Page 16 of Passionate Defense

“Let me change and I’ll help you look.”

Two hours later, they had Beth outfitted with a gorgeous little black dress. Not overly fussy, which would be too much on her petite frame, it had pleats, a scoop neck, and a strappy cutout back to give it style points. She looked chic from the front and provocative while walking away, but still traditional enough so as not to send the old guard on the faculty into apoplexy.

Shoes were easy. Four-inch metallic pumps that perfectly matched her silver belt, while Beth chose a daring round-toe pump with a crisscross ankle strap and a five-inch heel in a brilliant crimson.

“If I can’t wow the old farts with my dress,” she said tongue in cheek, “I’ll kick their asses with my shoes.”

With another item checked off their list, they moved on to the really fun stuff—lingerie.

She was trying to balance her bags while riding up the escalator when she bumped elbows with someone going down. Currents of pain radiated to her hand and shot out her fingertips. Holding her tingling arm, she twisted to glare at the culprit, but he’d moved on. More aptly, he’d moved down and was stepping off at the bottom. From the back, his thinning hair and stocky build were familiar, and not in a good way.

“Lanie! Watch your step,” Beth called out.

She faced front just in time to keep from tripping on the stationary landing and knocking out a tooth when she landed face-first on the floor.

Ignoring the bag she dropped, she raced to the rail and looked out over the lower level, searching for a tall man with beady eyes and a bad comb-over.

“What’s wrong?” Beth asked as she rushed to her side, gripping the forgotten bag with all her others. “You’re pale as a ghost.”

“I thought...” She shook her head while rubbing the goose bumps that had erupted on her arm. It couldn’t be him. “I don’t know what I thought. Maybe I’m cracking up.”

“Or someone walked over your grave.”

Lanie’s head swung around, and she stared at her friend appalled. “Why would you say that?”

“It’s an old expression,” she explained, surprised by her reaction. “Haven’t you ever heard it before? It’s refers to that sudden sense of unease we all get sometimes or an unexplained shudder. Modern science explains it as an unexpected release of adrenaline though.”

“Right,” she said vaguely, her gaze drifting over the crowd below, searching one more time.

Beth linked arms with her. “Let’s go buy sexy undies. That always makes me feel better. If not, we’ll hit up the bar after.”

Lanie wanted to skip underwear and head straight for margaritas by the pitcher, but she went along without argument. Victoria’s Secret was having a sale, and soon, happy hormones were coursing through her veins. She convinced herself the man she saw only looked like Morton Deevers because the real one was rotting in a prison cell in Texas two thousand miles away.

After finding several jewel-toned bra-and-panty sets in her size at 40 percent off, she moved on to a rack of sexy nighties. In no time, she added a satin-and-lace sheath in a rich plum to the other three draped over her arm. She never realized how effective retail therapy was as a stress reducer. When the credit card bill arrived in a few weeks, she’d have to remind Ethan of that fact.

Giddy with excitement, Beth bounded up beside her with an armful of pink chiffon. “I’ve hit the mother lode,” she gushed. “I freakin’ love this store. Look what I found.” She held up at least four frothy baby doll nighties with matching panties. At a glance, Lanie saw they were sweet, innocent by Victoria’s Secrets standards, and full of ribbons and ruffles.

“You like pink, huh?” she commented.

“It’s all right, but Steven loves it.”

“Cute. Is childlike innocence the look you’re going for?”

“Yes, ma’am. Daddy will go nuts when he sees them on me.”

In a state of stunned disbelief, Lanie’s jaw dropped, then closed tightly, only to fall open again. Daddy? Had she heard correctly? Beth went on raving about her finds, not having realized she’d rendered her friend speechless.

“I have a pair of satin T-strap Mary Janes that will go perfect with these.” She glanced up at Lanie, found her staring, and her megawatt smile dimmed. “What?”

“Um, nothing.” Lanie went back to flipping through the rack while trying to wrap her head around Daddy and Beth in Mary Jane’s.

“No,” Beth pushed, “it’s definitely something. You’ve got a funny look on your face.” There was a long pause. “Oh dear, I thought Ethan would have told you.”

“Told me what?”

“About me and Steven.” She leaned in and whispered, “We’re kind of kinky.”

That pretty much confirmed that she hadn’t mistaken Daddy for something else. “I know, and he did.”

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