if he saw any chance for them, the possibility of a future together.
It was probably better to know than to keep on nursing a crush. And let’s face it she was hardcore crushing on him.
So she should tell him.
That would put him on the spot of course and perhaps that wasn’t her best idea. Maybe before she left for work in the morning she could just say it on the way out the door. That sounded good. She’d tell him not to say anything, just think about it. That could work.
She didn’t have the front door all the way open when a familiar perfume hit her in the nose. Dread seized her body to the point where she froze in place. Her legs felt like lead weights and an anvil had taken up residence in her stomach.
Gretchen scolded herself. It was ridiculous to feel this way at her age, but there was nothing she could do about it. No amount of reasoning and trying to put herself in her mother’s shoes could take away a lackluster childhood and the remaining scars.
Her mother’s voice galvanized Gretchen into action and she barrelled into the living room. She’d feared the worst, at least the worst on her current scale of bad. But her mother was currently snuggling up next to Greg, her hand on his arm. This was a new level of worst-case scenario.
It took less than a millisecond to notice how uncomfortable Greg was and something inside Gretchen snapped. She opened her mouth but her mother beat her to the punch.
“Oh, hello sweetheart.” The Texas twang in her mother’s voice shocked Gretchen. Her mother was not a Texas native, which meant this was all a ruse based on the latest scenario to snag a man. “I was just getting to know your fella.”
“So I see,” Gretchen said as Greg bolted off the couch. For a man who’d been favoring his leg for the past few days, he moved with a speed and agility that surprised her.
“I’m so glad you’re home
. Missed you today,” he said, sweeping her into his arms. With a hand cupping her jaw, he lowered his head and slanted a kiss across her lips that left nothing to the imagination. He might be putting on a show for her mother, but there was a possessiveness in his hold that thrilled her.
He pulled back and smiled down at her before she could get too swept away. Her breathing was ragged but she managed a grin. “Missed you too.”
She wasn’t sure what Greg had told her mother about their relationship, but that kiss could have left no doubts in her mother’s mind. Her mom had called him her fella and after that kiss, Gretchen couldn’t agree more. But as she stared up at him, memorizing the relief and happiness on his handsome face, a single thought drowned out the rest. If Greg was her fella, what kind of a mother cozied up to her daughter’s man like that?
Her mother pushed off of the sofa and strode across the room on a pair of pointy black heels. “How are you, darling?”
Greg took a reluctant step back and to the side, his hand sliding to the small of Gretchen’s back. Silent support. Just what she’d always wanted.
The perfume got stronger and by the time her mother wrapped her in a faux hug, obviously for Greg’s benefit because Gretchen honestly couldn’t remember the last time her mother had hugged her, she was suffocating on the stench. Clarise Mascoe never had known when to quit: spraying perfume, drinking or chasing a man.
Her mother took a step back and gave Gretchen a critical once over. Oh Lord, here it comes, Gretchen thought, mentally bracing.
“I love what you’ve done with your hair. Is that new? Annie didn’t mention it at lunch. I was just telling Greg that I’d love to take the two of you out for dinner. Wouldn’t that be lovely? I can’t stay long, mind you. Our flight leaves in the morning.” She waved her hand as if the details didn’t matter. “I’m sorry Harold couldn’t make it, but he’s so incredibly busy. I guess that’s what it takes to be a millionaire. What do you say dear? I can’t wait to get to know Greg better.”
Gretchen stared, completely mute. Really, she was dumbfounded as evident by the way her mouth had dropped open. Between the blabbering and fake accent she could have been staring at a different person all together. But the brunette in the slim fitting coral dress certainly looked like Gretchen’s mother. Granted they hadn’t seen each other in years and Gretchen had stopped trying to have a relationship with the woman the day she’d told Gretchen she had no intention of taking care of the only grandmother Gretchen had ever known.