Page 15 of Sweet Love at Bayside
“Sorry, Vi, but I amnotgoing all girl-on-girl with you.”
“Please, Des.Really?I’m totally into men, and their big…trouser snakes. I meant I’dtalkyou through it. Help you understand what all these things are for, so by the time we leave this cottage you don’t feel two steps behind. No baby steps. We’re going to jump in with both feet.”
Feeling unusually sassy and excited at both the prospect of doing something like this with Violetandlearning about all the naughtiness around her, she said, “What about you? You’re perfectly willing to put me in an uncomfortable position, even if it’ll help in the long run. Kind of one-sided, don’t you think?”
“So, you want to know my Achilles’ heel?”
“Yes! Do you have one?” Desiree couldn’t imagine it.
“Oh yeah, do I ever. Maybe I’ll tell you about itafterI drink an ocean of wine and then some.”
RICK PACED HIS living room with his phone pressed to his ear, listening to his partners, Craig and Michael, argue. He checked his watch for the tenth time in as many minutes. Rick had spent the past few months negotiating a six-million-dollar project to relocate two executives from the Austin area to DC. They were on the cusp of finalizing the contract, and Craig had solidified a two-million-dollar project for next spring. Unfortunately, Michael had brought in only half a million dollars in the past nine months, and Craig was hammering him. He didn’t blame Craig for losing it, but he also felt bad for Michael. His wife had left him for another man, turning his and their two little boys’ lives upside down. But they’d been on the call for more than thirty minutes, and the closer it got to seven o’clock, the more his patience dwindled.
“Let’s all take a step back,” Rick said, interrupting. Normally he was the hothead, but he had a soft place in his heart for Michael, a childhood friend. He’d known Michael’s ex-wife since childhood, too. Michael and his wife had moved to DC to join Rick and Craig’s business. It was no secret that his ex-wife hated the area, and Rick wondered if she would have strayed had they remained in Hyannis.
“The bottom line is, we’re partners. We’re in this together. Michael, I know you’re struggling with the divorce and keeping up with your kids, but Craig’s right. You’ve got to get back in the game. And, Craig, if you or I were in his shoes, we’d expect to be cut some slack.”
He headed outside and climbed into his truck. “I’ve got to get off the phone, but let’s come up with a plan. Michael, sit down and figure out what new projects you can go after. Look at what’s on the horizon, possible clients you can tap into. Referral sources you can put some energy into. Give us a timeline for expectations.”
“It’s been nine months,” Craig pointed out.
Tell him something he didn’t know. Nine painful months of watching his buddy fall down the rabbit hole. The man he admired like a brother had gone from being one of the most confident and successful salesmen he knew to barely holding himself together. But Rick wasn’t about to give up on Michael, any more than he’d give up on Drake or Dean.
They made a plan to strategize next week. After he ended the call, Rick pulled out of his driveway and saw Drake walking toward the office. He rolled down his window and slowed to a crawl beside him. “Hey, bro. Thought you were going sailing?”
“We are. Serena had to run home to change.” Drake glanced in the truck, which Rick had cleaned out earlier. “Have a date?”
There was no stopping his grin. “I’m taking Desiree out.”
“The sweetgirl next door?” Drake’s brows drew down in a serious slant.
“The one and only. Oh, and by the way, she’s literally staying next door in the old Summer House. Have fun tonight. I know I will.”
A few minutes later Rick pulled into Desiree’s driveway. Cosmos bolted out of a cottage, running toward the truck and barking up a storm. Rick pulled over and parked to avoid hitting him. He climbed from the truck and crouched, offering his hand.
“Hey, scruffy pool hopper.”
Cosmos yapped and sprinted back to the cottage. The door was open and the lights were on, and Desiree’s melodic laughter floated out from within. He pictured her eyes lighting up when she laughed, and couldn’t resist following the pup inside the eclectic shop to see what had him so hyped up. Paintings and pottery and other types of art covered every surface.
“Wait, wait, wait!” Desiree’s voice floated into the room, and he followed it to an open door in the back.
“This can’t be right. Are you sure?” Desiree stood with her back facing him, wearing the same sexy tank top and shorts she’d had on that morning, but now it was covered in a red lace and silk negligee. Violet stood in front of her, bent at the waist, her hands hidden from view by Desiree’s body.
While Desiree’s rear was as tempting and fine as he’d ever seen, it wasn’t enough to distract him from the multitude of colorful lingerie dangling from strings around the room, and the plethora of adult-play items on the tables and shelves, or the mess of both strewn across the floor. In the corner of the room, a mannequin lay cockeyed, an empty wine bottle nestled in the crook of its arm. The girls had been busy.
“Hey there,” he said with amusement.
Desiree spun around, eyes wide, mouth agape, wearing some sort of barely there negligee over her clothes, with leather laces up the center, and feathers where there should be fabric covering her breasts and at the juncture of her thighs.
“Rick,” she said breathily, dragging her eyes down his chest and swallowing hard. “Geez, you’re so flippinghot.”
“Own it,” Violet said, pointing up at the ceiling.
He arched a brow, having absolutely no idea what he’d walked in on, but… Sweet Desiree was definitely not as innocent as she appeared.
Desiree put a hand on her hip and thrust out her chest. Her hand slid off her hip, and she quickly put it back up again. Her eyes darkened as she sauntered over to him, full of wine-bravado—hips swaying seductively, eyes locked on his—and apparently completely oblivious to her outfit. Heck, the way she was moving,he’dalmost forgotten about it. She rubbed her hands over his pecs and down toward his abs. “I have beendyingto feel your muscles.”
“Be my guest, sweetheart.” He’d probably go straight to hell for not stopping her when she was clearly tipsy, but seeing his careful girl so uninhibited was a massive turn-on.
